Inspection process
First article inspection
Also called: FAI, first article
A first article inspection is a complete, feature-by-feature check of the first item off a production run or the first installation of a repeating assembly. Every dimension, material, and requirement is verified against the drawings and specification before the crew or shop is cleared to make the rest. It shares the intent of the initial phase inspection but is most often used for fabricated or manufactured items — the first weldment, the first fabricated panel, the first assembly of a kind.
Why it matters
If the first article is wrong and it isn't caught, the error is faithfully reproduced across the whole run. Inspecting one item in full — rather than sampling many later — is the cheapest place to find a bad detail, a wrong material, or a misread dimension.
What proves it
A first article is documented item by item: each requirement, the measured or observed result, and the disposition. The approved first article then serves as the reference for the production or installation that follows, and the record travels with the fabricated work into the turnover package.
Checklists that put first article inspection to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Mock-upA full-scale sample of an assembly, built and approved before production, that becomes the workmanship standard the real work is judged against.
- Initial phase inspectionThe second phase of control — inspecting the first representative portion of a feature to set the workmanship standard for the rest.
- Definable feature of workA discrete, separately inspectable task or segment of work with its own start, finish, and acceptance criteria within the QC plan.
- Hold pointA stop in the inspection and test plan where work cannot continue until a required party inspects and signs off the release.
- Witness pointA step where a party is invited to observe the work, but the crew may proceed if that party doesn't attend within the agreed notice.
- Preparatory phase inspectionThe first of the three phases of control — a before-work review of submittals, materials, and criteria for a definable feature of work.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.