NCR
Non-conformance report
The record raised when work, materials or a process do not meet the specification, drawing or standard, with the disposition (rework, repair, accept as is, reject) and the close-out.
An NCR is how a quality system captures the moment something is found not to conform: a weld that fails inspection, a slab out of tolerance, cladding fixings at the wrong centres, a delivery of the wrong grade of steel. It records what was found, against what requirement, where, by whom and when, with photographs and measurements; the proposed disposition and who is authorised to decide it (rework to the specification, repair to an agreed procedure, use as is with the designer's concession, or reject and replace); the root cause; the corrective action to stop it recurring; and the close-out with evidence that the disposition was carried out and re-inspected.
Raising NCRs is a sign of a working quality system, not a failing one; assessors for ISO 9001 and BS EN 1090 look for a populated NCR log and ask what changed as a result. Contractors avoid them because they look like admissions; in fact an NCR closed properly, with the client's concession on file, is the document that ends the argument at final account. A QA inspection checklist with a failed item should raise the NCR automatically, which is what SiteLynx does.
Where it comes from
- ISO 9001:2015 clause 8.7 (control of nonconforming outputs) and clause 10.2 (nonconformity and corrective action).
- BS EN 1090-2 and the factory production control requirements for nonconforming products.
- NHBC Standards and the contract specification as the requirements conformance is measured against.
Questions people ask
Who can close an NCR?
Someone with the authority to accept the disposition, usually the quality manager or the client's representative for anything touching the specification, after the rework has been re-inspected. The person who did the work does not close their own NCR.
What is a concession?
The designer's or client's written agreement to accept work that does not meet the specification as it stands, because it is still fit for purpose. It is the "use as is" disposition, and it must be in writing from someone entitled to give it.
NCR, handled on a phone
SiteLynx puts the RAMS, permits, inspections, audits, plant checks and records behind every term in this glossary on the crew's phones, signed on site, with a PDF at the end. 14 days free, no card.
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