How to Control Concession Acceptance: Define Batches, Release Limits and Follow-Up Dates

An incoming material is dimensionally out of specification. Production says the line will stop today without material, quality says assembly is not immediately affected, and procurement says the supplier can improve only the next batch. The factory owner says, ‘Use it for now,’ and production quickly resumes, but the risk moves from incoming inspection to the shop floor.

Concession acceptance is not about turning nonconforming into conforming. It is a limited decision made for specific objects when boundaries are clear, risks are controlled, and responsibilities are defined. The most dangerous is not occasional concession, but an oral agreement being copied to more batches, more products, and over a longer period.

To control this, you don't need to start with complex procedures. First, clearly define the three cards: applicable batches, release limits, and follow-up dates.

Who Is Allowed to Use It Only

First, the applicable batch card should include the supplier batch, internal batch, material code, quantity, work order, and target product. If it is limited to a specific customer, equipment, or process, it should also be locked in.

Concession decisions should not be tied only to material codes. If the same code is automatically inherited in subsequent deliveries, the previous exception may quietly become the default standard. The system should require the next batch to return to normal inspection, not automatically release.

Where Is the Deviation Allowed

Second, the release boundary should first list non-conformities, then explain why they do not affect the current application. Judgments should not rely solely on "it has been used before"; instead, verification must be conducted against assembly, functionality, safety, subsequent processes, and customer requirements.

The NIST Statistical Engineering Handbook reminds us that non-conformance to engineering specifications and inability to achieve intended functionality are not the same concept: products exceeding a particular specification may not necessarily fail, while products within specifications may still fail to meet usage purposes. Therefore, concession decisions must consider both specifications and intended use.

Boundaries should also list prohibited items: which customers cannot use, which processes cannot proceed, and which defects require immediate stoppage. Any position cannot refer to original approval once the boundary is exceeded.

When Must We Close It Up

Third, the tracking period should include the number of valid items, deadline, supplier correction deadline, observation items, and reviewer. It automatically expires upon expiration; if extension is necessary, it must be re-evaluated.

The FDA inspection guide requires that non-conforming products be identified, recorded, evaluated, isolated, and disposed of; concession use must have a basis and be continuously monitored, and should not become a routine practice. For ordinary manufacturing enterprises, this can be converted into a simple rule: exceptions must be able to automatically expire.

Tracking must also apply to finished products: which products used this batch of materials, whether there were any assembly anomalies, and whether customers have special restrictions, all of which must be traceable.

How to Combine Three Cards into One Real Approval

Quality is responsible for deviation judgment, technical confirmation of functional risks, production explanation of delivery impact, and procurement driving supplier correction. It is essential to clearly define authority, responsibilities, benefits, and risks, and not pass the signing pressure to inspectors.

If quality is afraid of doing too much and making too many mistakes, and production only wants to do less and make fewer mistakes, the process will stop at 'This is not my responsibility.' It is necessary to clearly define who accepts the order, who transfers it, who handles it, when it should be escalated, and who has the authority to close it.

Not all factories require the same level of complexity. Small factories can start with a one-page form, medium-sized factories can link to batches and work orders, and mature factories can add customer requirements, risk levels, and expiration warnings.

Factory owners can forward the three cards to the plant manager and quality manager for weekly review: whether the same material is repeatedly accepted with concessions, whether the same cause appears across batches, and whether it is still in use after expiration.

The value of concession acceptance lies in providing production with a controlled exit when necessary, rather than giving nonconforming products a new name. The three cards lock in the subject, boundaries, and time, ensuring exceptions do not gradually erode normal standards.

I am Huang Chaoxing, inventor of the TreeMES stack-light MES system. Follow me for more practical factory-management methods.