Fastener quality control built into the sourcing process.

Quality is decided at the RFQ, not at receiving.

Checking a finished part can only confirm what was already ordered. If the requirement was ambiguous when the order was placed, inspection at the end cannot recover it. That is why quality control begins with understanding exactly what is being asked for.

The following define the requirement and should be established up front:

Requirements that are unclear or that conflict with each other may need to be resolved before Webson can prepare a reliable quotation or accept an order. Webson raises those questions rather than interpreting them — design intent, tolerances and acceptance criteria remain the responsibility of the customer’s engineering or design authority.

Six controlled steps from RFQ to release.

1. 01

   RFQ and contract review

   Webson reviews the part, quantity, specification, documentation and delivery requirements.

2. 02

   Supplier and source evaluation

   Requirements are placed with an appropriate source based on the product, specification and quality needs.

3. 03

   Purchase-order control

   Applicable customer requirements are communicated through Webson’s purchasing process.

4. 04

   Receiving and documentation review

   Received products and applicable documents are reviewed according to the order and internal procedures.

5. 05

   Identification and traceability control

   Part, lot and source information is maintained when required by the product and purchase order.

6. 06

   Order release

   Product is released for shipment after the applicable receiving, documentation and order requirements have been addressed.

Not every order follows an identical inspection plan. The level of inspection and documentation applied depends on the product and the customer requirements, which is why those requirements are established during review rather than assumed from the part type.

What is reviewed when material arrives.

Receiving inspection is a review against the order and the documentation accompanying the material. Which characteristics apply varies by product and order — the list below is what may be examined, not a fixed checklist applied uniformly.

Additional dimensional inspection, testing or reporting can be evaluated when specifically requested during quotation. Webson does not perform full dimensional inspection of every unit as standard practice, and does not represent itself as an accredited testing laboratory.

Document types and what each establishes.

Not every documentation type accompanies every order. Which apply depends on the component, the specification, the manufacturing source and the accepted purchase-order requirements.

Inspection is not certification.

These four terms are often used interchangeably in RFQs, and they are not the same thing. An order may require one, several or all of them, and asking for the wrong one produces documentation that does not satisfy the requirement.

Identify the exact documentation, inspection and testing requirements with the RFQ and purchase order. Naming the control precisely — a certificate of conformance, a material certification, a dimensional report — is what ensures the right evidence arrives with the material.

Part number, drawing and revision.

Fasteners that look alike can differ in material, strength, finish, dimensions or documentation. The controlled technical information is what distinguishes them, and it has to stay current across repeat orders rather than being carried forward on assumption.

A potential cross-reference is not interchangeable until the customer or applicable design authority has approved it. See sourcing and cross-reference support for how candidates are researched and presented.

A distributor’s quality system is largely about its sources.

A distributor does not make the product, so the substance of its quality system lies in how sources are selected, how requirements reach them and how what comes back is verified.

Sources hold their own certifications and approvals, which are not necessarily the same as Webson’s. Where a specification or customer requires a particular source approval, that requirement should be stated with the RFQ so it can be applied in sourcing.

What happens when something does not match.

Discrepancies occur in any supply chain. What distinguishes a controlled process is that they are identified, contained and dispositioned under documented procedures rather than resolved informally.

Webson does not independently approve deviations from a customer drawing or specification — a disposition affecting conformance requires the customer or design authority. No supplier can promise that nonconformances will never occur; what can be provided is a controlled response when they do.

Zero tolerance, applied through provenance.

Webson maintains a zero-tolerance approach to counterfeit parts. The risk is addressed through controlled sourcing, supplier qualification, product identification, traceability review and discrepancy management — suspect material is generally revealed by gaps in provenance rather than by appearance.

No system can completely eliminate counterfeit risk, and Webson does not represent that every product undergoes specialized counterfeit testing. See aerospace traceability and documentation for how traceability requirements are handled on controlled hardware.

A washer and an aerospace bolt are not managed alike.

A standard commercial fastener and an aerospace specification part may require materially different documentation and inspection controls. Applying aerospace-level requirements to commercial hardware adds cost without benefit; applying commercial handling to specification parts fails the requirement.

AS9120B and ISO 9001.

Webson is certified to AS9120B and ISO 9001 for the distribution of fastening products and installation tooling. AS9120B is the aerospace quality-management standard written for distributors, addressing traceability, supplier management, counterfeit-part prevention, product preservation and documentation — the controls that apply to handling and passing on hardware rather than to producing it.

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized quality-management framework underlying it, supporting controlled processes, attention to customer requirements and continual improvement. The certificate itself is the controlling source for scope and validity.

Information required for a quality-controlled RFQ.

Quality requirements belong in the RFQ. Requirements introduced after order placement cannot always be applied to material already in process.

Drawings, specifications, quality clauses, inspection requirements and purchase lists can be attached directly to the request on Webson’s RFQ page.

Quality and documentation questions.

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