Seven Main Categories of Product Defects in AQL
When it comes to product defects, different countries and regions have different requirements, as well as the number of defects they allow before the product will be rejected. One common standard, however, is the ISO 9001 standard audit, which is used in North America and Asia as well as Europe. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) also uses this standard when it develops its own quality standards and protocols that follow ISO 9000 standards.
What are product defects?
Product defects are those non-conformities which include aesthetic faults, packaging errors and technical defects. They are commonly known as faults and it may be indicated by words such as defective or poor quality on a product label.
There are many different types of product defects. In fact there are seven main categories under which they can fall into: manufacturing defect, design defect, labeling defect, legal requirements (safety) defect, minor legally permissible variation (MPV) defect, incorrect instructions/misleading information and fit for purpose/usage.
Appearance defects
According to the AQL standard, there are 6 categories of appearance defects: holes and tears; dust or other foreign objects; faded colors or color differences (between sample and product); misalignment; sharp edges and burrs; uneven surfaces. If a product is found with any one of these defects, it will be rejected. It should also be noted that broken glass and shredded paper may not necessarily indicate a defect, as certain industries use these materials for different applications. Always consult your buyer before shipping broken glass or shredded paper materials.
Construction defects
Two major types of defects are Manufacturer’s defect and User’s defect. If it is the manufacturer’s defect, it will be returned to the manufacturer; if it is the user’s defect, can still return but need to negotiate with the manufacturer. The better quality products are more delicate than others. The main cause of product defects is due to inappropriate storage, handling, or incorrect operation by users.
Sometimes these defects may not exist at shipment but appear later because users do not understand its own use or maintenance method should note carefully followed when using. It must comply with each step operation instruction and maintain your product in good condition after purchase.
Packaging defects
One of the most common types of product defects is packaging defects. This means that one or more aspects of a product’s packaging do not meet certain criteria, whether it be from how it is stored, transported, or opened. It could mean there is something lacking from an informational standpoint; for example, instructions about how to open a container. Or perhaps if there are instructions or a description on its safety and use or list any warnings for use regarding contents inside of it.
Manufacturing defects
At a fundamental level, manufacturing defects are an issue with how a product is created or assembled. These issues can range from minor to severe and will cause problems like decreased performance and aesthetics. Manufacturing defects most often affect products that use many parts or processes to create – for example, anything from cars to airplanes can have manufacturing defects that are discovered in later stages of production.
Labeling defects
if you aren’t sure if something is a labeling defect, it probably isn’t. These are more common and can range from missing/broken packaging to packages that don’t match what they should be holding (for example, a bag of potato chips with a plastic cup inside instead). If you receive an item, but it isn’t what you expected when you purchased it (wrong item or size, for example), that may be considered a content defect.
Documentary defects
These defects include torn labels, missing labels, damaged packages, etc. The product can be easily damaged during transportation and storage. So it is necessary to pay attention to inspection and if possible do pre shipment inspection during packing and transportation. A severe visual inspection will help to find out these defects before shipping to the customer.
To distinguish documentary defects from others, you need a careful physical check by third party inspectionon packaging documents to see if any document is missing or damaged. If yes, we need to find out if it has been caused by production or transportation damage immediately when checking products. In order for us to have enough time to deal with these problems, we may ask the packaging factory to make sure that all documents are available and no one is missing when producing packages for our company’s products in advance.
