Defect Sorting & Containment — Stop the Escape. Protect Your Customer.
When a defect gets out, the first hours decide whether it stays a quality problem or becomes a customer crisis. Exceleor plans, launches, and manages containment — isolating suspect material, sorting to approved criteria, and driving the root cause so containment ends on evidence, not hope.
Overview
An escape is never just a bad part. It is a clock. Every hour suspect material sits unidentified, it moves — into finished goods, onto a truck, onto your customer’s line. What happens in those first hours decides whether you are managing a quality problem or explaining a customer crisis. Most containment fails the same way: the sort starts before anyone agrees what “good” looks like, one location gets missed, the data lives in someone’s notebook, and containment drags on for months because nobody defined how it ends. Your customer sees all of it. We take containment off your plate. We plan it, launch it, staff and manage the sort, report to you and your customer every day, and drive the root cause through a disciplined 8D. Then we end it — on agreed exit criteria and objective evidence, not hope. Your team gets back to running the plant, and your customer gets a supplier they can trust again.
Key Benefits & Outcomes
Our Methodology
Scope the Problem
Define the defect and the suspect population — every lot, date code, and location it could be, from the supplier to the customer’s dock.
Write the Sort Instructions
Set approved accept/reject criteria and boundary samples, agreed with your customer before the first part is touched.
Sort & Inspect
Trained inspectors sort suspect material to the approved criteria and record every result by lot.
Mark Good Parts & Set a Clean Point
Certified material is identified so it can ship with confidence, and the first clean lot is defined and communicated.
Report Daily
Quantities sorted, rejected, and by defect type — reported every day to you and, as agreed, to your customer.
Root Cause (8D) & Exit
Drive the 8D to a verified root cause and effective corrective action, then end containment when the agreed exit criteria are met.
When You Need It
If any of these just landed on your desk, the clock is already running.
Customer Reject or Complaint
Your customer found the defect — at their dock, on their line, or in the field — and wants containment in place today.
Suspect Material In-House
A nonconformance turned up in receiving, WIP, or finished goods, and you do not know how far it goes.
Controlled Shipping Notice (CS1 / CS2)
Your customer has placed you on Controlled Shipping — CS1 (your own added inspection) or CS2 (added independent third-party inspection) — and you need to meet it and exit it.
Supplier Escape Reaching Your Line
A supplier or sub-tier shipped bad parts, and your production is now exposed while they respond.
Process or Tooling Failure
An out-of-control process, broken tool, or missed check has put a range of produced lots in question.
Field, Warranty, or Launch Concern
A warranty trend, field issue, or new-launch problem needs suspect lots isolated and traced before it grows.
Industries We Contain For
Automotive Suppliers
OEM and Tier 1 customers expect fast containment, controlled shipping compliance, and a disciplined 8D. We contain to your customer-specific requirements and document against IATF 16949 clause 8.7 (control of nonconforming outputs) and clause 10.2 (nonconformity and corrective action).
Industrial Suppliers
Industrial and OEM equipment customers want the escape stopped and proof it will not recur. We contain and document against ISO 9001 clause 8.7 (control of nonconforming outputs) and clause 10.2 (nonconformity and corrective action).
Containment Your Auditor Will Accept
Containment is one of the first things an auditor pulls when a nonconformance is on record. Ours is led by a certified Lead Auditor — someone who has sat on the other side of the table and knows exactly what gets written up. Every containment we run is built to hold up to that review:
- Containment scope that covers every location where suspect material could be — not just the parts in front of you.
- Objective, lot-traceable records of what was sorted, rejected, and released.
- A defined clean point your customer can rely on.
- A root cause that is verified, not assumed — and corrective action proven effective.
- Exit criteria agreed up front and documented when met.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast can a containment and sorting team be on site?
Containment starts the day you call. We scope the suspect population with you immediately, get sort instructions agreed with your customer, and mobilize a sort team as quickly as the situation and location allow. Tell us where the material is and we will give you a firm start plan on the first call.
What is the difference between Controlled Shipping Level 1 (CS1) and Level 2 (CS2)?
Both are customer-imposed inspection levels. Under CS1, the supplier adds a redundant inspection to stop the defect from shipping, using its own people. Under CS2, the customer requires an added layer of inspection by an independent third party, on top of CS1, at the supplier’s expense. We plan and manage both, and help you build the evidence needed to exit.
Where do you sort — at our plant, the supplier, or the customer?
Wherever suspect material lives. Containment has to cover every location: the supplier, in transit, your warehouse, your line, finished goods, and the customer’s dock. Leaving one location out is how escapes happen twice.
When does containment end?
When the exit criteria agreed up front are met — typically a verified root cause, corrective action proven effective, and a run of clean production confirmed by the sort data. Containment ends on evidence, not on a calendar date or a feeling that things have improved.
Will our containment records stand up to an IATF 16949 or ISO 9001 audit?
That is the point. Our containment is run by a certified Lead Auditor and documented to what auditors check against clauses 8.7 (control of nonconforming outputs) and 10.2 (nonconformity and corrective action): scope, objective records, a defined clean point, verified root cause, and documented exit.
Ready to Get Started?
Our supply chain experts are ready to assess your needs and develop a customized solution. Schedule your free consultation today.