Criteria Are Not Decisions
Every factory has acceptance criteria. Very few have a decision table. The difference shows up at the loading dock, when a lot sits exactly on the boundary and two people with the same data reach opposite conclusions. Criteria describe what good looks like; a decision table states what happens next. Without the second, the first is a preference.
A workable table has four columns: the defect or attribute, the class it belongs to, the threshold at which the lot fails, and the action that follows. Once those are fixed, inspection becomes arithmetic rather than negotiation, and a buyer can audit a rejection six months later without relying on anyone's memory.
Classify Defects Before You Count Them
Classification is the step that most templates skip, and it is the step that determines whether the counts mean anything. A missing tooth and a faint chalk mark are not the same event, and treating both as "defects" produces a table that rejects good lots and passes bad ones.
- Critical. Creates an unsafe condition or breaches a regulation: detached teeth that can be swallowed, nickel release above the limit, needle fragments. Any occurrence fails the lot.
- Major. Makes the product unusable or unsaleable: slider that will not lock, chain separation under normal pull, length outside tolerance, wrong colour beyond the agreed limit.
- Minor. Affects appearance or efficiency without preventing sale: tape bow slightly over limit, loose thread, label misalignment within the visible area.
- Observation. Recorded but never counted: a trend worth watching, such as rising cycle-test failures across lots.
Decision Table Template
LOT: one dye lot / one tape batch / max 20,000 pcs
SAMPLE: 80 pcs, random, ISO 2859-1 level II, normal
DEFECT CLASS ACCEPT REJECT ACTION ON REJECT
Critical 0 pcs >= 1 pc Stop. Quarantine lot.
Notify Seller within
24 h. Root cause
report in 5 days.
Major <= 2 pcs >= 3 pcs Reject lot. Seller may
sort 100% at own cost
and resubmit once.
Minor <= 5 pcs >= 6 pcs Reject lot or accept
with 3% credit, at
Buyer's sole option.
Functional 0 pcs >= 1 pc Reject. No sorting
failure allowed; remake.
Colour DE <= 1.0 DE > 1.0 Reject. Redye or
replace at Seller cost.
DECISION OWNER: Buyer QC manager
APPEAL WINDOW : 2 working days after written notice
FINAL ARBITER : independent lab, both parties bound
Reading the Table Under Pressure
The table only works if the count is taken before anyone knows the outcome. Draw the sample at random, inspect without knowing which carton came from which line, and record each defect on a form that mirrors the table's classes. Where a defect could fall into two classes, the table should say which prevails; the usual rule is that the more severe class wins, and the choice is recorded rather than argued.
Resist the temptation to add a discretionary column. A category called "acceptable with comment" quietly converts a decision table back into an opinion, and it will be used every time a shipment is late and the retail floor is waiting.
Escalation, Retest and the Appeal Path
- Inspector records the count and photographs each defect class on a single sheet with the lot number visible.
- Buyer issues written notice within 24 hours for critical defects and 3 working days for major or minor.
- Seller may appeal within 2 working days, stating which count it disputes and why.
- Disputed lots go to a named third-party laboratory; the losing party pays the fee.
- Re-inspection uses a doubled sample. Both results must pass for the lot to be accepted.
- Two consecutive rejections on the same article trigger a supplier review, not another retest.
Each step needs a named owner and a clock. An appeal path without deadlines is a way of deferring the decision until the buyer gives up, which is exactly what a well-drafted table is supposed to prevent.
Keep the Table Alive
Review the thresholds once a year and after every field failure. If a defect class never triggers a rejection across a year of lots, either the process is excellent or the class is set too loose; the data will tell you which. Donglong reviews acceptance thresholds with each major customer at the start of every season, because a table that was right for a workwear programme is rarely right for a lightweight fashion line.
The table should also be versioned. When a threshold changes, the change needs a date, a reason and a signature, otherwise the old copy in a factory drawer will eventually be used to justify a shipment nobody wants.
Worked Example: A Borderline Lot
A shipment of 18,000 size 5 zips arrives in nine cartons. The inspector draws 80 pieces and finds one slider that fails to lock and four tapes with visible bowing. Under the table, a single functional failure rejects the lot outright, whatever the minor count says. The seller disputes the classification, arguing that the slider was damaged in transit. The appeal window is two working days, so the decision is made on Thursday rather than three weeks later, and the disputed piece goes to a named laboratory. The laboratory confirms a moulding defect, the seller sorts the lot at its own cost, and eighty-one pieces are replaced. The whole sequence takes nine days, because every step had a clock and an owner.
A Note on Use
This template is general commercial reference, not legal advice, and the numeric limits are illustrative. AQL values, defect definitions and appeal procedures must be adapted to your product, your market's regulations and your contract. Have the final wording reviewed by qualified counsel and by the technical team that will run the inspection.