WI-610 Nonconforming Material Tagging and Quarantine

Revision D · Effective 2026-03-02

1 Purpose

This instruction tells every employee and contractor what to do when they find material, parts or assemblies that are nonconforming or suspect, so that the material cannot be used or shipped by mistake. Disposition of nonconforming material is governed by QP-7.5.

2 Scope

Applies to raw material, purchased parts, work in process, finished goods and customer-supplied property anywhere in the Wichita plant, including receiving (Bay 1), machining, assembly, final inspection and the shipping dock.

3 Definitions

Red HOLD tag (F-750-04): the red tag that identifies material as nonconforming or suspect and not to be used.
MRB cage: the locked quarantine area in Bay 3. The key is held by Quality.
Suspect material: material whose conformance is unknown, for example parts produced since the last good in-process check (WI-120).

4 Responsibilities

Anyone who finds nonconforming or suspect material: stops, tags, segregates and notifies their lead and Quality.
Shift lead: ensures the material reaches the MRB cage on time.
Quality (Quality Engineer, Quality Technician, Final Inspector or Quality Manager): enters or confirms the NCR, controls the cage, and is the only function that may remove a red tag.

5 Procedure

5.1 Tag immediately

Stop work on the affected material.
Attach a red HOLD tag (F-750-04) immediately, to the part itself or to its container if parts are small. Complete every field: part number, job number, quantity, operation, description of the problem, your name, date and time.
If you are unsure whether something is nonconforming, tag it. A tag that turns out to be unnecessary costs minutes; a missed nonconformance can reach a customer.

5.2 Segregate and move to the MRB cage

Move tagged material to the red-lined hold shelf in your area until it can be moved to the cage.
Tagged material must be in the MRB cage in Bay 3 within 4 hours or by end of shift, whichever is first.
Quality unlocks the cage, logs the material in the cage log (date, job, quantity, NCR number) and locks the cage again.
Material too large to move is tagged in place and roped off with red barrier tape. Quality records the location in the cage log and on the NCR.

5.3 Enter the NCR

A Nonconformance Report (F-750-01) is entered in the ERP the same shift the material is tagged. Production may start the NCR; Quality completes and confirms it.
Write the NCR number on the red tag.
Attach at least one photo of the nonconformance to the NCR, as required by QP-7.5.

5.4 Removing tags and releasing material

Only Quality may remove a red HOLD tag. Anyone else who removes, covers or ignores a red tag must report it to Quality immediately.
Material leaves the cage only after the MRB disposition is recorded on F-750-02 (QP-7.5). Use-as-is and repair dispositions also need an approved F-750-03 Customer Deviation Request before the part ships.
Rework and repair parts travel with the NCR number written on the traveler.
Scrapped material is marked "SCRAP" with a paint pen and physically defaced (cut, drilled or crushed) before it goes to the scrap bin, so it cannot be mistaken for good product.
Return-to-supplier material is packed and shipped by Shipping with a copy of the NCR; Supplier Quality issues a SCAR (F-740-03) when required.

5.5 Escapes

If you learn that nonconforming product may have already shipped, tell the Quality Manager immediately. Customer notification for escapes is handled by the Quality Manager per QP-7.5.

6 Records

Red tags removed at disposition are attached to the NCR record. NCRs, MRB records and the cage log are quality records retained 10 years from creation (QP-4.2).

7 Revision history

Rev	Date	Change	Approved by
B	2019-05-06	MRB cage moved to Bay 3	Ruth Okafor
C	2023-08-14	Aligned with QP-7.5 rev C; 4-hour / end-of-shift move to cage	Ruth Okafor
D	2026-03-02	Aligned with QP-7.5 rev D: photo of nonconformance attached to the NCR; NCR number written on red tag	Ruth Okafor