Non-Conformance (NCR) - Manufacturing

Overview

A Non-Conformance Report (NCR) is created whenever a lot fails to meet quality requirements — whether from a rejected Quality Checklist, a warehouse receiving discrepancy, a manufacturing defect found by an operator, or a customer complaint. The NCR system enforces a structured six-stage workflow that ensures every defective lot is analysed, dispositioned, and corrected before it is closed.

Six-Stage Workflow

Open → Assigned → Analysis → Disposition → Approved → Closed. The "Advance" button moves an NCR to its next stage. Only a quality manager can close.

Root Cause (6M)

Categorise the root cause using the standard 6M framework: Material, Machine, Method, Man, Measurement, or Environment. Add a free-text description.

Disposition Decision

Choose how the affected lot is handled: Scrap, Rework, Repair, Use As-Is, or Return to Supplier. Each decision carries different downstream implications.

CAPA Action Items

Add corrective and preventive action items directly on the NCR, each with a description, assigned-to person, due date, and status (Pending / In Progress / Completed).

NCR Lifecycle

Open → Assigned → Analysis → Disposition → Approved → Closed

Stage	Badge	Responsible	Key Action
Open	Open	Inspector / System	NCR created; affected lot is identified
Assigned	Assigned	Quality Engineer	NCR assigned to an engineer for investigation
Analysis	Analysis	Quality Engineer	Root cause category and description recorded on Root Cause tab
Disposition	Disposition	Quality Engineer	Lot disposition selected (Scrap / Rework / etc.) on Disposition tab
Approved	Approved	Quality Manager	Disposition is formally approved; CAPA items may be in progress
Closed	Closed	Quality Manager	All CAPA items verified complete; NCR closed with timestamp

Creating an NCR

NCRs can be created manually or originate from a rejected checklist.

Manual Creation

Open Quality Operations → Non-Conformance.
Click Create NCR. A modal appears.
Enter the Product Name, Lot Number, Severity, and Qty Affected.
Write a clear Defect Description — be specific about what failed and where it was detected.
Optionally enter the Assigned To name — the quality engineer or team member responsible for investigating and closing the NCR. This field is displayed in the NCR's Info tab and is visible to all team members.
Click Save. The NCR receives an auto-generated number (e.g. NCR-2025-007) and opens at the Open stage. The Created By field is automatically populated with the logged-in user's identity — no manual entry required.

From a Rejected Checklist

When a Quality Checklist is submitted and the decision is Reject, create the NCR from the Non-Conformance screen referencing the checklist lot number and linking the source to Quality Checklist. The product and lot data can be copied directly from the checklist record.

Defect Description Quality

A good defect description answers: What is wrong, where on the part, how many pieces, and how it was detected. Example: "Thickness 9.2 mm on 12 of 80 sampled pieces (min spec 10.0 mm) — detected by final inspection micrometer check."

Severity Levels

Severity	Meaning	Typical Response Time
Critical	Safety or regulatory risk — immediate containment required	Same day
Major	Functional defect — customer will notice if shipped	Within 48 hours
Minor	Cosmetic or marginal defect — low customer impact	Within 5 business days

Disposition Options

Decision	Meaning	Downstream Action
Scrap	Parts cannot be used or reworked — destroy	Remove quantity from Warehouse stock
Rework	Parts can be brought into spec through additional processing	Create a rework Work Order in Manufacturing
Repair	Cosmetic fix outside normal routing	Manual repair job; re-inspect after
Use As-Is	Non-conformance is acceptable for this use case — requires manager approval	Document concession; release to next operation
Return to Supplier	Incoming material fails supplier specification	Raise a purchase return in the Procurement module

Root Cause Analysis — 6M Categories

The Root Cause tab offers six Ishikawa (fishbone) categories. Select the one that best fits the identified root cause, then write a detailed description:

Category	Examples
Material	Substandard raw material, wrong grade, supplier lot variation
Machine	Tool wear, calibration drift, fixture misalignment, spindle runout
Method	Incorrect work instruction revision, skipped process step, wrong feed rate
Man	Operator error, insufficient training, shift handover communication failure
Measurement	Gauge out of calibration, wrong measurement technique, data entry error
Environment	Temperature/humidity outside spec, contamination, vibration from adjacent equipment

CAPA — Corrective & Preventive Actions

The CAPA tab lists action items assigned to individuals to prevent recurrence. Each item has:

Description — what needs to be done.
Assigned To — person responsible.
Due Date — deadline for completion.
Status — Pending / In Progress / Completed.

Click Add Action to append a new item. Changes are auto-saved after each field edit. All CAPA items should reach Completed status before the NCR is closed.

CAPA vs. Root Cause

Root cause explains why the defect happened. CAPA is the plan to prevent it from happening again. Both are required for a meaningful NCR — an NCR without CAPA actions is unlikely to drive lasting improvement.

History Tab — Audit Timeline

Every NCR includes a History tab that displays a reverse-chronological timeline of all key events:

Created — when the NCR was first opened and by whom
Root Cause Saved — when root cause analysis was completed
Disposition Approved — when the quality decision was approved
Closed — when the NCR was formally resolved

Events are sorted newest-first. The timeline provides a complete audit trail for regulatory compliance, customer audits, and internal quality reviews.

AI Assistant

Non-Conformance includes a right-edge AI Assistant panel that reviews your current NCR list — number, product, lot, severity, status, quantity affected, source, assignee, and whether root cause / disposition / CAPA are recorded — and answers natural-language questions about it.

Aging & Bottleneck Review

Flags NCRs stuck in one status for a long time, or open critical/major NCRs with no assignee.

Root-Cause Gaps

Flags NCRs past the analysis stage that still have no root cause recorded.

CAPA Follow-Through

Flags NCRs with open CAPA actions and no completed ones, or a disposition set with zero CAPAs defined.

Severity & Source Trends

Summarizes which products, lots, or sources are generating the most critical/major NCRs.

Save Assistant Answers as Reports

Any assistant response can be saved directly to My Reports with one click, so an aging review or CAPA follow-up summary doesn't have to be re-generated later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I filter NCRs by severity or date range?

Yes. The filter bar in the NCR list offers Quick Filter tabs for Open / Closed status, and severity pills for Critical / Major / Minor. Combine them with the text search to narrow the list. Date-range filtering is available by sorting the list by the Created column.

Who can advance an NCR to Closed?

Any user can advance an NCR through the earlier stages. The Advance button at the top-right of the detail panel steps the NCR to its next stage. In a production deployment, role-based access control (RBAC) would restrict the Approved → Closed transition to the quality manager role.

What happens if I select "Return to Supplier" as the disposition?

The disposition is recorded on the NCR. In the full ERP integration, this triggers a purchase return document in the Procurement module referencing the supplier lot number. The NCR remains open until the quality manager closes it after confirming the return was processed.

Does the NCR number auto-increment?

Yes. The system generates the next NCR number by reading the highest existing number in the store and incrementing by one, in the format NCR-YYYY-NNN. This ensures numbers are always unique and in sequence, regardless of how many NCRs are created concurrently.