First-Off Inspection, First-Article Inspections, and First-Piece inspections are used interchangeably as a concept. The term used often depends on the industry involved, geographic area of the production facility, or sometimes what triggers the test; the remainder of this article treats these terms as a similar enough concept as they end up being configured the same in the system.

The following processes are common with production orders, not assembly orders:

• AS 9100 uses First Article Inspection
• ISO 9001 has no specific term and can use any of them.
• IATF 16949 / PPAP, First Off Inspection and First Article Inspection are typically required when a new part number, or a change in supplier, or engineering specification changes.

These processes are created with automated triggers with a Quality Inspection Test Generation Rule, and there is often a template specific to that first article/piece/first item/lot produced.

Initial Production

Initial Production inspections are similar to First-Off and First-Article but different in the kinds of tests performed and the volume of data monitored. They are similar processes as both intend to catch early-stage quality control checks and catch problems before full production proceeds. However, Initial Production Checks are often tied to early production volume and might even be the same as an AQL sampling plan for lot quantity produce; First-Off inspections validate the process setup and first output, while Initial Production Checks validate ongoing production quality on an early sample.

First-Off/First-Article

First-Off/First-Article is used when the first part, or first batch, is produced either for the first run of a production order, but it can also occur after equipment, tools, or when the specification changes. There could also be other requirements such as the manufacturing facility itself has changed, the part has not been produced for a long time, or it is based on the demand of a customer. These tests are performed on the Finished good after the final production step is finished; however, in some industries, it can refer to the first batch as it flows through a specific work center or machine center, which could be an intermediate step or indifferent to the production order itself.

Whether it means “one discrete unit” or “the first batch” depends on the machines and tools used but involves the lowest quantity capable of being produced by the machine/work center. At one customer site it might mean 1 item, and at another customer site it might mean the first 10 items (because the machine produces items in batches of 10).

First article inspections usually are associated with quality inspection templates that compare against technical specifications of the designed product itself and are often a requirement for suppliers.

Quality Inspector as a First Article Inspection report (FAIR Form 3)

Quality Inspector as a First Article Inspection report (FAIR Form 3) you can use to help with the reporting requirements for First-Off in the context of being a supplier to a set of engineering technical specifications. For more information, see First Article Inspection Report (FAIR Form 3).

This report references back to an engineering drawing and has a specification for callouts/balloons/bubbles/characteristic no. The FAIR Form 3 report is mandatory in some industries such as Aerospace and Defense.

Create a Quality Inspection Template compatible with a First Article Inspection

Creating a Quality Inspection Template that is compatible with a First Article Inspection requires changing the “Template Type” to “Balloon / Bubble”.

This will enable the “Balloon No.”/”Characteristic No.” to be visible.

All other criteria is the same as any other quality inspection template or test generation rule.

How First Off, First-Article, and First-Piece differ from other Quality Inspection processes

Initial production checks are also sometimes known as First Off in some industries. However, first off checks the first item/first batch, and initial production checks a percentage of items produced.

Practical Considerations where First-Off, First-Article, and First-Piece differ from other Quality Inspection processes in terms of configuring Quality Inspector:

• Depending on the process, in some very rigid industries, this might also block additional output until the first-off article passes. Although rare, you can do this with configuration by introducing additional pass or fail grades. You can block output at the grade level, and this would be blocked for in-progress and fail grades but has a consequence of requiring specific grades for first-off. You may end up with different pass and fail grades with different copy configurations, resulting in the first-off/first-article inspections with manual grades.
• Initial production checks may have rules that filter on the “Posted Output Quantity” from the production order routing line:
  • For example, to have the test triggered only for the first 5 that are output, the condition filter for a first-off/initial production template could be “WHERE(Posted Output Quantity=FILTER(<5))”. This only triggers the test when the output quantity is <=5, but not automatically create a test after that.
  • If items are being produced serially (with or without serial numbers, but in increments of 1), you could use where “WHERE(Posted Output Quantity=FILTER(0))” when used with automatic posting.
• You can manually trigger some First-Off inspections. For example, when an engineering change only affects documentation or work instructions, not routings or BOMs. In these cases, Business Central data does not provide an automated trigger, so human initiation is required.
• First Article Inspections often use the template type “Balloon / Bubble” and require additional informational data to be configured on the template for where the specification maps to on the engineering drawing.
• The engineering drawing itself is also often attached to the Quality Inspection Template, and  usually references the same characteristic numbers referenced on the quality inspection type.
• These tests are typically the first “finished goods” part from the last operation; these are not typically in-process inspections from intermediate steps.
• The kinds of measurements collected:
  • Visual inspections.
  • Dimensional verification against a specification.
  • Occasionally functional testing.
  • Often requires references to an engineering drawing and having the measurement associated with a balloon/bubble/callout/characteristic reference on the engineering drawing.
•  Photos with attachments are often expected. You can use the Business Central phone/tablet app to take pictures, or you can upload images as attachments.
• First Article results are often auditable. Ensure the permissions configured on the Quality Inspectors and Quality Inspection Permissions do not allow inspectors to delete finished tests.

•  There could be multiple levels of sign-off. This is most easily accomplished with lookup fields to an employee table, or the quality inspectors table. Most reports will use contact information associated with it in the sample reports. The “SystemCreatedAt” and “SystemCreatedOn” help track who actually entered the sign-off data.