Conducting remote product inspections can be challenging for business leaders and staff if they’re lacking time, budget or resources. Helping organizations verify their suppliers produce high-quality products is one of NTS Unitek’s specialties. We reduce your supply chain risk by offering a range of product verification options, including source inspection services. The benefits of source inspection are many and can help you improve the management of your sourcing operations.
Source inspections are the first step in ensuring quality control across a diverse supply chain. In the aerospace and defense industries, source inspection services are essential to maintaining regulatory compliance, avoiding the use of counterfeit parts and running a leaner, more profitable business in general.
NTS Unitek provides local technical specialists to perform source inspections and assist suppliers in identifying and preventing nonconforming product. As a result, our customers realize significant benefits — including improved quality, improved sourcing operations and significant cost reductions (i.e., reduced travel and other overhead expenses, as well as mitigated risk).
What Is a Source Inspection?
Source inspection is a quality control tool used by organizations to check the conformity of a product or assembly before it’s shipped to the purchaser. With use of a source inspection, you can prevent issues later in the value stream by making sure product is conformal at the supplier. Excellent product quality is one of the most important parts of a robust supplier and customer relationship which continues at each step along the supply chain.
A source inspection report may verify many different factors, such as compliance with engineering drawings and conformity to the necessary specifications. This verification is especially important for aerospace, defense and other quality critical industries.
What Is the Procedure for a Source Inspection?
To initiate a source inspection, customers typically make a request for the type of inspection they need along with specifics of the inspection activity such as frequency, duration, supplier name, location and commodity being produced. Then, Unitek performs the inspection with an approved quality professional on-site to verify a range of attributes including: labeling, features and dimensional characteristics, surface finishes, documentation and absence of Foreign Object Debris (FOD). This procedure is designed to help streamline quality control and improve product flow between suppliers and customers.
Well implemented quality programs often include an inspection checklist to document the results of the inspection activity. To facilitate the inspection request, Unitek has developed the secure online portal called Launchpad. Inspection scheduling and subsequent inspection results are captured here. Customers have 24-7 access to know the real time status of their parts in the part acceptance process.
What Are the Benefits of a Source Inspection?
The main advantage of of performing source inspection is that it helps ensure that every product meets the customers requirements before it goes out the door. Source inspections maximize productivity so that companies can reduce costly errors and improve relationships with their partners.
At NTS Unitek, we care about creating value for our customers customers by improving quality in the supply chain. Source inspections make this possible by helping you make the most of every resource at each step of the value stream process.
Other benefits of source inspections include:
- Improved ability to produce parts on a short lead time — an increasingly critical factor in an industry where the “just in time” delivery model is the new standard.
- Increased clarity about how your products appear to their end users — and the unique value proposition they offer. Without regular source inspections, you may lose perspective on the nature of your product and risk losing business to more proactive competitors.
- Greater, quantifiable insights into the inner workings of your production processes. Source inspections provide business intelligence that can be used to streamline your operation and build a leaner, more profitable business from the supplier level up.
- Reduced liability thanks to more thorough reporting and a more transparent supply chain. With the risk of an expensive and reputation-damaging recall minimized, your organization is better protected against fines and other potential penalties.
- Decrease in expenses due to product noncompliance, warranty returns and other issues. Source inspections confirm that your product is built to the desired specifications and that it will deliver the performance your end users require of it well into the future.
The ability to explore new business opportunities without straining your organization. Source inspections are part of the continuous improvement cycle. As a result, NTS Unitek’s auditing services will position your organization to grow in a more sustainable manner. Realizing the above benefits requires working with a knowledgeable, reliable source inspection auditing company that understands your industry and your business. That’s where NTS Unitek comes in.
Our Services
NTS Unitek provides a wide variety of Supply Chain Quality Services for organizations that are looking to improve their quality programs. Our source inspections are conducted by experienced, skilled professionals who have passion for quality. We’ll take care of the full inspection process so you can focus on your operational goals and core competencies.
We have experience inspecting all types of products for aerospace and defense organizations. Our services allow customers to identify and manage risks earlier in the production cycle. Unitek is proud to have supported our customers for over 45 years.
Contact NTS Unitek to Get Started Today
NTS Unitek has been providing source inspections and related services since 1973. The excellence of our global team distinguishes us from our competitors. We believe that just as a quality product begins at the source, quality auditing begins with well-trained inspectors. Our technical specialists have an average of 20 years’ experience in their respective fields, and our talent pool includes aerospace engineers and other subject matter experts.
Get started by using the contact form on this page to request a consultation at your convenience. You’ll see immediately why we’ve earned a reputation as one of the most reliable source inspection auditing companies today.
