Approving a FAIR
1. Open Supplier FAIR
To approve a FAIR that has been submitted to your account, select the “View Supplier” option on the First Articles menu and then choose a FAIR from the "Supplier First Article Inspection Reports" page.
2. View Mode and Buyoff Mode
The FAIR will open in View Mode, which is used to verify a FAIR's data without providing comments or making status updates. These options become available only after toggling Buyoff Mode.
Buyoff Mode is available only to E-First Article Inspectors. In addition, if Supplier Inspectors have been assigned to a supplier, then only these users will have access to Buyoff Mode on that supplier’s FAIRs.
3. Review Supplier FAIR
You can review the contents of the FAIR and its attached documents by clicking Form 1–3 tabs at the top of the page, as well as the Documents tab. You can also click any FAIR Number links available in the Index of Part Numbers section of Form 1 to review the FAIRs related to the submitted FAIR (e.g., for sub-assembly or detail parts).
Field Level Rejection Comments
If you intend to disapprove a FAIR, then you can provide the supplier with Rejection Comments by clicking a field on the FAIR. Rejection comments are limited to 250 characters per field.
These comments will be displayed to the supplier after the FAIR is Disapproved and prompt the changes that they are expected to make. They will still be displayed after re-submission.
4. Complete Customer Workflow
If a “Customer Workflow” has been enabled in your account, then one or more stages must be approved through the “Workflows” tab before buyoff can proceed. Each step must be approved in order, and is only accessible to users assigned to the relevant Department. Disapproving a step causes the FAIR itself to be Disapproved back to the supplier for further editing.
Comments can be entered while approving or disapproving a customer workflow step. This is suitable for providing a summary of reasons for rejection, or for describing changes that the supplier needs to make to their uploaded documents. Customer Workflow Comments are limited to 4000 characters.
An Approval Document can also be uploaded while approving/disapproving a step. This is useful for providing particularly detailed comments, or for assisting the supplier with attaching needed documentation. Uploaded files will be attached to the FAIR in the "Documents" section, where it will be accessible to the supplier.
5. Approve Checklist
If a FAIR Checklist has been configured in your account and completed by your supplier, then you will be required to approve it before buying off the FAIR.
After responding "Accept" or "Reject" to each question, you can click the Approve Checklist button to sign and approve. However, if the supplier's answers are not satisfactory, then this may be grounds for leaving checklist unapproved, and possibly Disapproving the FAIR.
6. Approve/Disapprove FAIR
The buyoff option you select will determine the status of the first article inspection, and will direct the supplier on how to proceed (if needed).
Approve: FAIR data is accurate and sufficient. FAI part adequately conforms with customer requirements, as well as drawing, material, and process specifications.
Approve Conditionally: FAIR data is accurate and sufficient. FAI part does not meet customer requirements or fails to conform with specifications. A Delta (follow-up) FAIR must be provided by the supplier.
Disapprove: FAIR data is inaccurate/insufficient, and/or part does not meet customer or drawing requirements.
If approved or conditionally approved, the FAIR can no longer be edited by either the supplier or the customer. If disapproved, the FAIR is reopened and must be resubmitted by the supplier after all necessary corrections have been made.
Comments can be entered while buying off a FAIR. This is suitable for providing a summary of reasons for rejection, or for describing changes that the supplier needs to make to their uploaded documents. FAIR Comments are limited to 4000 characters.
An Approval Document can also be provided while buying off a FAIR. This is useful for providing particularly detailed comments, or for assisting the supplier with attaching needed documentation. Uploaded files will be attached to the FAIR in the "Documents" section, where it will be accessible to the supplier.
7. Supplier Changes
All updates made to the FAIR by the supplier after it is disapproved will be displayed on the Buyoff panel once the FAIR is resubmitted. To view the Supplier Changes, open a FAIR that is Pending Buy-off and select the Show Supplier Changes checkbox in the left-hand panel. When this option is enabled, any fields updated by the supplier will be highlighted in orange.