FALL 2016

186
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
CARMEN VERTULLO HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT FASTENER FAILURE INVESTIGATION – WHAT THE SUPPLIER MUST KNOW from page 136
The documentation relating to the product in general
should include the dimensional and material standards,
plating or coating standards, testing, inspection and quality
assurance standards. If the part is a special, or a catalog
item, be sure you have all of the most current engineering
drawings or catalog specifications, including whatever other
standards they reference.
Keep this information organized and easily accessible.
Highlight or mark important data, tables, paragraphs and
footnotes. If a document is not in PDF format scan it in.
Make a list of all the documents with notes on why each is
relevant to the investigation. You can easily have hundreds
of documents and thousands of pages. Your Microsoft file
manager is a good tool for this job, but there are better addons
available.
Depending on where you are in the investigation there
may be legal or insurance documentation involved. At this
stage, be sure to consult with your insurance agent and
your attorney regarding how you should handle and share
documentation pertaining to the investigation.
[6] HANDLE ALL SPECIMENS WITH CARE - DO
NOT REJOIN THE FRACTURE SURFACES. Do not touch the
fracture surfaces, do not clean the fracture surfaces, do not
mark the fracture surfaces, do not even look at the fracture
surfaces - just kidding. Suffice it to say, if you have custody
of the failed specimen make every effort to be sure it is not
mishandled. Put each specimen in an individual container.
A heavy plastic zip lock bag is best. For fractured parts,
put each piece in its own bag and then put those two bags
in another bag. All bags must be new, unused, clean and
dry. For very large specimens, a suitable cardboard box
is adequate. If the specimens are going to be shipped or
transported in any way they should be carefully packaged
to ensure there is no abrading or impacting of the fracture
surfaces. Placing a long cardboard tube over the body of the
specimen can serve this purpose. If you are sending the
specimen to a laboratory they may have specific instructions
for packaging.
All specimens must be clearly labeled. The information
should include a description of the item, its condition, its
source, lot number, and processing information. In addition
to the label a “specimen identification form” may be used.
This form can be made up on the spot. It can include
information beyond the item identification, such as, an
assigned specimen identification number, which documents
in the investigation are germane to the specimen, contact
information on the source of the specimen, if there are
other examples of the specimen available and their location,
which other parties have examined or tested the specimen
and the resulting reports, and who else has examples of the
same specimen.
If the investigation has legal or insurance implications
then the specimens may be considered evidence and
should be managed in accordance with the instructions of
your attorney or insurance agent. Do not assume they know
how to physically care for the specimens though.
[7] TAKE ACTION TO REMOVE SUSPECT DEFECTIVE
PRODUCT FROM THE SUPPLY CHAIN - This is especially
important for HE failures. Chances are the end user has
already quarantined the product at all of their affected
facilities. The supplier should double check to make sure.
Do this immediately. The scope of the damage, rework or
recall can be severely impacted with just one more day of
defective product in play.
You should also determine all the locations where
the suspect product was shipped for all other customers,
including in-route shipments. Determine all locations within
your own facilities where the product may be stocked.
Quarantine those locations or that product in accordance
with your QMS. Immediately audit any processes or
processors that may have a hand in causing the problem,
especially plating operations. Suspend any processes that
are not in accordance with the specification requirements or
that are not under adequate control.
[8] DO NOT CONDUCT ANY LABORATORY TESTING
ON THE FAILED SPECIMEN OR THE SAMPLE PARTS
UNTIL ALL PARTIES HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO AGREE
ON THE TEST PROTOCOL AND WHAT WILL BE DONE
WITH THE DATA - All parties may, or may not, cooperate in
the laboratory testing, or what is called the “failure analysis”
part of the investigation. They can and should freely share
data on their own testing as well. In most cases, each party
is interested in finding out the root cause of the failure.
Responsibility for the failure will be determined based on
that finding. Laboratory failure analysis is expensive, time
consuming and does not always result in a definitive answer
as to the root cause of the failure. However, it can almost
certainly determine the type of failure, and it can rule some
things out and some things in.
If you are late to the game and laboratory testing
or failure analysis has already been done ask for the
reports. Be sure to thoroughly examine the lab reports and
conclusions. If you have questions about the report, ask for
permission to contact the laboratory.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 200