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Reading Containment Data: Sort Yield, Defect PPM, and Trend

Good containment produces data you can act on: parts inspected, parts rejected, defect type, and defect PPM by shift. Read together, these numbers show whether the problem is stable, shrinking, or still leaking, and they are the evidence the customer uses to decide when you can exit. Sorting without capturing this data is just moving boxes; the data is what protects you.

Sort yield and defect PPM

Defect PPM is rejected parts divided by inspected parts, times one million. It puts a small-looking reject rate into the language OEMs score you in. Sort yield, the share of parts that pass, is the same story from the other side. Track both by day and by shift, because a rate that looks fine overall can hide a bad shift, a bad machine, or a bad lot.

Trend is the real signal

A single day of clean parts does not prove control; a downward defect-PPM trend across consecutive shifts does. That is why exit criteria are usually written as a number of consecutive clean days rather than a single sample. Plotting the trend also tells you whether your corrective action actually worked or whether you are just getting lucky between escapes.

Turning data into an exit

Package the data the way the customer will read it: defect definition and boundary samples, daily inspected and rejected counts, PPM trend, and the clean-point date when certified stock began. That package is what supports your 8D and your request to come off GP12 or controlled shipping. Clean, independent data carries more weight than your own tally, which is one reason customers ask for a third party.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is defect PPM calculated during a sort?
Divide the number of rejected parts by the number of parts inspected, then multiply by one million. Track it per shift and per day, not just as one overall number, so a single bad shift does not hide inside a good average.
What is a good sort yield?
It depends on the defect and the process, but the trend matters more than any single figure. A yield that climbs toward stable, with defect PPM falling across consecutive shifts, is what demonstrates control and supports an exit.
Why do customers ask for third-party sort data?
Independent data is objective and complete, so it carries more weight than a supplier self-report. For CS2 the customer specifically requires an independent, accepted third party to run the redundant inspection.
How much data do I need to exit containment?
Enough to show a stable, clean trend over the customer defined period, usually a set number of consecutive clean days with zero escapes, plus a documented clean point where certified stock began.

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