Pilot & First Production Inspections
What Is Pilot or First Production Inspection?
A Pilot Production Inspection also called First Article Inspection (FAI), Pre-Production Inspection, or Trial Run Validation is performed on your initial small batch — typically 50-200 units or 5-10% of total order — before mass production begins. Instead of assuming your pilot batch represents what mass production will deliver, we verify quality, materials, and process stability when corrections are still quick and affordable.
QCI.Asia provides pilot and first production inspection services across Vietnam, China, Thailand, and the Philippines, following AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit) standards with structured defect classification.
Planning your first production run? Use our free AQL calculator to determine proper sample sizes and acceptance criteria.
When You Need Pilot or First Production Inspection
Key scenarios for pre-production validation:
- New product launches – First-time manufacturing of your design requires process validation
- New suppliers or factories – Verify capabilities before committing to large production runs
- Tooling or material changes – Confirm modifications don’t affect quality or consistency
- High-precision products – Safety-critical or complex items need 100% validation before scaling
Tight launch deadlines – Can’t afford to discover problems after mass production starts
New Product Introduction (NPI) Expertise
Our Technical Managers bring automotive and precision manufacturing experience where first article inspections are critical. We understand tooling validation, process capability assessment, and catching design issues that only emerge during first production runs.
Tooling and Process Validation
Beyond product inspection, we assess manufacturing setup, fixture accuracy, and operator training to ensure your pilot batch truly represents scalable production capability.
100% Pilot Batch Verification
Unlike routine production sampling, we often inspect every unit in your pilot batch, documenting patterns that predict mass production quality and building comprehensive acceptance criteria.
Design-to-Manufacturing Translation
Our inspectors identify gaps between design intent and manufacturing reality, catching issues like tolerance stack-up problems, assembly sequence conflicts, and material specification mismatches before they become expensive production problems.
Our Professional Pilot Inspection Service covers: Material verification, dimensional accuracy, functional testing, process capability assessment, tooling validation, and packaging prototype review. We recommend scheduling when your first batch (50+ units) is complete but before mass production scaling begins.
Coverage: Vietnam (same-day), China (48-72 hours), Thailand & Philippines (24-48 hours). Reports delivered within 24 hours.
