Write-up
The standard
The goal is that someone can work it just by reading what I wrote: locations, sizes, references.
That means every nonconformance I write has the same bones. The characteristic and where it lives on the print. The requirement, nominal and tolerance, as printed. The method and the gage, with the gage ID and its calibration due date. The actual readings, to the print's decimals, never rounded. Where on the part. How many pieces, which lot, how many sampled. Where the material is now and how it's tagged. What I recommend. Who I am and when I wrote it.
What it doesn't have is my opinion about why. Cause is the QE's call and the supplier's problem. If I speculate, someone downstream inherits my guess as a lead. I write what I measured and where I put the parts.
Worked example
Illustrative. The part, the lot, the gage IDs, and the readings are invented. The structure is exactly how I write them.
Print excerpt, characteristics table
| Char. | Feature | Requirement | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Bore diameter | Ø.5000 +.0005 / -.0000 | Bore gage |
| 6 | Slot width | .2500 ± .0010 | Gage blocks / pin |
| 7 | Slot depth | .3750 +.0000 / -.0030 | Depth micrometer |
| 8 | Fillet radius, slot floor | R.0300 ± .0050 | Radius gage, 10x |
Nonconformance record
- Part
- Bracket, sensor mount, P/N EX-1042, Rev C
- Rev matters more than P/N. A QE checking whether the requirement changed needs it first.
- Characteristic
- Char. 7, slot depth, sheet 1, zone C4
- The number and the zone. Nobody should have to hunt the print to find what I'm talking about.
- Requirement
- .3750 +.0000 / -.0030, min .3720
- Written as printed, then the limit I'm calling against, so the reader doesn't have to do the math to check me.
- Method and gage
- Depth micrometer DM-0117, 0 to 1", .0001 resolution, cal due 2026-11-30
- Gage ID means the reading is traceable. Cal date means nobody has to ask whether the gage was in date before they trust the number.
- Readings
- .3712, .3714, .3711 at three points along slot length
- To the print's decimals. Three readings so the QE can see spread, not just a single number I could have flubbed.
- Location
- Full slot length, shallowest at the end nearest datum B
- Tells the QE whether it's a uniform miss or a taper, which changes what they'll ask the supplier.
- Quantity and lot
- 6 of 6 sampled nonconforming, lot L-26-0912, 24 pieces received, full lot held
- Sample result and lot size together. "Six bad" means nothing without "of six sampled, from twenty-four."
- Segregation
- Red-tagged, MRB cage shelf 3, MES status set to Hold, NC number logged on the tag and the traveler
- Where the parts physically are and what the system says. Both, because I've had those disagree.
- Recommendation
- Hold pending MRB review. No cause stated.
- I recommend, I don't disposition. Cause isn't mine to assign.
- Inspector, date
- J. Gray, 2026-09-12
- So the QE knows who to ask, in the rare case they need to.