QP-7.7 Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Prevention

Revision C · Effective 2025-01-13

1 Purpose

This procedure prevents foreign objects from entering, or remaining in, parts and assemblies delivered to customers. Aerospace and defense customers treat FOD in delivered hardware as a serious escape.

2 Scope

Applies to everyone working in or visiting the production floor, with additional controls in the FOD-critical areas: Bay 6 (mechanical assembly) and Bay 7 (final inspection and packaging).

3 Definitions

FOD - foreign object debris: any substance or article alien to the product, such as chips, burrs, swarf, hardware, wire clippings, tape, tool fragments or personal items.
FOD-critical area - an area where product is open, assembled or packaged and where FOD could be sealed in. Bays 6 and 7 are FOD-critical areas.
Shadow board - a tool board with an outline cut or drawn for each tool so a missing tool is visible at a glance.
FOD Finding Log - F-770-01.

4 Responsibilities

Quality Manager - owns this procedure and reviews FOD findings monthly.
Production Manager - ensures shadow boards, tool control and housekeeping are maintained in all bays.
Area leads (Bays 6 and 7) - perform the daily FOD walk and keep the F-770-01 log.
Everyone - follows the rules in section 5 and reports FOD or a missing item immediately.

5 Procedure

5.1 FOD-critical area boundaries

The boundaries of Bays 6 and 7 are marked on the floor with yellow-and-black striped tape and posted with "FOD CRITICAL AREA" signs at each entrance. Inside the boundary:

no food, drink, gum or tobacco;
no loose jewelry, badges on clips, or items in shirt pockets;
pens and markers must be capped and kept on the bench, not behind the ear;
only tools needed for the current job are brought in;
packaging and tape scraps go into covered bins, emptied at the end of each shift.

Visitors and contractors entering Bays 6 and 7 are briefed on these rules by the area lead and remain escorted unless they have completed FOD awareness training.

5.2 Tool control

Tools in Bays 6 and 7 are kept on shadow boards and marked with the bench number.
The operator checks the shadow board at the start and end of each shift and when finishing each assembly.
Consumable items with FOD risk (safety wire, cotter pins, small hardware) are issued in counted quantities, and the count is reconciled at the end of the job.
Broken tools are kept, with all pieces, and shown to the area lead so the pieces can be accounted for.

5.3 Missing tool or item

If a tool, piece of hardware or tool fragment is missing:

Stop work at the affected bench and do not close, cap or package any product.
Notify the area lead, who leads a search of the bench, floor and any open product.
If the item is not found within 1 hour, the area lead notifies the Production Manager and the Quality Manager. All product handled at that bench since the last good shadow-board check is placed on hold per WI-610 until it has been inspected or X-rayed as directed by Quality.
The event is recorded on F-770-01 whether or not the item is found.

5.4 Daily FOD walk

At the start of 1st shift (6:00), the Bay 6 and Bay 7 area leads perform a FOD walk of their bays: floors, benches, fixtures, carts and packaging stations. Findings are removed, and each finding is recorded on the F-770-01 log with the date, location, item and action taken. If no FOD is found, the lead records "walk complete, nil found". 2nd shift leads perform a housekeeping check before the end of shift but are not required to log a full walk.

5.5 Product protection

Machined parts are blown off and cleaned before entering Bay 6. Open ports, bores and threaded holes are protected with caps or plugs when the part is not being worked. In Bay 7, parts are inspected for FOD at final inspection (see WI-410) and packaged per WI-520 immediately after acceptance.

5.6 Trend review and training

The Quality Manager reviews the F-770-01 logs monthly. Three or more findings of the same type in a month, or any FOD found in product at final inspection or by a customer, results in a CAR per QP-8.5. FOD found by a customer is also an escape under QP-7.5. FOD awareness training is completed annually by all employees, and by contractors who work on the production floor, per QP-6.2.

6 Records

FOD Finding Logs (F-770-01) are quality records retained 10 years from creation per QP-4.2.

7 Revision history

Rev	Date	Change	Approved by
A	2020-02-03	Initial release.	Ruth Okafor
B	2022-09-12	Added Bay 7 as FOD-critical area; added shadow boards.	Ruth Okafor
C	2025-01-13	Added yellow/black floor tape boundaries; daily FOD walk at start of 1st shift logged on F-770-01; 1-hour escalation for missing items; annual FOD training for all employees.	Ruth Okafor