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Method guide · Quality management

What is an NCR? Non-conformance report meaning, fields and process

Short answer

NCR stands for non-conformance report, also written nonconformance report or non-conformity report. It is a record that a product, material or process did not meet its requirement. It says what was found and how much is affected, how it was contained and what was decided for the parts. Serious or repeated problems then go to a corrective action to remove the cause. The NCR Corporation, which makes point-of-sale and ATM systems, is unrelated.

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NCR meaning

NCR is short for non-conformance report. Because the word is spelled several ways, you will also see nonconformance report, non conformance report, nonconformity report and the letters spaced out as n c r. In some plants a report about bought-in material is called an NCMR, a nonconforming material report. They all point at the same thing: a written record that something did not meet its requirement.

"Conformance" means meeting a stated requirement, such as a drawing tolerance, a specification, a contract term or a written procedure. A non-conformance is any case where the product, the material or the process missed it. The NCR is how you capture that fact before it gets lost in conversation.

What an NCR is used for

  • A quality record. It shows an auditor, a customer or a colleague that the problem was seen, written down and dealt with.
  • Containment. It names the suspect parts, says where else to look and holds them back until someone with authority decides.
  • Disposition. It records the decision on the parts: use as is, rework, repair, return to the supplier or scrap. When several functions need to agree, a material review board makes this decision.
  • A link to corrective action. When the cause is systemic or the defect repeats, the NCR starts a CAPA so the cause is removed.

When to raise an NCR

Raise one whenever a part, material, product or process fails a requirement and you cannot simply fix it on the spot. Typical triggers are:

  • At receiving: a delivery fails its incoming inspection.
  • In process: an operator or an inspector finds a defect that cannot be corrected at the station.
  • At final inspection: a finished lot fails the check before it ships.
  • From a customer: a return or a complaint shows a product did not meet its requirement.
  • From an audit: an internal or external audit finds a process step that does not follow the procedure.
  • On a construction site: finished work does not match the specification or drawing.

Many plants set a rule for the small stuff. A defect found and fixed at the station, within the operator's authority, may only need a note on the check sheet. The NCR is for anything that needs containment, a decision or a cause.

What goes on an NCR

There is no universal standard form. The fields below are the ones on LeanSuite's own free NCR form template, which runs to two pages. Other forms group them differently.

Fields on the NCR form template
FieldWhat to write
Part, revision and lotPart number and name, revision, lot or serial numbers.
QuantitiesHow many were checked and how many were bad.
Where foundReceiving, in process, final inspection, customer or audit.
RequirementThe drawing or specification, with the limit.
What was foundThe measured value or the defect, with photos or readings.
SeverityCritical, major or minor, by your own definitions.
ContainmentWhere suspect parts were checked, how many were bad and how they were identified.
DispositionUse as is, rework, scrap, return to the supplier or other, with the approvals.
Root causeWhy it happened and why it was not caught.
Corrective actionWhether a CAPA is needed, and its reference.
CostOptional: scrap, rework and other costs.
ClosureThe date, the person, and the check that the parts were dealt with.

Fields from the template at /templates/ncr-form-template, not a universal standard.

The most common weakness is a vague description. "Bad parts" tells nobody anything. Write the requirement, the measured value and how many, so a stranger could understand the problem without calling you.

Severity: critical, major and minor

Many quality systems rank each NCR so the serious ones get attention first. A common scheme has three classes. The definitions vary by company, product and standard, so use the table as a pattern and write your own.

A typical severity scheme
ClassTypical meaningTypical response
CriticalCould affect safety, break a legal or regulatory requirement, or make the product unusable.Alert Quality and Engineering at once. Stop shipping and contain wide.
MajorLikely to affect function or fail a customer requirement, but not a safety risk.Contain, decide disposition promptly and consider a corrective action.
MinorA departure that does not change function or a customer requirement.Record, decide disposition and watch for repeats.

A common three-class scheme. Your own definitions come first.

The NCR process in six steps

  1. 1

    Detect

    Someone sees the problem. In most plants anyone can raise an NCR, because the person closest to the work usually sees it first.

  2. 2

    Contain

    Tag the suspect parts and move them to hold. Then look wider: stock, work in progress, parts in transit and anything already at the customer.

  3. 3

    Document

    Fill in the part, lot, quantities, requirement, what was found and the severity. Attach photos and readings.

  4. 4

    Decide the disposition

    Choose use as is, rework, repair, scrap or return, with the approvals your rules require. Use as is needs a recorded concession, and sometimes the customer's approval. The material review board guide explains who decides and how.

  5. 5

    Find the root cause

    Ask why it happened and why it was not caught. A one-off, contained problem can close with the NCR. A repeat or a systemic cause needs a corrective action. Root cause analysis covers the methods.

  6. 6

    Verify and close

    Close the NCR only when the parts are dealt with and the action is checked. Closing too early is how the same defect returns.

NCR, CAPA, 8D, deviation and SCAR

How the terms differ
TermWhat it is
NCRThe record of the problem and its containment, with a decision on the parts.
CAPAThe work to find and remove the cause of a problem, so it does not happen again.
8DA structured, eight-step way to run a CAPA, from containment to prevention.
DeviationPermission, given in advance, to depart from a requirement for a defined quantity or time.
SCARA supplier corrective action request: a CAPA sent to a supplier whose material caused the problem.

Plain-language summaries. Companies use the words slightly differently.

The short version: the NCR records and contains the problem, and the CAPA removes the cause. See the CAPA, 8D and SCAR glossary entries, or the best CAPA software comparison if you are choosing a system.

NCR in construction

In construction, an NCR records work that does not match the specification, the drawings or the agreed method. A site inspector, a clerk of works or the client's representative usually raises it, and it is addressed to the contractor responsible, who is expected to respond with a correction. Typical examples are concrete that missed its strength requirement, a component installed in the wrong place and materials that were not the ones specified.

The core logic is the same as in a factory. The problem is recorded, the affected work is identified, a decision is made (accept with a concession, repair, redo) and the cause is addressed. What differs is who is involved: three parties, contractor, inspector and client, with the contract deciding who can approve a concession. The work is also fixed in place, so containment means stopping the next stage until the NCR is resolved. LeanSuite is built for manufacturing plants and does not offer a construction product. The form template is a starting point, not a construction standard.

Which standards ask for it

Most quality management standards expect a plant to identify and control nonconforming output so it is not used or delivered by mistake. ISO 9001, the general standard, has a requirement on the control of nonconforming outputs, clause 8.7 in the 2015 edition. Sector standards built on it, such as AS9100 for aerospace and ISO 13485 for medical devices, carry the same expectation with their own additions, and medical device manufacturers selling in the United States also deal with the FDA's quality system rules. This page names these standards without quoting them, because the exact wording and numbering depend on the edition, so check the current text of the standard that applies to you.

None of them prescribe a form. They expect that nonconforming output is identified, controlled, and dealt with in a documented way, with the records kept. An NCR is the usual way to meet that.

NCR examples

Both examples are made up for this page. They are illustrative, not from a real plant.

Example 1: a stamped bracket at final inspection

  • Requirement: a stamped bracket with a hole position within 0.30 mm of the drawing. Found: the hole 0.45 to 0.60 mm off on 12 of 30 brackets checked. Severity: major.
  • Containment: the bracket bin at the press, the next two stations and the packed pallets were checked, and more were found off position. None had shipped. All were tagged and moved to the hold area.
  • Disposition: scrap, because the hole cannot be moved. Engineering confirmed that a rework drill was not an approved repair. The count and the cost were logged on the NCR.
  • Cause: a locating pin in the die had worn. A CAPA added the pin to the die's preventive maintenance list.

Example 2: a bought-in coating at receiving

  • Requirement: coating thickness within the range on the purchase specification. Found: a sample from each of five pallets below the minimum. Severity: major.
  • Containment: the delivery was held at receiving. The previous delivery was checked in stock, and the parts in production that used it were tagged.
  • Disposition: return to the supplier. The supplier was sent a supplier corrective action request with the readings and photos.
  • Cause: found in the supplier's response, a worn spray nozzle. The NCR closed when the replacement lot passed incoming inspection.

NCR tools: spreadsheet, form or software

A paper or spreadsheet NCR is enough at low volume. If a handful of people raise a few NCRs a month and one person tracks them, a form and a log work. The free NCR form template includes both, a two-page form and an Excel log with status, days open and counts by disposition.

Software starts to help when many people raise NCRs, when routing matters, when the cost has to be tracked and when the corrective action should not live in a separate email thread. Look for fast capture on the floor, routing by severity, containment tracking, a link to root cause work and a record an auditor can follow. The comparison of root cause analysis software and the CAPA software comparison list options.

LeanSuite's non-conformance management works this way. An operator scans a QR code and the form opens with the machine, line and shift filled in. Critical NCRs alert Quality and Engineering at once. Containment is assigned and tracked, and supplier defects can start a supplier corrective action request with photo evidence. Escalation rules turn systemic NCRs into an 8D or DMAIC project, and scrap, rework and expedite costs are logged against each NCR. The fix goes out as a required one-point lesson, and the NCR cannot close until the training is acknowledged. If the same defect code returns, earlier closures are flagged. See also quality tags, the corrective action log, supplier quality and cost of poor quality, or book a demo.

LeanSuite can act as the shop-floor layer next to your quality system. It does not have to replace it.

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FAQ

Questions about what is an NCR?

  1. NCR stands for non-conformance report, also written nonconformance report or non-conformity report. It is a record that a product, material or process did not meet its requirement. The NCR Corporation, which makes point-of-sale and ATM systems, is an unrelated company.

  2. An NCR records and contains the problem and decides what happens to the parts. A CAPA, a corrective and preventive action, removes the cause so the problem does not return. A one-off, contained problem can close with its NCR. A systemic or repeated one escalates to a CAPA.

  3. In most plants anyone who finds the problem can raise one, since the person closest to the work usually sees it first. Approving the disposition is normally limited to authorized roles such as quality and engineering. This is common practice, and your own procedure sets the rule.

  4. The part, revision and lot, the quantities checked and bad, the requirement next to what was found, the severity, the containment, the disposition with approvals, the root cause, the corrective action and the closure. Photos or readings should be attached. A free NCR form template with these fields is available on this site.

  5. Only after the parts are dealt with and the action is verified. Closing early is how the same defect returns. In LeanSuite the NCR cannot close until the operators confirm they have read and acknowledged the training that goes with the fix.

  6. NCMR stands for nonconforming material report. It is the name some plants use for an NCR about material, usually bought-in material that failed incoming inspection. It follows the same steps as an NCR: containment, disposition, and a supplier corrective action when the supplier is responsible.

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