Manufacturing defect
Definition
A deviation in a specific production unit from the manufacturer's approved design specification, occurring during manufacturing, assembly, or handling before sale. The design itself is sound; this unit was not built to it.
- Scope
- Applies to a single production unit, not the entire product line
- When it occurs
- During manufacturing, assembly, or pre-sale handling
Common questions
What's the difference between a manufacturing defect and a design defect?+
A manufacturing defect is a problem with a specific unit that wasn't built to the manufacturer's approved design. A design defect means the design itself is flawed. The design is sound in a manufacturing defect case, that unit just didn't get built right.
When does a manufacturing defect happen?+
It occurs during production, assembly, or handling before the product is sold. Any step from the factory floor through packaging and storage can introduce the deviation from the approved specification.
How do you know a product has a manufacturing defect?+
You compare the actual unit to the manufacturer's approved design specification. If that unit deviates from what the design calls for, but other units built the same way are fine, you've found a manufacturing defect.
Related terms
- Conforming unit
- A unit that was manufactured in accordance with the approved design specification. A conforming unit may still be involved in an injury...
- Consumer Expectation Test
- A design-defect test asking whether the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an...
- Design defect
- A flaw present in every unit of a product because the product category itself was conceived in a way that made it...
- Failure to warn
- A claim that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate instructions or warnings about a non-obvious risk, such that a user could not...
- Foreseeable misuse
- A use of a product that the manufacturer could reasonably predict, even though it differs from the intended purpose. Courts may hold...
- In-process inspection
- Quality checks performed during production rather than only at final inspection. Dimensional checks, pull-tests, and visual inspection at critical process stages detect...
- ISO 9001
- The international standard for quality management systems published by the International Organization for Standardization. Certification means the organisation has documented and implemented...
- Race condition (software)
- A software defect in which the program's behaviour depends on the timing or sequence of events, such as two processes accessing shared...
- Risk-Utility Test
- A design-defect test that weighs the probability and severity of harm, the burden of adopting a safer alternative design, and the utility...
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- A method of monitoring a manufacturing process in real time using control charts that distinguish normal process variation (common cause) from signals...
Explained in these topics
- Product Liability Engineering FrameworkA deviation in a specific unit from the manufacturer's own approved design specification, caused during production, assembly, or handling before sale.
- Manufacturing Defect and Quality System FailureA deviation in a specific production unit from the manufacturer's approved design specification, occurring during manufacturing, assembly, or handling before s...