Does a quality agreement need the sampling plan in the body?

A: No. Inspection level, sample size and acceptance numbers belong in an annex under ISO 2859-1. The body locks the three criteria, the three AQL values and the disposal routes, so a standard revision only changes the annex.

Does AQL 2.5 permit 2.5% defects?

A: No. It is the batch quality level the supply is designed around, not a per-shipment allowance and not a reason to inspect less. Treating the two as the same starts most disputes.

Why set the critical class at AQL 0?

A: Zero means no unit is acceptable, so a finding quarantines the batch rather than releasing it on a clean sample. A broken latch in the field costs far more than reworking a lot.

Should a supplier accept a concession request?

A: Only for minor findings, and only with all three conditions: 4% discount, written concession, cumulative cap of 3% of annual volume. Critical and major findings have no concession route, and accepting one moves the risk onto the supplier's books.

Once an exemption applies, is the supplier finished?

A: No. The exemption removes quality liability, not the duty to respond: a first assessment in 24 hours, a plan in 48. Agreements that omit this get read as evasion.

Quality Agreement Terms

Quick answer: A quality agreement earns its keep by fixing three defect classes, five exemption triggers and the deadlines that decide who pays for rework.

Three defect classes, written so two inspectors agree
What AQL 0, 1.0 and 2.5 actually commit you to
Three exits for a failed batch
Exemptions: five situations and who proves what
FAQ

1. Three defect classes, written so two inspectors agree

A shipment of 800 cases arrives and three have hairline cracks at the latch root. Whether those count as critical, major or minor decides whether all 800 go back, get sorted, or get accepted at a discount. The document's first job is to replace those three words with criteria an inspector can apply alone.

Critical means the case has lost its protective function or created a safety risk: a broken latch, a hinge that pulls out, a seal-face notch deeper than 0.5 mm. Critical findings are not accepted proportionally. The batch is quarantined and the supplier attends within 48 hours.

Major means function or assembly is affected but repairable: latch closing force outside the 60 N to 90 N band, lid-to-base offset beyond 2 mm, loose handle rivets. Minor covers appearance only: colour shift, flow marks, print offset within 1.5 mm.

Each class carries its own AQL value: 0 critical, 1.0 major, 2.5 minor. Lower is stricter, and 0 means no unit is acceptable, not that a clean sample releases the batch.

Defect class	Example criterion	AQL	Action	Who decides
Critical	Broken latch, hinge pull-out, seal notch over 0.5 mm	0	Quarantine and return, supplier on site in 48 h	Buyer and supplier jointly
Major	Closing force outside 60 N to 90 N, offset over 2 mm	1.0	Sort and pay on good units, or return the batch	Supplier QC, buyer verifies
Minor	Colour shift, flow marks, print offset within 1.5 mm	2.5	Accept at 4% discount, or sort	Buyer incoming inspection
Mixed batch	Critical and minor findings in one lot	Strictest class	Whole lot handled as critical	Buyer quality manager

2. What AQL 0, 1.0 and 2.5 actually commit you to

AQL is an acceptable quality level, not a permitted defect rate. Writing 2.5 against a minor item sets the batch quality the supply is designed around, not a licence to ship 2.5% bad cases, and not a reason to relax inspection.

Quality agreement by batch: black, orange and navy cases on clear acrylic risers, four lids open to show egg-crate and cut foam, ribbed lids closed

Sampling plans, meaning inspection level, sample size and acceptance numbers, belong in an annex under ISO 2859-1, not in the body. The body carries the criteria for each class, the AQL values, and what happens to a failed batch. Numbers hard-coded in the body force an amendment every time a standard is revised.

Switching rules need writing down. Five conforming batches may justify reduced inspection; one critical finding returns the supply to tightened level, and three conforming batches are needed to come back.

3. Three exits for a failed batch

A failed batch has three exits, and each one has to name who pays. Return is the cleanest: rework at the supplier's cost in full, freight shared, delivery dates extended without penalty.

Sorting suits a tight delivery. Full inspection at 38 s a case, charged at 1.8 per case to the supplier, rejects returned with the batch, and the buyer invoiced only on conforming units.

Acceptance with a discount is open to minor findings only: 4% off, a written concession, and cumulative concessions capped at 3% of annual volume. Critical and major findings have no route, and that line should be closed rather than left to goodwill.

Rework cost splits three ways: 100% to the supplier when the criteria were its own and were missed, 100% to the buyer when the criteria came from a drawing it supplied and the drawing was wrong, 50/50 when both contributed. When the split cannot be agreed, a third-party test decides.

4. Exemptions: five situations and who proves what

Exemption clauses are the easiest part of a quality agreement to write as decoration. "The supplier is not liable for problems caused by the customer" cannot be enforced by anyone. Split it into five situations, each with its own evidence.

Quality agreement at the line: black cases stacked on timber pallets under stretch film, workers checking lids at a bench beneath an assembly-group sign

Exemption	Trigger	Evidence required	Outcome
Drawing error	Drawing supplied by the buyer, dimension chain faulty	Buyer's drawing number and revision	Supplier exempt, buyer pays rework
Over-storage	More than 12 months in the buyer's warehouse	Supplier's batch code plus buyer's goods-in record	Distortion and ageing excluded
Off-spec conditions	Outside -20 °C to 60 °C, or prolonged immersion	Service records and site photographs	Failure analysis, third-party split
Unauthorised modification	Buyer drills, adds hardware or swaps foam	Before and after photos, work order	All defects at that area exempt
Force majeure	Disaster, controls, power loss beyond 72 h	Official certificate and outage log	Dates extended, no claims either way

In all five the cause sits with the buyer or outside both parties, which beats ten lines asking for good faith.

Evidence has to run both directions. Claiming over-storage requires the supplier's batch code and the buyer's goods-in record; claiming a drawing error requires the buyer's drawing number and revision. An exemption asserted without documents does not survive a dispute.

Exemption is not silence. Even inside the five situations, the supplier still owes a first assessment within 24 hours and a corrective plan within 48. Leaving that out invites the buyer to read exemption as avoidance.

Conclusion

The value of a quality agreement lies less in length than in three concrete places: criteria, evidence and deadlines. Three defect classes with three AQL values, three exits for a failed batch, and five exemptions each with its own proof give both sides something to argue against rather than around. Written that way, a quality agreement stops being an annex nobody opens.

This article covers case-side specifications only and does not address any handling, loading or use of the contents.

Quality Agreement Terms

Table of contents

1. Three defect classes, written so two inspectors agree

2. What AQL 0, 1.0 and 2.5 actually commit you to

3. Three exits for a failed batch

4. Exemptions: five situations and who proves what

Conclusion

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