An incoming inspection checklist is the record of what a factory checked before accepting a shipment of parts or raw material from a supplier. Once a bad lot is in stores it gets mixed with good stock, built into assemblies and shipped — and every step makes it more expensive to find. This checklist looks at the shipment as it arrives, matches the packing slip and certificates to the order and the lot, counts and identifies the parts, records the sampling plan you followed, checks appearance and key dimensions, and ends with a clear decision: accept, accept on a deviation, quarantine or reject. If the supplier owes a corrective action, that is raised here too. You can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Paperwork first: does the lot prove what it is?
Before opening a box, compare the packing slip with the purchase order — part number, revision, quantity, unit of measure. Then look for the documents the order asked for. A certificate of conformance says the supplier made the parts to your requirements; a material test report or mill certificate gives the actual chemistry and properties for a specific heat or batch; special processes such as heat treatment or plating often have their own certificates.
Check that each certificate names the same lot, heat or batch as the parts in front of you. A certificate for a different heat is not a certificate for this material, however official it looks.
Sampling: record the plan, not just the result
Few receiving departments check every piece. Most follow a sampling plan — often an AQL table that sets the sample size and the number of defects allowed from the lot size and an inspection level, sometimes a fixed number from the control plan, sometimes reduced or skip-lot inspection for a supplier with a strong record. The checklist asks you to type the plan and level you used, the sample size, the accept number and how many defectives you found.
It does not work out the sample size for you. That depends on which table and which level your plant has agreed with its customers, and a form that guesses is worse than one that asks.
Accept, deviate, quarantine or reject
Four outcomes cover nearly every receipt. Accept and release to stores. Accept on a deviation, where engineering or the customer has agreed in writing to use parts that miss a requirement. Quarantine, where the lot is tagged and held in a marked area until someone with the authority decides. Reject, either returning the lot to the supplier or having it sorted or reworked at their cost.
Anything other than a clean accept should be tagged and physically separated, and the checklist asks exactly that. A rejected or quarantined lot appears as a finding in the summary, with its photos.
Returns and outside repairs
Customer returns and items coming back from an outside repairer go through the same dock but carry different questions. Is the return authorization number on the outside? Do the serial numbers match the paperwork? Is there damage nobody reported? Did the repairer send a record of what they did, which parts they replaced, and whether it passed test or was judged beyond repair? Choose the receipt type at the top and those checks appear.
Speak while you walk, and the document writes itself: say "packing slip says five hundred, counted four hundred and eighty, cert is for the wrong heat" and the checks fill in.
Common questions
What is incoming inspection?
The check a manufacturer makes on parts and raw material received from suppliers before they are accepted into stores or used on the line. It usually covers the shipment's condition, the paperwork and certificates, quantity and identity, and a sample of the parts checked visually and dimensionally against the drawing.
What documents should come with an incoming shipment?
At least a packing slip. Depending on the purchase order: a certificate of conformance, material test reports or mill certificates for the heat or batch, certificates for special processes, restricted-substance or origin declarations, and for a new part or revision, a first article report or other approval.
How do I decide the sample size?
Use the sampling plan your plant follows — commonly an AQL table, which sets the sample size and the accept and reject numbers from the lot size and inspection level. Record the plan and level on the checklist so anyone reading the report knows what the result means.
What is a supplier corrective action request?
A formal request asking the supplier to contain the problem, find its root cause and fix it so it does not happen again, usually with a reply date. It is normally raised for a rejected lot, a repeat problem or a missing or wrong certificate.
What should happen to a quarantined lot?
It should be tagged, moved to a marked hold area or locked cage, and kept out of the inventory system as usable stock until someone with authority decides to accept, deviate, sort, rework or return it.
Can I follow up on a rejected lot later?
Yes. In the ReportWalk app, start a re-inspection from this receipt and every failed check comes back as its own card, asking whether it has been resolved, with a photo. Re-inspections are free.