Skip lot testing is a quality control approach that selectively skips testing certain lots or batches according to predefined rules, while still performing targeted tests to maintain assurance. This reduces inspection effort and cost without sacrificing quality.

In Quality Inspector, skip lot behavior is controlled by configurable rules that determine when an automated test is created or skipped. Manually created tests are not affected by these rules, allowing ad hoc or audit testing whenever needed.

Configure Skip Lot rules

Step 1: Configure Skip Lot Rule 

Navigate to the Skip Lot Rules page and select “New” in the action bar. In the newly opened Skip Lot Rule card page, enter the following information:

• Code: Enter a unique identifier for your rule (“10-20” for test 10, skip 20)
• Description: Provide a clear description (“Test 10 lots, skip 20 lots”)
• Count By: Define how items are counted for skip lot tracking. Count by Occurrence to count each transaction as a count of one. Count by Source Quantity to count by the quantity of the item. Select Custom to define an advanced count by expression.
• Group By: Define how to group skip lot batches. Group by Item to group by the item and item variant. Group by Source Lot No. to group by the item, variant, and lot. Select Custom to define an advanced group by expression.

Step 2: Configure Rule Lines (Skip Lot Sequence)

In the Lines section, define the sequence of actions. Note the first line of a sequence must always be a testing phase. By defining the success line and fail line fields for the rule line, the skip lot sequence is implemented. See the example below:

First Line (Line 10) 

1. Step No.: 10 (automatically assigned)
2. Description: “Testing Phase”
3. Create Threshold: 10 (test first ten lots)
4. Action Type: Test (required for first line)
5. Fail Line No.: 10 (stay on testing step if failures occur)
6. Success Line No.: 20 (where to go after creating tests for ten lots)

Second Line (Line 20) – Skip Phase

1. Line No.: 20 (automatically assigned)
2. Description: “Skip Phase”
3. Count: 20 (skip next twenty lots)
4. Action Type: Skip
5. Success Line No.: 10 (return to testing after skipping twenty lots)

Step 3: Link Skip Lot Rule to Test Generation

1. Navigate to the Generation Rules page.
2. Open the relevant Test Generation Rule for your items/scenarios.
3. In the Skip Lot Rule field, select your newly created skip lot rule.

Step 4: Verify Configuration

By navigating to the Skip Lot Rule States page, information about the progress for each skip lot implementation can be viewed.

The first time a test would be automatically created with the skip lot rule, if no state record exists for the grouping, an entry will be created in the Skip Lot Rule States table.

1. From the Skip Lot Rule page, click Rule States to monitor active groupings, or navigate directly to the Skip Lot Rule States page. You can also navigate to the relevant Skip Lot Rule State from the Related actions menu of a created test.
2. Review current line numbers and counts for each grouping.
3. Rule Code: The skip lot rule code that governs this state tracking.
4. Grouping Key: Unique identifier combining values from the rule’s Group By expression (e.g., ITEM001).
5. Current Step No.: The skip lot rule step that is currently active.
6. Current Decision: The decision (test or skip) that is currently active.
7. Current Counter: The current success count. This will reset when moving between steps. Pass Counter: The number of tests passed during the current step.
8. Fail Counter: The number of failed tests during the current step.
9. Modified At: When the state was last updated.
10. Last Source Document No.: Document number that last triggered an update to this state.
11. Last Source Line No.: Document line number that last triggered an update to this state.
12. Last Created Test No.: The no. of the last known test created for this state.
13. Last Created Retest No.: The retest no. of the last known test created for this state.
14. Last Finished Test No.: The no. of the last known finished test that influenced the finished counts for this state.
15. Last Finished Retest No.: The retest no. of the last known finished test that influenced the finished counts for this state.

Step 5: Monitor Entries

The Skip Lot Entry table provides a log of every skip lot decision made by the system. Navigate to the Skip Lot Entries page to view the log of all skip lot actions. For further auditability, manual user changes to the skip lot rule state and finished skip lot test pass/fail states are also recorded here.

Example Configurations

Example 1: Simple 1-in-5 Testing

• Group By: [Item No.]
• Count By: [Lot No.]
• Line 10: Test 1 lot → Success to Line 20
• Line 20: Skip 4 lots → Success to Line 10

Example 2: Quantity-Based Testing

• Group By: [Item No.]
• Count By: [Quantity]
• Line 10: Test 100 units → Success to Line 20
• Line 20: Skip 400 units → Success to Line 10

Example 3: 10-10-1 Testing

• Line 10: Test 10 lots → Success to Line 20, Fail to Line 10
• Line 20: Skip 10 lots → Success to Line 30
• Line 30: Test 1 → Success to Line 20, Fail to Line 10

Example 4: Progressive Testing (Tightening)

• Line 10: Test 2 lots → Success to Line 20, Fail to Line 30
• Line 20: Skip 8 lots → Success to Line 10
• Line 30: Test 5 lots (tightened) → Success to Line 20, Fail to Line 30