A nonconforming product form records product that doesn't meet its specification: what was found, in which lot, how much, the requirement it fails, and that it went on hold. Then it records what was decided for every unit, whether rework, downgrade, return to supplier, scrap or release, who decided, what it cost, the cause, and what changes so it doesn't happen again. The product stays on hold until the form is closed. For a small maker the form does two jobs: it keeps a bad unit from reaching a customer, and over a year it shows what problems cost and which ones keep coming back. In the example below, a batch of 120 bags of chips has 9 weak seals and 6 underweight bags; the form accounts for all 120, and the problem costs $18.68. Below is what the form holds, the five dispositions, the example filled in, and a free template with a log.
The short version
- Nonconforming product is anything that fails its specification: a check, a weight, a seal, a label, a date.
- Put it on hold first, apart from what you can sell, and tag it.
- The form records the lot, the quantity, the problem and the requirement it fails.
- Every unit gets a disposition: release, rework, downgrade, return or scrap.
- Record the cause and the corrective action, or the same form gets filled in next month.
- A log of every form shows the cost of nonconformance over a year.
- TaroStack holds a lot apart from sellable stock, flags readings outside their limits, and records every loss by reason. More below.
What the form records
| Section | What goes in |
|---|---|
| The finding | Form number, date, who found it, where |
| The product | Item, lot or batch, quantity in the lot |
| The problem | What doesn't conform, and the specification it fails |
| The hold | Put on hold when, where, how it's tagged |
| Dispositions | Each decision, how many units, what was done, the cost |
| Accounted for | The dispositions add up to the quantity in the lot |
| Cause | Why it happened |
| Corrective action | What changes so it doesn't happen again |
| Sign-off | Who decided, who released, who closed it, and when |
The "accounted for" line is the one that's easiest to skip and most important: if the lot had 120 bags and the dispositions add up to 114, six bags are somewhere nobody decided about.
The five dispositions
| Disposition | When it fits | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Release | The units were checked and do conform | How they were checked |
| Rework | The problem can be fixed to the specification | What was done, and the check after |
| Downgrade | Sold or used another way where that's honest and legal | Where it went, without its label if the label is the problem |
| Return to supplier | The problem came in with an ingredient or packaging | The supplier's lot, and the credit |
| Scrap | It can't be fixed or used | How it was disposed of, and its cost |
Some systems add "use as is", releasing a unit that doesn't meet its specification because the gap doesn't matter. Keep that for quality points that touch neither safety nor the label, with a named person approving it. A net weight below the label's, an undeclared allergen or a missed cook temperature isn't a "use as is" problem. For food safety deviations, your food safety plan says what the corrective action is, and the form records it; how a plan's records work is in HACCP record-keeping form example.
A filled-in example
Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, runs a seal and weight check at the end of every chips batch.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Form | NC-2026-014, October 20, found by Kalani at the end-of-batch check |
| Item and lot | Taro chips, 5 oz bag, batch TC-1020, 120 bags |
| What doesn't conform | 9 bags with weak seals (squeeze test); 6 bags at 4.6 oz net weight |
| Specification | The seal holds the squeeze test; net weight at least the 5 oz on the label |
| Hold | All 120 bags, October 20 at 2:10 pm, tagged in the packing area |
| Disposition | Bags | What was done | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rework: rebag and relabel | 9 | New bag and label at 22¢, 15 minutes at $20 an hour | $6.98 |
| Downgrade: market samples | 6 | Opened for tasting at the Saturday stall, unlabeled | $11.70 |
| Released: checked, conforms | 105 | Seal and weight checked on every bag | $0.00 |
| Accounted for | 120 | $18.68 |
The cause was a sealer running cool after the bag roll was changed, and a scale that wasn't tared for the new roll. The corrective action: check the sealer temperature at the start of every batch and after every roll change, tare the scale on every roll change, and add both checks to the batch record. The owner released the 105 good bags and closed the form the next day. How a hold is placed and released is in hold and release procedure.
The log: what nonconformance costs
One form per problem; one log for all of them:
| Form | Date | Item | Lot | Problem | Disposition | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC-2026-012 | Sep 29 | Coconut milk | CM-2219 | Dented cans at receiving | Returned for credit | $0.00 |
| NC-2026-013 | Oct 8 | Kūlolo | KUL-1008-1 | Best-by date misprinted | Relabeled, 42 packs | $7.52 |
| NC-2026-014 | Oct 20 | Taro chips | TC-1020 | Weak seals, underweight | Rework 9, downgrade 6 | $18.68 |
| Total | $26.20 |
Three forms in a month is $26.20 so far. The value of the log isn't the total, it's the pattern: two of the three problems were caught at packing, and both came from a change, a new label roll and a new bag roll. A five-minute check at each changeover costs less than one more form. What losses cost when nobody records their reason is in waste log template.
Get the template
Download the nonconforming product form and log. The form sheet is filled in with the example: type over it for each problem, and it costs each disposition and checks that every unit in the lot is accounted for. The log keeps one row per form with its cost. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A paper form records the decision, but it doesn't stop the stock. The 120 bags are tagged in the packing area, and on Saturday morning someone packing the market order takes a case from the shelf beside them. Meanwhile the stock count still shows 120 bags available, the 6 sampled bags never leave the books, and the cost of the problem lives in a folder instead of the batch's cost.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps held stock out of what can be sold, and records every unit's fate in the stock itself.
Readings outside their limits, flagged. Batch record forms carry your own fields, like seal check, net weight and sealer temperature, with limits, so a reading outside them is flagged when it's entered. Receipts can carry checks too, like dented cans or a delivery temperature.
A hold that holds. A lot can go on hold or into quarantine, and it's kept out of what's available to sell and pick until it's released. A batch can sit on hold until it's checked. Returns go back into the lot they left in.
Every unit, accounted for. Reworked bags stay in their lot; downgraded and scrapped ones come off stock as adjustments with their reason, such as damaged, spoiled or sample, so losses are reported by reason, item and site. Every movement is a permanent record of who, when and why, and if a problem turns out to be bigger, one report traces the lot to every customer who got it.
| The job | Paper form | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-limit seal check | Noticed, maybe | Flagged on the batch record |
| Keep held bags from going out | A tag on the shelf | Held stock can't be picked |
| The 6 sampled bags | Still on the books | An adjustment, reason "sample" |
| What problems cost this year | Add up the folder | Losses by reason, item and site |
Lots, holds and quarantine, batch records with limits and losses by reason are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.