Skip to content

Free template

Updated

First article inspection (FAI) report template

A first article inspection (FAI) is a full inspection of one part from the first production run, checking every characteristic on the drawing before production goes ahead. It proves the process, tooling and materials can make the part as drawn. This template follows the common structure of an FAI report: part information and the reason for the FAI, then a table of every characteristic with its balloon number, nominal, tolerance, measured result, pass or fail and inspection method, then the material and special process certificates, functional tests and sign-off. The Excel version works out the limits from the nominal and tolerances, flags any value outside them as a fail, and gives an overall result. It is a general template; it does not claim to meet any particular FAI standard, so use your customer's format if they specify one.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the first article inspection reportFields for part number, name, revision, drawing and FAI number, tick boxes for the reason, and a table with columns for balloon number, characteristic, nominal, tolerances, measured result, pass or fail, method, gauge ID and notes.
Part information and reasonBallooned characteristic tableNominal and tolerancesMeasured result, pass or failMethod and gauge IDMaterial and process certificatesResult and sign-off

When to use it

When to use a first article inspection report

  • For a new part, before the first production run is released.
  • After a drawing revision, for the characteristics that changed.
  • When the part moves to a new supplier, site, machine or process, or the tooling changes.
  • After a long gap in production, or when your customer asks for one.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Balloon the drawing

    Number every characteristic on a copy of the drawing: dimensions, tolerances, notes, finishes and materials.

  2. 2

    Fill in the part information

    Part number, name, revision, drawing number, supplier or process, the order and the serial or lot of the part inspected.

  3. 3

    List each characteristic

    One row per balloon: the characteristic, the nominal and the minus and plus tolerance.

  4. 4

    Measure and record

    Measure each characteristic and write the actual result, the method or gauge and the gauge ID. Circle pass or fail.

  5. 5

    Check the certificates

    List each material and special process with its certificate number and check it against the specification on the drawing.

  6. 6

    Decide and sign

    Accept, accept with a deviation, or reject and fix. A reject means a new FAI on a new part after the fix.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: an FAI on a new aluminum housing with 42 ballooned characteristics (illustrative).

The example FAI: one failed characteristic rejects the part

  • Pass: 41 characteristics
  • Fail: 1 characteristic
  1. Balloon 7: bore, over 32.000 mm (limit +0.025)+0.018 mmpass
  2. Balloon 15: flatness (limit 0.05)0.07 mmfail

41 of 42 characteristics passed and 1 failed. Balloon 7, the bore, measured 0.018 millimeters over nominal against an allowance of 0.025: pass. Balloon 15, flatness, measured 0.07 against a limit of 0.05: fail.

An FAI passes only when every characteristic passes, so 41 of 42 is a rejection. A second part was inspected for all 42 after the fixture was changed.
  • Balloon 7: bore diameter 32.000 mm, tolerance −0.000/+0.025. Measured 32.018 on a bore gauge. Pass.
  • Balloon 15: flatness 0.05 mm. Measured 0.07 on the CMM. Fail.
  • Balloon 31: anodize, clear, to the finish specification on the drawing. Certificate checked against the specification. Pass.
  • Result: 41 pass, 1 fail. Rejected: the fixture was clamping the part too hard.

The fixture clamping was changed, a second part was machined and inspected for all 42 characteristics, and that FAI was accepted.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping characteristics

    An FAI covers every characteristic on the drawing, including notes and finishes, not only the dimensions that seem critical.

  • Measuring with the wrong gauge

    The gauge must be able to measure to the tolerance. Record the gauge ID.

  • Not checking certificates

    Material and special process certificates are part of the FAI. Check them against the drawing.

  • A part from a trial setup

    Inspect a part made with the production process, tooling and materials, or the FAI proves nothing.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite quality checks run as digital checklists with number limits, required photos and signatures, and an out-of-spec answer can raise a tag or start a CAPA automatically.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

First article inspection (FAI) report template: common questions

  1. A full inspection of one part from the first production run against every characteristic on the drawing, done before production is released to prove the process can make the part as drawn.

  2. For a new part, after a drawing change, when production moves to a new supplier, site or process, when tooling changes, after a long gap in production, or when the customer asks for one.

  3. A copy of the drawing with a numbered balloon next to each characteristic. The numbers match the rows of the FAI report, so every characteristic is accounted for.

  4. It is not presented as meeting AS9102 or any other standard. It follows the common structure of an FAI report. If your customer specifies a standard or form, use theirs.

  5. The FAI is rejected, or accepted with a deviation if the customer or engineering approves one. After the fix, a new part is made and inspected, at least for the characteristics affected.

More free templates

All templates
Browse all 199 templates

Can't find the template you need?

Tell us what you're looking for. We'll make it and send it to your inbox, free.

A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.

By sending this form you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Pass it on

We want LeanSuite to be the best place on the internet for lean help. If this was useful, send it to someone on your team or in your network who needs it.