In this guide 6 sections
Most rejections are paperwork, not bad parts. The ballooned drawing differs from the released revision, a material or process certificate is missing, or a characteristic has no measured value. Link the FAI to the drawing, heat lot and inspection data. That stops all three.
The rejection is usually a paperwork mismatch
A customer quality engineer checks one thing. Does every record agree with every other record? A perfect part still bounces. A rejection letter that cites only a form number tells you little, so ask the engineer to name the balloon or certificate that failed before you rework anything.
Read the rejection note closely. Phrases like revision mismatch, characteristic not accounted for or certificate not traceable point to the record set, not the metal.
Sort your last rejections into buckets. Patterns appear quickly. Three rejections for missing process certificates point at your outsourcing step, while repeated balloon gaps point at how the form is built from the drawing.
Ballooned drawing and form do not match
Each balloon needs its own form row. A missed balloon on a note, a thread callout or a surface finish symbol is the classic miss, and a reviewer hunting for gaps checks those first. Name gauges, CMM programs and calibration dates. A customer reading the report cross-checks each row against the drawing notes, the revision block and the purchase order, so a vague entry invites a query.
Late revisions make it worse. Someone adds a new tolerance on Rev D, but the form still carries Rev C values, and the reviewer spots the gap in seconds.
Generate the form rows from the ballooned drawing, not by retyping, so a new revision shows exactly which rows change and which stay. Keep the ballooned drawing as a PDF with its revision stamped on every sheet, or the reviewer has no proof of the release you used.
- Every balloon has a form row, including notes
- Tolerance on form equals tolerance on drawing
- Measured value recorded, not just pass
- Gauge or CMM program named for each row
Certificates are missing or cannot be tied to the part
The material certificate must name the same specification and condition the drawing calls for, and carry the heat or lot number found on the part or its tag. Each special process needs its own certificate: anodise, passivation, heat treat, plating and NDT all count, and each carries a specification revision.
A frequent gap is the processor’s certificate arriving after the report was assembled, so the report goes out incomplete and returns with a hold.
Do not close an FAI until each outsourced step has a certificate attached, and checked against the purchase order for specification, type and class. An anodise certificate for Type II when the drawing calls for Type III is a rejection no measurement can fix, however good the part looks.
- Mill cert specification and temper match the drawing
- Heat or lot number matches the traveller
- Each special process certificate attached
- Processor approval status current for that customer
Stale revisions and missing signatures
Forms on an old template are another favourite, since customers update their report format and expect the current one at the next submission.
Signatures and dates matter too. The inspector, the reviewer and sometimes the supplier’s approving authority must sign after the data is final, not before a late correction. Dates trip people up. Check them.
Keep one released template, retire the old file the day the new one arrives, and ask the buyer to confirm the version when each purchase order is issued. Then you are not guessing.
Build the check into the job, not the day before shipping
Build the FAI alongside the first piece. Measurements go into the form from the inspection step, certificates attach when the supplier’s paperwork arrives, and the inspector saves readings into the characteristic row. Nobody retypes from scrap paper.
Hold a short internal review before sending. A second person walks the balloons against the form row by row, holding the released drawing, and confirms every certificate and signature too. Reviews catch what authors miss. That beats a rejection and a long delay.
Tomorrow, take the last rejected report. Trace each finding back to its cause.
FAI pre-submission review sheet
This review sheet has three blocks. Block one lists the drawing number, revision, purchase order and part serial, so the reviewer starts from the right release. Block two is a table of checks: balloons against form rows, tolerances against drawing, measured values present, material certificate, each special process certificate, template version. Each row has initials and date. Block three holds findings and signature.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What does an FAI report normally contain?
Typically three forms: part number accountability, material and special process records, and characteristic accountability with measured values, though your customer’s flow-down may add its own requirements.
Do we repeat an FAI after a drawing revision?
Often yes, at least partly, when the change affects form, fit, function or the process, but the customer’s requirements decide, so ask before assuming a partial report will pass.
Who should review an FAI before it goes out?
Someone who did not build it. A fresh reader catches balloon gaps and missing certificates because they follow the paperwork, not the memory of the job.