Introduction
At Assured Testing Services, we understand that next to accuracy and precision, short turnaround time is one of our customers’ primary concerns. Getting a job quoted, received and into testing is simple for most customers’ projects. Customers who are familiar with the third party outsourced testing process know exactly what information is required for quoting a given test, who to contact, and all of the steps for getting a job completed.
For new customers, especially those not familiar with third party testing, or if a custom test plan is required, our turnaround time can be impacted if the lab doesn’t have the information needed. Clear and detailed communication is the best way to expedite all of the controllable steps involved in third party testing. The following guide for streamlining testing outlines the process and information required for having third party tested completed as quickly as possible.
Request For Quote
The Request for Quote, or RFQ, is our initial contact with a customer. This can come in the form of an email to our sales department, a call to our office, or by filling out the RFQ form on our website. In all of these cases, you will be put in touch with an expert who will guide you through the quoting process. The goal of our sales team is to quickly and efficiently gather information to provide a detailed quotation.
The Quoting Process
Information gathering starts with the quoting process. In order to streamline the process, we try to ask and have answered all of the relevant questions on the front end, to ensure for smooth progression through each step of the testing process. This allows us to create accurate, competitive quotes, perform the testing correctly, and provide a test report that meets the customers’ needs and expectations.
The following information is required for testing:
· Governing standard
· Component or assembly print
· Substrate and coating type
· Number of specimens to be tested
· Test specification or procedure
· Significant surface or area of interest to be exposed or tested
· Masking or other sample preparation prior to exposure
· Whether scribing or corrosion creep measurements needed
· Photos required – setup, at intervals, at completion of testing
· Acceptance criteria
· Interim reporting if relevant
The quoting process varies depending on the type of testing required, but generally involves gathering the above information. At Assured Testing Services, most of our customers require testing to a governing standard of some kind. There are countless different types of testing standards. Some of the most common types of standards we test to are OEM specifications, technical organization standards (ASTM, ISO, IEC, etc.,) or military specifications (“MIL specs”.) In other cases, it may be a test plan developed by the customer or requirements from a drawing.
The governing standard will normally contain details about what tests need to be performed, how frequently, how many test specimens are required, what procedures are to be performed, and what the acceptance criteria are. Often, specifications will use different coding systems to classify which testing is required. Different factors that are often used to categorize and classify test specimens include, substrate type, coating type/system and thickness, vehicle location, type of protective coating process used. Once the Assured Testing Services Sales Team has all of the details about the testing that is to be performed, a quote can be generated. The quote serves as the platform for the entire testing process, so it is critical to make sure that it is accurate and complete.
The Customer Service Team
Once a quotation has been generated, the Customer Service Team will take the reins. They help coordinate all of the logistics associated with testing, so that we can get it out to the lab for testing as quickly as possible. First, they will ensure we have all of the customer’s details, including billing, shipping, and any payment information. If customers require our company’s information for getting us set up as a vendor in their systems, they will assist with that as well.
Once samples arrive, through our job entry process our Customer Service Team generates the framework that will become the test report. In addition to providing a format for the test report, work instructions are produced that provide all of the details required by the lab to perform the testing required by the customer. This process provides several levels of redundancy to verify that all of the requirements for testing (duration, evaluations, pass fail, photos, etc.) obtained in the quoting process, are correct.
The Lab
Once a job has been entered into our system by customer service, it’s time to get the project into the lab. At this point, our scheduling team and lab management take over. They determine equipment and personnel requirements, and get the job onto our Master Schedule for testing. At any time, we can have hundreds of jobs in process in the lab. Jobs get assigned to an individual lab technician who will be responsible for overseeing the completion of the project. Lab personnel serve as a final check to ensure that the work instructions are clear, and match the requirements the customer has provided. Once all of these verifications are made, the lab will perform the requested testing.
Once testing is complete, lab management and customer service team work together to compile the information required to complete the test report. The test report serves to document what testing was completed, relevant results, and conformance to acceptance criteria, if applicable. After the report is generated, it goes through proofing. This process is regimented, and serves as a last effort to make sure everything is correct, from something as insignificant as typos, to major issues like referencing the correct test standard. Once proofed, the report is ready for the customer.
Conclusion
The process for getting testing completed by a third-party test lab can be quite complicated. The objective at Assured Testing Services through this process is to gather as much of the relevant information as we can, as quickly as we can, so that customer testing can be executed accurately and efficiently. Our hope is that this guide will help customers to understand the requirements and objectives through the process, and will allow us to work together more efficiently. Ultimately, the goal is to provide a better service and the fastest possible turnaround for customers.
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