Sanitary Ware Pre-Shipment Inspection Report Checklist

Buyer's Guides & Comparisons

1. Why the PSI Report Is the Buyer's Most Important Document

A pre-shipment inspection is the last controlled moment in the order. After the container is sealed, the only remedies left are claims - slow, evidence-heavy, and rarely full-value. Before the seal, a defect found at the inspection bench is a correction the factory makes at its own cost. The PSI report is the record of that moment, and it carries a legal and commercial function: it is the shared, signed statement of what the goods were when they left the factory.

That function explains why the report's quality matters as much as its verdict. A report that records a random sample of packed cartons, the measured defect counts per class, and the corresponding evidence is something both sides can rely on later. A report that records only a verdict is a memory with a logo on it - and memories do not survive a warranty claim that arrives eight weeks after the vessel sails. The buyer's job is not to receive a report but to review one, and the review is mechanical once you know which fields must be present.

2. What Triggers a PSI and When It Happens

A PSI is a final inspection performed when production is complete and the goods are packed and staged, but before they are loaded into the container. Timing is critical: an inspection run while cartons are still being packed samples a lot that does not yet exist, and an inspection run after loading has closed the only window in which a defective lot can still be reworked. The standard sequence is production complete, goods packed, buyer or third-party inspector attends, sample drawn from the packed cartons, verdict issued, and only then loading.

The inspection rests on a sampling plan, and for ceramic sanitary ware the plan should be the one written into the purchase order: ISO 2859-1 (GB/T 2828.1), General Inspection Level II, single sampling, normal inspection, critical AQL 0, major AQL 2.5, minor AQL 4.0. The lot is defined per model - one model's batch in one shipment - and the sample size follows from the lot size. A PSI report that does not name its standard, level, and AQL values cannot be compared to the plan, and a report that does not name the lot is not a sampling report at all.

PSI parameter	Value the report must show	Why it matters
Standard and level	ISO 2859-1, Level II, single sampling	Makes the sampling result reproducible
AQL per class	Critical 0 / Major 2.5 / Minor 4.0	Defines the accept/reject decision
Lot definition	One model/SKU batch in the shipment	Prevents mixed-model lots from hiding defects
Sample size	Code letter and sample count	Proves the draw matched the plan
Timing	After packing, before loading	Proves the sample represents the shipped goods

3. The Report Header: Identification Data

The header is what makes a report traceable, and a missing field is a broken link in the chain between a defect found at a customer's warehouse and the batch that produced it. Every PSI report should carry a complete header before any result is read. If the header is incomplete, stop: the results below it cannot be tied to your order with certainty.

Header field	What it must contain
Buyer / importer	The legal buyer on the purchase order
Factory / supplier	The contracted manufacturer, and the production site
Purchase order	PO number, and the model/SKU list under inspection
Lot size	Quantity of each model in the inspected lot
Sample size	Code letter and number of pieces actually inspected
AQL plan	Standard, level, and per-class AQL limits
Inspection date	Date the inspection was performed
Inspector / agency	Name and organization of the inspector

4. The Inspection Scope: What a Sanitary Ware PSI Must Cover

Ceramic sanitary ware cannot be inspected with a single glance. A meaningful PSI covers the fixture on three axes - material, dimensions, and performance - plus the packaging that will protect it. The report should list every check performed and the instrument used, because a check that is not listed was not done. For a toilet, the scope includes flush performance and water consumption; for a basin, drain and overflow geometry and finish; for every fixture, glaze and body condition, dimensional tolerance, and carton integrity.

Inspection axis	Checks to document	Typical instrument or limit
Material	Water absorption on fired samples	≤ 0.5% (vitreous china, boiling-water method)
Dimensions	External dimensions and critical fittings	±3 mm external; ±2 mm critical fittings
Glaze / finish	Crazing, pinholes, specks, color and gloss	D65 light; ΔE ≤ 2.0; gloss ±5 GU
Trap / function	Trap pass, flush evacuation and refill	51 mm ball pass; complete evacuation
Packaging	Carton integrity, marking, pack quantity	Per the carton and marking specification

5. Reading the Defect Tally and the AQL Decision

This is the section where a PSI report is either enforceable or theatrical. The report must show, per defect class, the number of defects found in the sample and the accept/reject decision that follows from the AQL plan. Any single critical defect rejects the lot at AQL 0. For major and minor defects, the accept number (Ac) and reject number (Re) come from the sampling table for the code letter; the report should show the count found against that limit. "Pass" is a conclusion; the tally is the evidence.

Defect class	AQL	Decision shown in the report
Critical	0	Any one defect → reject the lot
Major	2.5	Count vs. Ac/Re for the sample size
Minor	4.0	Count vs. Ac/Re for the sample size
Overall	-	Per-class result plus overall verdict

A report that shows an overall verdict but no per-class tally has skipped the arithmetic that makes the verdict defensible. Ask for the tally; if it cannot be produced, treat the pass as unverified.

6. The Evidence Pack Behind the Verdict

The tally is a number; the evidence is what proves the number came from real goods. For every PSI, require a defined evidence pack: photographs that show the sample in context, defect photographs that show the defect with its sample-number tag and a scale reference in the same frame, the list of cartons sampled with their batch identity, and the raw check notes including functional test data. Defect photos without a sample number are decoration - they show that something was wrong and give no way to prove which piece it was.

Evidence item	What it must show	Retention
Sample photographs	Sampled pieces with sample-number tags	With the report
Defect photographs	Defect, sample number, and scale in one frame	Until claim window closes
Carton / batch list	Which cartons and batches were sampled	With the report
Functional test data	Raw readings for flush, refill, seal	With the report
Signed report	Both parties' signatures at the bench	Minimum 12 months
Loading photos	Container and door-face condition after approval	Until claim window closes

7. Reading the Verdict: Pass, Fail, or Pending

A PSI verdict is one of three states, and the middle one is the most dangerous. Pass means the lot met the plan and may proceed to loading. Fail means it did not, and the written consequence - 100% factory inspection, removal of defective pieces, and re-presentation for a fresh sample at the factory's cost - should be stated in the purchase order and invoked. Pending is the outcome that quietly consumes weeks: the lot is neither cleared nor rejected, the vessel cutoff approaches, and pressure builds to release goods "with a note." A buyer should treat a pending verdict as a fail until it is resolved, because releasing a pending lot converts the inspection into a formality.

8. Common PSI Report Failures and Red Flags

Most weak reports fail in the same handful of ways. Learn to scan for them:

Red flag	What it suggests
No per-class tally, only a verdict	The AQL arithmetic was never run
No sample numbers on photos	Evidence cannot be tied to a piece
Lot defined as the whole container	Mixed models hidden in one sample
Sample drawn from a rework rack	The sample does not represent shipped goods
Tests named without standard or limits	Results cannot be compared to the plan
Missing header fields	The report cannot be tied to your PO
"Pass" issued before packing complete	The sample did not represent the shipped lot

9. The Buyer's PSI Report Review Checklist

Before you accept a PSI report and release the container, confirm:

1. The header is complete - buyer, factory, PO, model/SKU, lot size, sample size, AQL plan, date, inspector.
2. The standard, inspection level, and AQL limits match the purchase order.
3. The lot is defined per model, not as the whole mixed shipment.
4. The sample was drawn from packed cartons, spread across the lot, with numbered pieces.
5. The per-class defect tally is shown against the Ac/Re numbers, with the per-class decision.
6. The inspection scope lists the material, dimensional, glaze, functional, and packaging checks performed.
7. The evidence pack is present: sample and defect photos with tags and scale, carton/batch list, raw functional data.
8. Both parties signed the report at the bench, and it will be retained for at least 12 months.
9. Any rejected or pending lot has a written corrective-action plan before loading.
10. Loading photos are captured after approval and kept until the claim window closes.

A buyer who runs these ten points turns the PSI from a document received into a document used - the last control point before the goods become unrecoverable. The factory-side discipline that produces a report worth reviewing is the same process described on the About Us page of Yingjie Bath.

10. Related Reading

• Sanitary Ware Sample Approval and Pre-Shipment Inspection - the approval-to-inspection workflow
• Quality Control for Ceramic Sanitary Ware: The Complete Testing Protocol - the tests behind the report
• Sanitary Ware AQL Sampling and Defect Classification - the sampling plan the report executes

Frequently Asked Questions