Lesson 1 of 5
In-process inspection
10 min
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Inspecting at the end of the line finds defects after all the work and material have gone into them. In-process inspection checks quality while the production order is running, at the operations where problems are cheapest to catch. In SAP S/4HANA it uses inspection type 03 (or a copy) and an inspection lot that belongs to the production order.
- PlanQuality planner adds inspection characteristics to routing operations, with sampling per characteristic
- Create orderThe routing is copied into the production order, characteristics included
- ReleaseWith in-process inspection type active for the material, release creates one inspection lot for the order
- InspectTechnicians record results per characteristic at the inspected operations
- ReactDeviations are flagged; defects can start a production deviation or notification
- DecideUsage decision closes the lot; no stock is posted
How the lot is built
SAP Learning describes the mechanics. When a production order is created, the routing (or master recipe in process industries) is copied into it, with inspection characteristics stored at operation level. When the order is released and an in-process inspection type is active in the material master, the system creates one inspection lot for the whole order. The lot includes only operations that carry characteristics.
| Operation on the CMC-ALT-100 order | Inspection characteristics | Sampling (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| 0010 Stator winding (WIND-10) | Winding resistance | 5 per order |
| 0020 Final assembly (ASSY-10) | None | Not part of the lot |
| 0030 End-of-line test (TEST-10) | Output current at test speed; noise level; visual check | 100% for output current, 10% for noise |
Which operations of a Contoso order are inspected. Values are examples.
Results while the order runs
Technicians record results per characteristic as production proceeds, and the system compares them with the specifications copied into the lot. A rejected characteristic is visible immediately to the quality engineer and the supervisor. What happens next is a process and configuration decision: some plants stop the line and open a quality notification or production deviation; others continue and segregate suspect pieces. Configuration can also link inspection results to confirmations, so check how your routing and order settings treat an operation whose results are missing or rejected.
- Are all results at this operation within specification?Yes → confirm and continue · No → next question
- Is the cause understood and contained?No → stop the operation, record defects, open a notification · Yes → next question
- Can the affected pieces be reworked?Yes → confirm as rework and re-inspect · No → confirm as scrap and record the defect
In-process inspection pays off where defects are expensive to find later or where a test destroys value. For Contoso, measuring output current at the end-of-line test on every alternator is both an inspection and a production step. Recording it as inspection results gives quality engineers a history by order, work center and characteristic, and the characteristic analytics apps can show drift long before a customer complains.
In Contoso’s conversion, the inspection characteristics live on the ECC routings, so they come across with the routings. The test question is whether they still produce a lot: after each mock, release a sample order per inspected product in CMQ and check that exactly one in-process lot appears with the expected operations and sample sizes.
What would you do?
At operation 0030, 12 of 200 alternators fail the output current test. The supervisor asks whether to finish the order and let the usage decision sort it out. What do you advise?
Walkthrough: recording results on the 03 lot
- Release production order 1001200 (500 × CMC-ALT-100). Check the order's inspection lot field, or find the lot in the worklist (
QA32, or the Manage Inspection Lots app) with origin 03. - At operation 0010 (WIND-10), the quality technician records winding resistance for 5 samples in Record Inspection Results (or
QE51N). Values outside the tolerance show as rejected immediately. - At operation 0030 (TEST-10), output current is recorded for every alternator, noise for a 10% sample.
- For a rejected characteristic, the technician records a defect, which can create a quality notification for the cause.
- When the order is finished, the quality engineer makes the usage decision (
QA11, or Manage Usage Decisions). No stock moves; the lot and its results become history.
| What goes wrong in testing | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| No 03 lot at release | Inspection type 03 not active in the material's QM view for plant 1710 |
| Lot created but no characteristics at 0030 | Characteristics on the routing's operation missing after conversion, or task list usage wrong |
| Results can be recorded only after confirmation | Order and routing settings link results and confirmations differently than designed |
| Usage decision blocked | Open characteristics still required; record or close them first |
In-process inspection defects and their usual causes.
- In-process inspection (type 03) creates one lot per production order at release.
- Characteristics sit on routing operations; only those operations are inspected.
- Results are recorded during production; deviations trigger defects and notifications.
- The in-process usage decision posts no stock.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. When is the in-process inspection lot created?
2. How many in-process lots does one production order normally get?
3. What stock does a usage decision on an in-process lot post?
4. Which app or transaction does a technician use to record winding resistance values on the lot?