Moral Dilemma

The moral dilemma we all face, all the time.

You just measured a "hot" part that everyone has been hounding you to measure. They want to ship it today. Everything is in spec except one feature. It is out by 0.0001in (~3um for you metric folk). You try to re-measure it, but it is what it is. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You know from experience that it has been out of spec even more than that in the past and the customer accepted it, but the work instructions are to document the nonconformity to initiate a day long process that will ultimately end in the part being shipped.

Do you "tweak" the number and go home , or do you stick around a little longer and document the nonconformity and quarantine the part ?

The moral dilemma we all face, all the time.

You just measured a "hot" part that everyone has been hounding you to measure. They want to ship it today. Everything is in spec except one feature. It is out by 0.0001in (~3um for you metric folk). You try to re-measure it, but it is what it is. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You know from experience that it has been out of spec even more than that in the past and the customer accepted it, but the work instructions are to document the nonconformity to initiate a day long process that will ultimately end in the part being shipped.

Do you "tweak" the number and go home , or do you stick around a little longer and document the nonconformity and quarantine the part ?

The moral dilemma we all face, all the time.

You just measured a "hot" part that everyone has been hounding you to measure. They want to ship it today. Everything is in spec except one feature. It is out by 0.0001in (~3um for you metric folk). You try to re-measure it, but it is what it is. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You know from experience that it has been out of spec even more than that in the past and the customer accepted it, but the work instructions are to document the nonconformity to initiate a day long process that will ultimately end in the part being shipped.

Do you "tweak" the number and go home , or do you stick around a little longer and document the nonconformity and quarantine the part ?

For 90% of my parts (given the set of circumstances you described), my company would want me to ship it.

In this situation I would:
-Print the PC DMIS Report & hand write on it that I accept at high limit after verifying with a mic/plate layout
-On my company's inspection paperwork, I would enter the high limit value (over-riding what the CMM got)
-PC DMIS report stays with "Run Folder" for traceability


That said, my company does make Critical Safety Components for aircraft engines. Some parts have diameter & runout tolerances at/around 0.0001" and we have to reject these products for being even slightly OOT (customer will check them just like we do). Fun times

Depending on how critical that feature is. In my world, critical features are controlled by SPC, which are monitored.

Not Critical - PASS
Critical - FAIL

Yeah, SPC does make that a little more difficult. Heck, you don't even have to be out of tolerance for a measurement to be an issue. Cpk can be rough.

Where I'm at now I mostly deal with short run parts and prototypes of aerospace structural components. No SPC here.

The moral dilemma we all face, all the time.

You just measured a "hot" part that everyone has been hounding you to measure. They want to ship it today. Everything is in spec except one feature. It is out by 0.0001in (~3um for you metric folk). You try to re-measure it, but it is what it is. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You know from experience that it has been out of spec even more than that in the past and the customer accepted it, but the work instructions are to document the nonconformity to initiate a day long process that will ultimately end in the part being shipped.

Do you "tweak" the number and go home , or do you stick around a little longer and document the nonconformity and quarantine the part ?

The moral dilemma we all face, all the time.

You just measured a "hot" part that everyone has been hounding you to measure. They want to ship it today. Everything is in spec except one feature. It is out by 0.0001in (~3um for you metric folk). You try to re-measure it, but it is what it is. It's been a long day and you want to go home. You know from experience that it has been out of spec even more than that in the past and the customer accepted it, but the work instructions are to document the nonconformity to initiate a day long process that will ultimately end in the part being shipped.

Do you "tweak" the number and go home , or do you stick around a little longer and document the nonconformity and quarantine the part ?

In my shop, we often use tighter internal tolerances than what the prints call out. It gives us a buffer if there is any variation or tool wear. If it is outside the internal tolerances but within customer print we will ship. If it is outside customer print, upper management gets the report and the decision is all theirs. I just tell em if it's good or bad.