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FOD walk checklist (foreign object debris)

Foreign object debris (FOD) is any object in or near the product that does not belong there: a rivet, a curl of swarf, a clipping of safety wire, a cap, a rag, a lost tool. Foreign object damage is the harm it does once it gets into an engine, a duct, a bearing or a wiring bundle. A FOD walk is a short, regular walk of a work area to find and remove that debris. It also checks that the habits which keep debris out are in place. In aerospace production the FOD prevention program usually follows AS9146, the SAE and IAQG standard for FOD prevention programs, which some customers now ask for in place of NAS 412, the older Aerospace Industries Association standard. This checklist is written for the production floor, not the flight line. It has 26 checks in six groups (the area and its people, tools, hardware and consumables, protecting and closing out the product, housekeeping, and records), a FOD found log, an area plan that separates FOD critical areas from FOD control areas with a route and frequency for each, and a worked six-week trend. The Excel version keeps the log, counts finds per walk by area and week, and ranks finds by type. It supports your own FOD prevention program; it does not replace one, and using it does not make a site meet AS9146.

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Page 1 of the FOD walk checklistHeader fields for area, route, date and walker, a choice of FOD critical or control area, and the first three groups of checks with OK, Not OK and N/A columns.
26 checks in six groupsOK, Not OK, N/AFOD found logCritical and control areasRoute and frequencyFinds per walk by areaFinds by typeWorked six-week trend
Filled-in FOD walk checklist (foreign object debris): six weeks of walks in three areas
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 5 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to run a FOD walk

  • Every shift in a FOD critical area, where an object could get into the product: at the start of the shift, and again before any space in the product is closed.
  • Daily or weekly in a FOD control area, where objects are made or carried toward critical areas: machining, kitting, stores and tool cribs.
  • After a lost tool or a find inside the product, as a full walk of the area before work goes on.
  • Before a customer visit, a source inspection or an audit, to check that the program works on the floor and not only on paper.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Map the areas

    Mark each area FOD critical or FOD control on a plan of the floor (page 4 of the PDF), with its boundary, its entrances and how often it is walked. Use the names your FOD program uses.

  2. 2

    Set the route

    Walk the same route each time: the product, the stands and the benches first, then the floor, the corners and the doors. The same route makes one week comparable with the next.

  3. 3

    Walk and check

    Mark each of the 26 checks OK, Not OK or N/A. Look under stands, inside open bays with a light, in tool drawers and at the doorways.

  4. 4

    Pick up and log every find

    Bag everything you find, then log each object: what it was, where, who found it, whether it was in or on the product, and what was done.

  5. 5

    Act on the same shift

    Fix a Not OK on the spot where you can. A find in the product becomes a nonconformance, and a missing tool stops work in that area until it is found.

  6. 6

    Trend it every week

    Count finds per walk by area and by type. Go after the source of the biggest type, not only the debris it leaves.

On one walk

A FOD walk, from the doorway to the log

The order this template suggests, so one walk can be compared with the next.

  1. 1At the entranceBoundary, rules posted, pockets, people briefed.
  2. 2Tools and hardwareShadow boards full, kits counted, broken pieces found.
  3. 3The productPorts capped, bays covered, close-outs inspected with a light.
  4. 4Floor and binsStands, benches, corners, doorways and FOD containers.
  5. 5Log and actEvery find logged; a find in the product becomes an NCR.

Two kinds of area

FOD critical area or FOD control area: what changes

Most FOD programs split the floor into at least these two kinds of area. The names and rules come from your own program and your customer; the walk frequencies here are this template's suggestion.

  • What it is

    FOD critical area
    Where an object could get straight into the product: open assemblies, engine and fuel system work, final assembly.
    FOD control area
    Where objects are made or carried toward a critical area: machining, kitting, stores, tool cribs.
  • Entry

    FOD critical area
    Marked boundary, rules posted, visitors briefed; tools and hardware logged in and out.
    FOD control area
    Marked, with the general FOD rules posted.
  • Walk frequency

    FOD critical area
    Every shift, and before any close-out.
    FOD control area
    Daily or weekly, set by risk.
  • Tool control

    FOD critical area
    Shadow boards or kits, counted at the start and end of each task.
    FOD control area
    Shadow boards and a crib, checked each shift.
  • A find means

    FOD critical area
    Log it; a find in the product is a nonconformance.
    FOD control area
    Log it and trace where it came from.

What's on the checklist

The 26 checks on the FOD walk, in six groups

Walk the route with the sheet and mark each check OK, Not OK or N/A. Every Not OK and every object found goes on the FOD found log with where it was, who found it and what was done. Add the checks your FOD prevention program and your customer ask for.

Area, boundaries and people

At the way in

  1. 1The FOD critical area boundary is marked, and the entry rules are posted at every way in
  2. 2Everyone working in the critical area has had FOD awareness training, and visitors are briefed at the entrance
  3. 3Pockets hold no loose items in the critical area; pens, badges, glasses and phones are secured or left outside
  4. 4No food, drink or wrappers in the critical area
  5. 5The findings from the last walk are closed, or each has an owner and a date

Tools and tool control

Every tool in, every tool out

  1. 6Every shadow board in the area is full, or each gap has a check-out tag with a name
  2. 7Tools taken into the critical area are on the tool log or kit list and come back out at the end of the task
  3. 8No personal tools in the critical area, unless your program allows them and they are marked and logged
  4. 9Broken tools, drill bits and blades are accounted for in full, with every piece found
  5. 10A missing tool is reported at once, and work in that area stops until it is found or the person your program names closes the search

Hardware and consumables

Small parts are the usual FOD

  1. 11Loose hardware (rivets, fasteners, washers, nuts) is kitted per job or kept in closed containers, counted where your program asks
  2. 12Dropped or spare hardware goes into the marked container, not a pocket or onto the floor
  3. 13Tape, rags, wire ties, sealant nozzles and similar consumables are collected as they are used, not at the end of the shift
  4. 14Clipped safety wire, cotter pin ends and wire tie tails are caught as they are cut, not left to fall
  5. 15Parts and material for the task are counted in, and what is left is counted out at the end

Product protection and close-out

Nothing gets in, nothing is left in

  1. 16Open ports, ducts, tubes, fittings and connectors are capped or covered when nobody is working on them
  2. 17Caps, plugs and covers taken off are kept together and counted, and none is left inside the product
  3. 18Assemblies and bays not being worked on are covered
  4. 19Before any space in the product is closed, someone inspects inside it with a light and a mirror, then signs and records the close-out
  5. 20Drilling and trimming near the product uses a vacuum or a catch, so chips do not get into it

Housekeeping and FOD containers

The floor, the stands and the bins

  1. 21Floors, stands, benches and work platforms are clear of debris, chips and dropped parts
  2. 22FOD containers are in place, marked, not overflowing and emptied on schedule, and the contents are looked at before they are thrown away
  3. 23Nobody uses shop air to blow chips toward the product or into the next area
  4. 24Doors, openings and the ground just outside them are swept where vehicles and parts come in

Records

Every find counts

  1. 25Every find on this walk is entered on the FOD found log: what, where, who found it and what was done
  2. 26A find in or on the product is raised as a nonconformance, and its source is traced

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: six weeks of FOD walks at an aerostructures plant with three areas, 25 walks a week and 150 in all (illustrative, the same as page 5 of the PDF and the Excel example sheet).

Finds per walk, all areas, over the six example weeks

  • Week 1: 1.12 finds per walk
  • Week 2: 1.04 finds per walk
  • Week 3: 0.88 finds per walk
  • Week 4: 0.60 finds per walk
  • Week 5: 0.48 finds per walk
  • Week 6: 0.44 finds per walk

Finds per walk across 25 walks a week: 1.12, 1.04, 0.88, 0.60, 0.48 and 0.44 in weeks 1 to 6. Hardware was kitted in week 3 and a drill vacuum fitted in week 4.

From 1.12 to 0.44 finds per walk, a drop of 61%. Loose hardware was the biggest type, 41 of 114 finds, so kitting it came first.
  • Final assembly bay (critical, 10 walks a week): 14, 12, 9, 6, 5 and 4 finds, from 1.4 to 0.4 per walk.
  • Sub-assembly (critical, 10 walks a week): 8, 9, 7, 5, 4 and 4 finds, from 0.8 to 0.4 per walk.
  • Machining (control, 5 walks a week): 6, 5, 6, 4, 3 and 3 finds, from 1.2 to 0.6 per walk.
  • By type, loose hardware led with 41 of the 114 finds (36%), then consumables with 29 and chips with 22.
  • Week 3: hardware kitted per job in closed trays in both critical areas. Week 4: a vacuum on the drill at the sub-assembly fixture and a catch bag for safety wire tails.

Finds per walk fell from 28 ÷ 25 = 1.12 in week 1 to 11 ÷ 25 = 0.44 in week 6, a drop of 61%. Machining now has the highest rate, 0.6 per walk, so its chips are the next source to fix.

Common mistakes

  • Picking up without logging

    Debris thrown in the bin is a find nobody can trend. Log every object, small ones too.

  • Walking only before an inspection

    A walk an hour before the customer arrives shows a clean floor and hides the habits. Walk every shift in critical areas.

  • Cleaning, not tracing

    Every find came from somewhere. Trace the top type to its source, such as a kit, a drill or a bin, and fix that.

  • Counting tools only at the end of the shift

    A tool lost at 9 a.m. and missed until 6 p.m. may be behind a closed panel by then. In critical areas, count at the end of each task.

  • Treating the walk as the program

    The walk checks the program. Training, area rules, tool control, kitted hardware and close-out inspections are what keep FOD out.

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FAQ

FOD walk checklist (foreign object debris): common questions

  1. Any object in or near the product that does not belong there, such as hardware, chips, safety wire, caps, rags or tools. Foreign object damage is the harm that debris causes, for example inside an engine or a fuel system.

  2. A short walk of a work area, on a set route and schedule, to find and remove debris and to check the habits that keep it out: tool control, kitted hardware, covered ports and close-out inspections. On a flight line or a ship it is often called a FOD walkdown.

  3. Your FOD program sets it. A common pattern is every shift in FOD critical areas, plus before any close-out, and daily or weekly in FOD control areas. Walk the area again after any lost tool or a find inside the product.

  4. The SAE and IAQG standard that sets the requirements for a FOD prevention program in aviation, space and defense organizations, covering areas such as program management, area designation, training, access and product protection. This checklist supports the checks on the floor; it does not make a site meet AS9146.

  5. A named owner, FOD awareness training, marked critical and control areas, tool and hardware accountability, product protection and close-out inspections, regular FOD walks, a log of finds and a review of the trend. The walk is how you check that the rest works.

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