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7.5.4 Customer Property
Exercise care of customer property while under your control or being used.
Identify, verify, protect, and safeguard where provided for use or inclusion in your product.
Report to your customer, if their property is lost, damaged, or becomes unsuitable for use.
Keep records of your control of customer property.
Note: Includes customer owned returnable packaging and can include intellectual property.
Key Explanation Points and Tips:
ÞCustomer property may include material; production equipment; tooling; measuring and test equipment; facilities; transport vehicles; returnable packaging; intellectual property (drawings, specifications or proprietary information); product returned for servicing under warranty, product sent for outsourced work; etc.
ÞAll customer property is exposed to the risk of being damaged, lost, misused; misplaced; stolen, become unsuitable or obsolete for use. You must establish controls for each of these risks. Notify the customer in writing if their property is lost, damaged or otherwise found to be unsuitable (perishable past its shelf life, e.g. paint) for use.
ÞControl to minimize the risks to customer property include - inventory management; preservation and storage; identification, status and traceability indicators; maintenance; notification; traffic flow; authorized use; restricted access; etc. Marking customer property with a unique identification number that can be traced to a record that provides details of ownership is one of many acceptable controls.
ÞThis clause requires records to be kept of customer property that is lost, damaged or otherwise found to be unsuitable for use. This implies tracking the storage and use of and quality status, of customer property.
ÞWhile this clause does not call for a specific documented procedure, these controls may be included in your product realization processes through your product quality plans; work instructions and other specific documentation. Many of the controls needed for clause 7.5.3 Identification and traceability and clause 7.5.5 Preservation of product apply to customer property. The processes, controls and documentation for these other clauses could be expanded to include customer property.
ÞIf the nature of your business does not require the use of any customer property, then you must clearly state this exclusion to your QMS scope, in your Quality manual.
ÞPerformance indicators (to measure the effectiveness of processes that control customer property) may include - reduction in identification errors and omissions; loss due to damage or unsuitability; scrap; rejects; etc., as well as increased customer property turnover rates.
7.5.5 Preservation of Product
Preserve the conformity of product during internal processing and delivery to the intended destination
Preservation must include identification, handling, packaging, storage, and protection.
Preservation must also apply to the constituent parts of the product.
Key Explanation Points and Tips:
ÞAll raw materials, work in progress; finished product; supplies; customer provided materials or product; product sent for outsourced work; etc, are subject to risk of being damaged, lost, misused; misplaced; stolen, become unsuitable (perishable) or obsolete (past shelf life) for use. This could occur during receipt, handling; storage; use in production; transportation to the customer, etc.
ÞControls include - identification, status and traceability indicators; inventory cycle counts and condition evaluation; stock rotation methods such as FIFO; just in time; tracking shelf life; MRP systems for tracking requirements and usage; special, controls for restricted access; handling and storage of hazardous materials, climate and environment; maintenance procedures; bar codes; training; use of special equipment for handling; condition reports; etc.
ÞWhile this clause does not call for a specific documented procedure, these controls may be included in your product realization processes through your product quality plans; work instructions and other specific documentation. Many of the controls needed for clause 7.5.3 Identification and traceability apply to preservation of product.
ÞPerformance indicators (to measure the effectiveness of processes that control preservation of product) may include - reduction in obsolete and spoint materials an product (e.g., fresh produce, fruits, or frozen foods), identification errors and omissions; rejects; waste; scrap; etc., and increase in inventory turnover and material/product availability; and product safety.
