Should production stop when one batch fails?
The whole order need not automatically stop. Hold the failed batch and anything that could share its cause until records and checks establish a defensible boundary. Let demonstrably unaffected work continue only under written, limited permission. Cambridge China Bridge can coordinate these checks with its staff in China.
Set a provisional hold boundary
Tell the factory exactly what to pause: material issue, processing, assembly, packing or dispatch. Identify the defect, affected product versions, production records and locations. Hold potentially connected work while investigating. If the factory cannot distinguish connected stock from unrelated stock, widen the hold to cover that uncertainty.
Keep production permission separate from shipment approval. A batch may be allowed through an unrelated operation while its final release remains blocked. For the failed inspection itself, use inspection failure and corrective action; this guide addresses what else may continue.
Trace the cause across batch boundaries
Ask for a connection map linking finished batches to incoming material lots, component deliveries, subcontractors, machines, mould cavities, tooling, settings and production periods. Include shared coating, adhesive, firmware and test equipment where relevant. Follow the suspected cause across other products and orders, rather than stopping at the purchase order boundary.
Compare material issue records, job sheets, process logs and stock labels with what is physically on the floor. Different batch labels do not prove independence if the material or process was shared. Use supplier batch traceability for the underlying records. Mark missing or contradictory links as unresolved, rather than unaffected.
Separate affected and uncertain work
Create distinct statuses for affected, potentially affected and demonstrably unaffected stock. Apply them to raw materials, work in progress, finished goods and packed cartons. Use labelled locations and matching inventory blocks, and prevent held material from being issued, mixed, reworked or loaded without a recorded instruction.
Retain labelled defect samples and the original records before rework changes the evidence. Record each movement between locations and statuses. If cartons contain mixed batches, treat the carton as held until its contents can be identified and separated. Check whether any connected goods have already left the factory.
Require evidence before allowing continuation
A claim that another line is unaffected needs a reason tied to the suspected failure. Look for separate material provenance or process history, supported by targeted checks capable of finding that defect. A different machine does not resolve a shared-material problem; a different material lot does not resolve a shared-setting problem.
Where the cause remains unknown, document which plausible connections have been excluded and which remain open. Continue only the work supported by that evidence. For UK consumer products, you must not sell goods you know, or should have known, are unsafe. Buyer permission to continue production does not establish that goods are safe to sell.
Working out your own order? Send us the product on WhatsApp and we reply the same working day: WhatsApp us
Write a bounded continuation permission
Record the order, product version, permitted batches, material lots, operations and locations. Attach the connection map and check results, name the buyer's authorised decision-maker and factory implementer, and record their approval and acknowledgement. State what remains held, what checks apply before the next operation, and whether packing or dispatch is excluded.
Specify what cancels permission: a new defect, changed material, altered setting, missing traceability or stock mixing. Require the factory to stop the permitted work and refer it back if a trigger occurs. Keep this decision separate from corrective-action closure. A limited continuation approval does not close the failed batch or approve future batches.
Frequently asked questions
Does a failed batch mean the whole order must stop?
Hold the failed batch and potentially connected work. Widen the hold if records cannot establish the boundary. Unrelated work can continue when evidence supports written, limited permission.
Can a different production line keep running?
Possibly, but check shared materials, tooling, settings and test equipment. A different line name alone does not demonstrate that the suspected cause is absent.
What should written permission to continue include?
Identify permitted batches and operations, supporting evidence, approvers, remaining holds, required checks and stop triggers. State separately whether packing or dispatch is permitted.
What if the factory cannot trace shared materials?
Keep potentially connected work on hold. Reconstruct links from material issues, job sheets and physical stock checks. Treat unresolved links as uncertainty, not proof that work is unaffected.