Window and Door Pre-Production Meeting, Inspection and Shipment Release Plan

1. Hold the pre-production meeting against released documents

Use a document register, not memory. Confirm the order baseline, opening marks, quantities, revisions, approved samples, materials, evidence gaps, production route, subcontracted processes, inspection points, packing marks and communication authority.

The meeting ends with actions, owners and dates. ‘Discussed’ is not a disposition; unresolved critical inputs remain a hold on affected work.

2. Convert project risk into inspection characteristics

List characteristics whose failure would be hard to detect later, expensive to replace, safety-related, interface-critical or repeated across many units. Examples may include opening/handing, dimensions, glass identity, reinforcement, drainage, hardware preparation, finish, seals and labels—but the project documents decide the actual criteria.

For each characteristic, state the method, stage, frequency or sampling basis, record and acceptance authority. ‘Check quality’ is not an inspection instruction.

3. Approve first-off units before repetition

Choose first-offs across different systems, opening types, finishes and high-risk configurations—not only the simplest window. Confirm identity, geometry, component route, workmanship, operation and required concealed evidence before the process repeats.

Link the first-off result to the approved sample record, while keeping visual/configuration approval separate from performance evidence.

1. Verify the current drawing and configuration revision.
2. Inspect characteristics while still visible.
3. Operate every moving element using the defined method.
4. Record deviations and corrective action.
5. Reinspect the corrected unit and affected process.
6. Authorise repetition only for the documented configuration.

4. Make sampling representative and traceable

Define the lot before selecting samples: product family, production period, line, shift, material batch or another meaningful grouping. Spread selection across opening types, sizes, glass/hardware routes and production stages where risk differs.

Do not invent a universal percentage. The agreed plan should state lot definition, selection method, sample quantity, acceptance/rejection rule, escalation and reinspection. Record every inspected unit or opening mark so the result can be traced.

Sampling limitation: A passing sample supports the stated plan for the defined lot; it does not prove that every uninspected unit is defect-free.

5. Define operation and hardware checks

For applicable units, check opening direction, handing, movement, lock engagement, handle/restrictor function, clearances and obvious interference against the approved configuration and supplier instructions. Record the condition in which the check occurred, including glazing and adjustment status.

Avoid vague labels such as ‘smooth’. Use observable conditions and a disposition. A factory function check does not establish cycle durability, installed operation after building movement or compliance with project safety requirements.

6. Make labels serve installation and traceability

Agree labels before packing: project, opening mark, building/zone/floor, unit identity, package number, orientation or handling warnings where needed, and any required compliance label governed by the destination. Keep labels legible but avoid exposing confidential project information unnecessarily.

Reconcile unit labels, package labels, packing list and drawings. A beautifully printed label with the wrong opening mark accelerates the wrong installation.

• Opening mark and project zone
• Package/unit relationship
• Orientation or handling instruction
• Configuration or batch traceability where agreed
• Required statutory/compliance marks
• Language and weather/abrasion durability
• Confidentiality and removal responsibility

7. Close non-conformances with evidence, not promises

Give each non-conformance an identity, affected population, containment, requirement, observed condition, cause review where needed, corrective action, owner and due date. Determine whether other units made by the same material or process need review.

Repair or rework requires an approved method and reinspection. A photo of one corrected corner does not close the affected batch unless the record shows which units were corrected and verified.

8. Use a shipment-release dossier

Release is a named decision after agreed hold points close. Compile the order/revision baseline, inspection summary, non-conformance status, approved deviations, test or evidence status, packing list, labels, loading evidence and required commercial documents.

List open minor items explicitly with authority and recovery date. Never convert an inspector’s attendance or draft report into shipment approval unless that person has the contractual authority and the defined release conditions are met.

9. Preserve the evidence chain through receiving

Send the packing register and opening-mark logic to the receiving team before arrival. At delivery, record container seal and condition, package count, visible damage, shortages and the location of quarantined items before evidence is lost.

Continue the same unit identity into the first-installation inspection and after-sales archive.

Closed loop: The shipment is not fully controlled when it leaves the factory; it is controlled when the receiving record can reconcile what was released, loaded and received.

FAQ

Continue the project review

Connect this guide with the proposed window and door systems, then review how Cavorlen approaches manufacturing and quality control. When your schedule is ready, send it through the project review form.

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