Recording Defects

In the SAP S/4HANA system, the quality technician records defects during quality inspections to identify and document any discrepancies or faults in the inspected items. This enables appropriate follow-up actions to be taken. From a business perspective, defects provide additional flexibility to a quality inspection process.

When using only an inspection plan with predefined inspection characteristics, the quality technician follows a checklist created by the quality planner. The quality planner documents qualitative and quantitative results, which are later utilized by the quality engineer when making the usage decision. This checklist approach is beneficial for standardized processes like goods receipt inspections. However, relying solely on a predefined checklist does not allow the quality technician to record any additional observations that may be relevant but not covered by the checklist.

This is where defect records come into play. Defect records offer a flexible way for the quality technician to document additional observations that could influence the subsequent usage decision. In summary, defects provide the quality technician with the ability to record and document observations beyond the predefined checklist, allowing for a more comprehensive and flexible quality inspection process.

Consider a simple example: During the goods receipt inspection of purchased LED lamps, the quality technician needs to record inspection results for two characteristics: "Visual inspection: Number of defect items" and "Functional Inspection: Power consumption". They note ten defect items and an average power consumption of 10.5 W. However, when relying solely on inspection characteristics, the quality technician cannot provide further details about the nature of the ten defects. For instance, it is unclear if the defects include scratches, broken glass, or even scattered pieces.

To capture this information, the quality technician creates multiple defect records related to the first inspection characteristic. Additionally, if the quality technician identifies additional errors that are not listed in the inspection results checklist, such as the supplier delivering dirty LED lamps, they can create extra defect records related to the inspection lot. The quality engineer considers all this information when making the usage decision.

Review the following figure for more details:

1. The quality technician begins the defect recording process by accessing the list of inspection lots relevant to their area of responsibility, such as a work center or lab. If they identify any defects or discrepancies during the inspection, they record them in the SAP S/4HANA system as a defect record (step 1).

   A defect record includes details about the defect type (in both free-text and coded form), its severity, quantity affected, attachments, location, and more. Later, when performing a usage decision, the quality engineer reviews the list of defects along with the inspection results. Based on this information, the quality engineer makes a decision for the inspection lot. If there are no defects and all results meet the specified criteria, a positive usage decision is made. Otherwise, a negative usage decision is recorded.

2. All defect records are stored in the SAP S/4HANA database and can be accessed for analysis (step 2) by the quality engineer or other interested parties. For example, if a purchaser wants to know the number and types of defects per material and supplier, the quality engineer can extract this information from the system using predefined analytical apps and share it with their colleague.

3. Defects can also serve as a starting point for deviation management (step 3). Starting from a defect record, the quality technician can define immediate containment actions, such as moving the defective quantity to blocked stock. In more complex cases, a comprehensive defect analysis following the 8D methodology may be triggered.

In this demonstration, the quality technician records defects in the context of a quality inspection to document additional information for a visual inspection. You will see the following steps:

1. Record inspection results for an inspection characteristic
2. Add a defect to the inspection characteristic to document additional details