When a non-conformance is initiated from a FactoryLogix process flow (either production or receiving), much of the information needed to document the non-conformance is provided automatically by association.
If a non-conformance is initiated from a production process, the production unit that failed is associated automatically with the non-conformance as the primary related unit. However, when analysis is completed, you may determine that the failure is actually caused by a defect of one or more sub-assemblies in the primary unit. For this reason, it is possible for more than one production unit to be related to a non-conformance. There will always be one primary unit associated with a non-conformance, but there may also be one or more secondary units associated with a non-conformance.
When the cause of a failure is traced back to a sub-assembly, it is likely that the defective sub-assembly will be replaced with a good one during the repair process. If the non-conformance was linked only to the primary (root) unit, the relationship to the defective sub-assembly will be lost once it is replaced. For this reason, it is important to maintain these secondary relationships. Even if the sub-assembly is replaced, the original (defective) sub-assembly will still be associated with the non-conformance.
In addition to direct relationships between production units and non-conformances, it is also necessary to maintain relationships between particular test symptoms (failed tests, for example) and defects for a given non-conformance. Because a single production unit may be associated with more than one non-conformance over the course of its life, it is possible that different symptoms and defects associated to that production unit will be related to different non-conformances.
The following illustration shows the relationships that can exist between production units and non-conformances.
