Who Needs to Test?

When you buy a component or module to incorporate into one of your products, do you assume that it will work when it comes in the door?

Yes but on critical components I check it out......and have found issues.

Do you trust the vendor to have already performed any necessary test and repair?

Ussually dropped shipped, unless assemble was required at the vendors.....such as gear boxes

Do you test it in your own facility or send it for third-party analysis?

Only when calibration is needed.

How many times during manufacturing do you test?What criteria do you use do determine when to test? Do you test your final product? Are you testing for the same defects more than once, thereby decreasing throughput and increasing costs? Why? At what point do you feel relatively secure that your finished product will work as advertised free of defects and other sources of customer dissatisfaction?

Who's paying for all of this?????? is usaully the deciding factor

For aviation components the supplier must provide certification of the part.

Typically, the final assembly with that component and others is then tested to insure they meet QC spec.

And so on down the line...

with tracibilty, its the retesting to comform the comformation of the original certified specification that I question.