In this guide 6 sections
The four point system gives each visible defect one to four points by its length, then converts the roll total to points per hundred square yards. The buyer’s limit sets the grade. Keep the sheet with the roll number so anyone reviewing a later claim can compare the cloth, the inspector and that limit with the record.
How a defect earns its points
The inspector runs the roll over a lit frame at steady speed and marks each defect, and flaw length sets the score, from one point to four. Width does not matter.
Holes score four points whatever their size, and only the worst defects in a yard are scored, so a slubby stretch never passes four points per yard. Each yard is scored once.
A fast pass hides small flaws, and a slow one finds every slub, so fix the speed in the buyer’s method and write it on the sheet.
- Small flaw, one point
- Medium flaw, two points
- Large flaw, three points
- Longest flaw or any hole, four points
From total points to points per hundred square yards
Add the points on the roll, divide by the inspected square yards and multiply by one hundred, which puts a short roll and a long roll on one scale. Use the real width.
Measure between the selvedges rather than trusting the label, because a roll sold as fifty-eight inch that measures fifty-six inch understates the area and flatters the score. Write down both widths.
Keep the raw total beside the final figure so a reviewer can redo the sum and see which defect pushed the grade over the limit. Sums slip by hand.
Where the grade comes from
The buyer’s specification sets the pass limit, and many programmes reject a roll above a stated points figure, some also rejecting any roll with a single four point defect. The contract decides, not the standard.
So record the limit beside the result, because a roll graded against one buyer’s limit may fail another’s, which means grade follows the order and not the cloth alone. Some buyers accept second grade at a lower rate, others return the whole roll, and the order should say which applies before the first parcel ships.
Settle that before shipping.
What the inspection sheet must carry
One page per roll names the roll, lot, inspector, machine, inspection speed, inspected length and width, defect positions with sizes, total points and the grade given. Add a shade reading and a hand-feel note if the buyer asks, since a sheet without a roll number cannot be matched to a parcel after dispatch.
Claims turn into arguments. Name the inspector.
Initials are not enough, because a claim months later needs a person who remembers the frame, the lighting and the speed used that day.
Keeping the result with the roll
Print the grade and points on the roll ticket, sew in a defect flag where the cutters will see it, and store the sheet against the roll number. Claims then close faster.
Scan each sheet at the frame, name the file with the roll number and store it where the dispatch clerk can reach it without asking the quality office. When a buyer disputes a parcel, open the roll, read the points and compare them with the buyer’s sheet before anyone argues about the cloth or the lighting.
Next step: take one week of rolls and check that every sheet turns up by roll number within a minute, because slow retrieval costs you the claim.
Four point inspection sheet
A single page that opens with a block for roll, lot, buyer, width and inspection speed, followed by a table of defect position, size band and points. The footer shows total points, points per hundred square yards, the buyer’s limit, the grade given, the inspector’s signature and the date the sheet was checked.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the four point system apply to knits and wovens?
Yes, it is used on both. Some buyers set different limits for knits than for wovens, so follow the method named in your order before the first roll goes on the frame.
Who sets the acceptable score?
The buyer sets it. The limit sits in the purchase order or quality manual, and the method itself only supplies the way to count points on each roll.
How long should inspection records be kept?
Keep them for the whole of the buyer’s claim window and no shorter, so ask the buyer for that period in writing. Hold every sheet until it closes.
Can the score be done on screen?
Yes. The inspector enters each defect on a tablet at the frame and the total computes itself, which removes sums done by hand at the end of a shift.