Documents & records
Hold tag
Also called: hold tag, quarantine tag, reject tag, do-not-use tag
A hold tag is the physical flag that takes something out of service until a decision is made: a tag on a pallet of the wrong product, on a suspect weld, on an assembly that failed a check. It makes a quality problem impossible to miss and hard to ignore — no one can innocently install the material or cover the work while the tag is on it. It is the on-site companion to a nonconformance report: the paperwork records the problem, the tag stops the physical item from moving.
Why it matters
A nonconformance logged in an app does nothing if the crew never sees it. The wrong material sitting on a laydown yard gets installed by whoever grabs it next; suspect work gets covered by the following trade on schedule. A physical hold tag is what actually stops that — it lives on the item, in the way, until someone with authority releases it.
It also protects the record of what happened. A tagged item cannot quietly become concealed work; it forces the disposition — use-as-is, repair, rework or reject — to be made and documented before the tag comes off and the work moves on.
How it shows up on site
A tag on rejected or suspect material and on failed work, referencing the nonconformance it relates to, that stays in place until the disposition is decided and verified — then removed with the release recorded, not just pulled off quietly.
Checklists that put hold tag to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- NonconformanceInstalled work that does not meet the drawings, spec or accepted submittal — formally identified so it gets dispositioned, not ignored.
- Nonconformance report (NCR)A formal record raised when installed work does not meet the drawings, specs or an accepted standard, and the plan to resolve it.
- Hold pointA stop in the inspection and test plan where work cannot continue until a required party inspects and signs off the release.
- Deficiency logThe running list of open deficiencies and their status, so every item is tracked to closure instead of getting lost.
- Punch listThe running list of incomplete or defective work a contractor has to fix before an area is accepted and closed out.
- Request for information (RFI)A formal written question from the contractor to the design team when the drawings or specs are unclear, conflicting or incomplete.
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.