Guide
What should a non conformance report (NCR) to a machined-parts supplier contain?
A non conformance report is the written record that a part or lot failed a stated requirement: it identifies the part and revision, the lot and quantity affected, the requirement against the value actually found, the evidence, what has been done to contain the suspect parts, and the disposition the buyer is asking for. When a buyer sends one to a machined-parts supplier, it is also the formal start of the supplier’s response, so anything it leaves out has to be chased by email later.
By Saola Manufacturing engineering team · Published · Updated
Most NCR templates are written for a quality department’s internal log. This guide is written for the other direction: an engineer or buyer who has just found a bad feature at receiving inspection and needs to tell the supplier exactly what is wrong, what to do with the parts, and what answer is expected back. It covers the fields, a filled-in example for a bore out of tolerance, the dispositions and who may approve each one, and the point at which an NCR should turn into a material review board decision, a supplier corrective action request (SCAR) or an 8D report.
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What does NCR mean in quality, and how is it different from a SCAR or an 8D?
In quality, NCR stands for non conformance report: a record that one product or lot did not meet a requirement, together with the decision on what happens to it. A SCAR or an 8D asks a different question, namely why the process produced the defect and how it will be stopped.
The vocabulary comes from ISO 9000:2015, which defines a nonconformity simply as the non-fulfilment of a requirement. That definition matters for an NCR, because the requirement has to be something written down: a drawing dimension, a note, a material specification, a purchase order clause. “Looks rough” is not a nonconformity unless the drawing or an agreed cosmetic standard says what smooth enough means.
The same vocabulary separates a correction, which deals with the parts already made, from a corrective action, which removes the cause so the problem does not recur. An NCR is mostly about the correction: contain, sort, decide. It may request a corrective action, but the root-cause work itself belongs in a SCAR or an 8D report. Keeping the two apart stops the NCR from stalling while a root cause is argued over, and stops a quick sort-and-ship from being treated as the fix.
“Nonconforming material report” (NCMR) and “discrepancy report” are common names for the same document. Some companies use NCR for internal findings and a separate supplier NCR form for parts bought in; the content below applies to either.
What fields should an NCR to a machined-parts supplier contain?
An NCR to a supplier needs six blocks: identification, the requirement against the measured value, evidence, containment, the requested disposition, and the response the buyer expects. If any block is missing, the supplier cannot reproduce the finding or act on it.
The table lists each field, why the supplier needs it, and the requirement in the quality management standard it supports. The most common gap is the requirement itself: an NCR that says “bore oversize” without the balloon number, the tolerance and the drawing revision forces the supplier to guess which feature and which version of the drawing you mean.
| Block | Fields | Why the supplier needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | NCR number, date found, where found (receiving, assembly, field), finder, purchase order and line, part number, drawing revision | Ties the finding to one order and one drawing revision; clause 8.7.2 asks for a record describing the nonconformity |
| Lot and quantity | Supplier lot or date code, material heat number, quantity received, quantity inspected, quantity nonconforming | Lets the supplier trace the lot back to a machine, a program revision and a shift, and size the suspect population |
| Requirement vs. found | Balloon number, characteristic, nominal and limits as drawn, measured values, measurement method and gauge | Defines the nonconformity as a requirement not fulfilled, in the ISO 9000:2015 sense, and lets the supplier repeat the measurement |
| Evidence | Photos, gauge or CMM printout, sample parts held or returned, link to the receiving inspection record | Settles disputes over method before they start |
| Containment | Where the buyer has quarantined stock, what is in transit, what the supplier must check in its own stock and work in progress | Clause 8.7.1 lists segregation, containment, return or suspension as ways of dealing with nonconforming outputs |
| Requested disposition | Return for replacement, rework, repair, use as is, or scrap, plus who has approved it | Clause 8.7.2 asks for a record of the action taken, any concessions obtained, and the authority that decided |
| Response required | Containment confirmation, replacement plan, whether a SCAR or 8D is required, reply date, buyer contact | Turns the report into a request with an owner and a deadline |
What does a complete NCR look like for a bore out of tolerance?
A complete NCR for an oversize bore names the balloon, the H7 limits as drawn, every measured value with the gauge used, the sorted count, and a disposition that recognizes an oversize bore cannot be reworked back into tolerance. The illustrative example below shows each field filled in.
The part is a milled aluminum housing with a bearing bore toleranced H7. The bore limits come from the hole tolerance tables in ISO 286-2; the part number, quantities and readings are invented for the example, not taken from a real lot.
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| NCR number and date | NCR-2026-014, found October 2026 at receiving inspection |
| Part and revision | Housing, P/N HSG-1042, drawing rev C, PO 55210 line 2 |
| Lot and quantity | Supplier lot 26-0917; 200 pcs received, 32 pcs sampled, then 200 pcs sorted; 41 pcs nonconforming |
| Requirement | Balloon 14: bearing bore Ø12 H7, limits 12.000 to 12.018 mm |
| Found | 41 pcs at 12.021 to 12.031 mm; remaining 159 pcs within limits |
| Method | Two-point bore gauge set on a ring gauge, three depths per bore, readings attached; two parts confirmed on CMM |
| Evidence | Readings file, photos of tags, five nonconforming parts held as samples |
| Containment | 41 pcs tagged red and quarantined; 159 pcs released after 100% check; supplier to check stock on hand and in transit |
| Disposition requested | Return 41 pcs for replacement; rework not possible (oversize); use as is rejected by design engineering |
| Response required | Containment confirmation and replacement plan by the date stated; SCAR issued because the same feature failed on the previous lot |
Three details make this NCR usable. The requirement is copied from the drawing, not paraphrased. The measurement method is stated, because a two-point bore gauge, an air gauge and a CMM fitting a least-squares circle can give different answers on the same bore if it is out of round, and the supplier needs to know which one to repeat. And the sort result is reported as counts, so the supplier can see that the problem is a portion of the lot rather than every part, which points the root-cause search toward something that changed during the run, such as a worn boring insert or a tool offset.
An undersize bore would change the disposition. Metal can still be removed from an undersize bore, so rework back into tolerance is a real option there; for an oversize bore it is not, and the realistic choices are replacement, scrap, a use-as-is concession, or a repair such as a sleeve that only the design authority can approve. The guide to H7 holes: drilled, reamed or bored covers how these bores are made and checked.
Which disposition should the NCR request, and who decides each one?
Return, rework and scrap leave the design untouched, so purchasing and quality can usually decide them; use as is and repair accept a part that does not meet the drawing, so they need the design authority to sign. The NCR should name the disposition and the person who approved it.
The definitions behind the table are the ISO 9000:2015 terms. Rework makes the product conform to the requirement. Repair makes it acceptable for its intended use without making it conform, which is why a repair normally needs a concession as well. A concession is permission to use or release product that does not meet the specified requirements, which in practice means parts already made; a deviation permit is permission to depart from the requirements before the parts are made, which is the subject of the supplier deviation request guide.
| Disposition | What it means | Who decides | What the NCR must record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return to supplier | Parts go back for replacement or correction at the supplier’s cost | Buyer quality or purchasing | Return authorization, quantity, replacement plan, how replacements will be marked |
| Rework | Action that makes the part conform to the drawing (ISO 9000:2015 3.12.8) | Buyer quality, with the rework method agreed | Rework method, who performs it, re-inspection of the reworked feature and anything the rework could disturb |
| Repair | Action that makes the part acceptable for use without making it conform (3.12.9) | Design authority, usually through a material review board | Repair instruction, engineering approval, concession reference, effect on drawing or traceability |
| Use as is | Release of nonconforming parts under a concession (3.12.5) | Design authority; the end customer as well if the contract requires it | Engineering rationale, quantity and lot covered, statement that the drawing is unchanged |
| Scrap | Action that prevents the originally intended use (3.12.10) | Buyer quality, with purchasing for cost recovery | Who scraps and where, how parts are made unusable, replacement quantity |
Two practical rules follow. First, a supplier should never decide use as is or repair on its own, even when the deviation looks harmless, because only the owner of the design knows what the feature does. Second, every dispositioned part needs to be identifiable afterward: reworked, repaired or concession parts should carry a mark or tag that ties them to the NCR number, so that a later failure can be traced to the decision.
How should an NCR classify the severity of a nonconformance?
Classify it as critical, major or minor on the NCR itself, because the class decides how fast the supplier must contain and whether use as is is even on the table. The US federal acquisition rules give a clear, public set of definitions you can borrow.
FAR 46.101 defines a critical nonconformance as one likely to create hazardous or unsafe conditions, or to prevent performance of a vital agency mission; a major one as likely to cause failure or materially reduce usability; and a minor one as not likely to materially reduce usability, or a departure with little bearing on use. For a machined part, a bearing bore out of tolerance on a rotating assembly is usually major, a chamfer slightly undersize on a non-functional edge is usually minor, and anything on a pressure-retaining or safety feature should be treated as critical until engineering says otherwise.
The same regulation shows how cautiously a buyer should treat acceptance. FAR 46.407 says contracting officers should reject supplies that do not conform in all respects and give the contractor the chance to correct or replace them where the delivery schedule allows. Critical or major nonconformances are ordinarily rejected; accepting one needs the concurrence of the activity responsible for the technical requirements, and the contract must then be modified for an equitable price reduction or other consideration. Commercial buyers are not bound by that rule, but it is a sound default: reject first, accept by exception, and record who agreed.
When should an NCR escalate to an MRB, a SCAR or an 8D?
Escalate to a material review board when the proposed disposition is use as is or repair, and to a SCAR or 8D when the defect repeats, is critical, or cannot be explained by containment alone. A one-off minor nonconformance on a single lot can usually close on the NCR.
A practical decision rule a buyer can write into a supplier quality agreement:
- NCR only: a minor nonconformance, first occurrence on this part number, disposition return, rework or scrap. The supplier confirms containment and replaces the parts.
- NCR plus MRB: any proposed use as is or repair, whatever the severity. The board, with design engineering present, decides and signs the concession.
- NCR plus SCAR: the same characteristic fails on a second lot, or the supplier’s own outgoing inspection should have caught it. The SCAR asks for root cause and corrective action, which in the ISO 9000:2015 vocabulary is action on the cause rather than on the parts.
- NCR plus 8D: a critical nonconformance, a field failure, or a repeat after a previous SCAR closed. The structured eight-discipline method described by the American Society for Quality gives both sides a common format for containment, root cause and verification.
Whatever the route, keep one NCR number as the thread through every document. The SCAR or 8D should cite it, the replacement shipment should cite it, and the next receiving inspection on that part should check the failed feature at a tighter sample until the corrective action is shown to work. The guide to receiving inspection for machined parts covers how to tighten and relax that sampling.
What should a CNC supplier send back after receiving an NCR?
A useful first reply confirms containment of the supplier’s own stock, repeats the measurement with the method on the NCR, and agrees the disposition or explains why it disagrees. The root cause can follow in a SCAR or 8D, but containment should not wait for it.
When an NCR reaches us, the first check is that we are measuring the same thing: the same balloon, the same drawing revision and the same method. Disagreements over a bore or a thread are often a gauge or datum question rather than a machining one, and settling that early keeps the discussion technical. We then trace the lot back through the routing, the program revision and the tool records for the CNC milling or CNC turning operation that made the feature, and check stock on hand and work in progress for the same condition.
What we ask buyers to include is the same list as the table above: drawing revision, balloon number, measured values, method, quantities and the disposition they want. If you are preparing a new part and want those inspection points agreed before the first lot, send the drawing with your request for quote and mark the features you will check at receiving.
Frequently asked
Is there a standard non conformance report template in Word or Excel?
No standard prescribes a form. ISO 9000:2015 supplies the vocabulary and the quality management standard asks only that the nonconformity, the action taken, any concession and the deciding authority are recorded. A Word or Excel template built on the six blocks in this guide covers those requirements; what matters more is that every NCR to a supplier carries the drawing revision, balloon number, measured values and requested disposition.
What is the difference between an NCR and a corrective action request?
An NCR records that specific parts failed a requirement and decides what happens to those parts. A corrective action request, often called a SCAR when sent to a supplier, asks why it happened and what will stop it recurring. One NCR can exist without a SCAR, but every SCAR should point back to at least one NCR.
How should a supplier answer a non conformance report?
Answer in the order the buyer needs: confirm containment of stock on hand and in transit, confirm or challenge the measurement with the method used, agree the disposition and the replacement plan, and say whether a root-cause investigation is under way. Arguments about cost recovery are better handled separately so they do not delay the technical reply.
Is an NCR the same as a deviation or a waiver?
No. An NCR reports parts that have already failed. A deviation is permission, granted before production, to depart from the drawing for a stated quantity, and a waiver or concession is permission to accept parts already made. An NCR can lead to a concession, but the concession is a separate, signed decision.
Who should be allowed to close an NCR?
The buyer’s quality function, once the disposition is complete and any replacement parts have passed inspection. If a SCAR or 8D was raised, the NCR can close on the parts while the corrective action stays open, as long as the two records reference each other.
Sources
- ISO 9000:2015 Quality management systems, fundamentals and vocabulary, International Organization for Standardization, 2015
- Quality management systems, requirements (clause 8.7, control of nonconforming outputs), International Organization for Standardization, 2015
- FAR 46.101 Definitions (critical, major and minor nonconformance), Federal Acquisition Regulation, accessed October 2026
- FAR 46.407 Nonconforming supplies or services, Federal Acquisition Regulation, accessed October 2026
- ISO 286-2:2010 ISO code system for tolerances on linear sizes, tables of standard tolerance classes, International Organization for Standardization, 2010
- What is 8D? Eight Disciplines problem solving, American Society for Quality, accessed October 2026