Median hourly earnings of Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers were $13.01 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $9.84 and $17.46 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.81 an hour, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $23.56 an hour. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers in 2002 were:
| Aerospace product and parts manufacturing | $18.24 |
| Motor vehicle parts manufacturing | 16.49 |
| Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing | 12.86 |
| Plastics product manufacturing | 11.94 |
| Employment services | 8.85 |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers ensure that your food will not make you sick, that your car will run properly, and that your pants will not split the first time you wear them. These workers monitor or audit quality standards for virtually all manufactured products, including foods, textiles, clothing, glassware, motor vehicles, electronic components, computers, and structural steel. As product quality becomes increasingly important to the success of many manufacturing firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. In some cases, the job titles of these workers also have been changed to quality-control inspector or a similar name, reflecting the growing importance of quality. (A separate statement on construction and building inspectors appears elsewhere in the Handbook.)
Regardless of title, all inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers work to guarantee the quality of the goods their firms produce. Job duties, even within one company, vary by the type of products produced or the stage of production. Specific job duties also vary across the wide range of industries in which these workers are found. For example, inspectors may check products by sight, sound, feel, smell, or even taste to locate imperfections such as cuts, scratches, bubbles, missing pieces, misweaves, or crooked seams. These workers also may verify dimensions, color, weight, texture, strength, or other physical characteristics of objects. Machinery testers generally verify that parts fit, move correctly, and are properly lubricated; check the pressure of gases and the level of liquids; test the flow of electricity; and do a test run to check for proper operation. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one. Sorters may separate goods according to length, size, fabric type, or color, while samplers test or inspect a sample taken from a batch or production run for malfunctions or defects. Weighers weigh quantities of materials for use in production.
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers are involved at every stage of the production process. Others inspect components and assemblies or perform a final check on the finished product. Depending on their skill level, inspectors also may set up and test equipment, calibrate precision instruments, repair defective products, or record data.
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers rely on a number of tools to perform their jobs. Many use micrometers, calipers, alignment gauges, and other instruments to check and compare the dimensions of parts against the parts’ specifications. They also may operate electronic equipment, such as coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), which use sensitive probes to measure a part’s dimensional accuracy and compare the results with a computerized blueprint. Inspectors testing electrical devices may use voltmeters, ammeters, and oscilloscopes to test insulation, current flow, and resistance.
Inspectors mark, tag, or note problems. They may reject defective items outright, send them for repair or correction, or fix minor problems themselves. If the product is acceptable, inspectors may screw on a nameplate onto it, tag it, stamp it with a serial number, or certify it in some other way. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers record the results of their inspections, compute the percentage of defects and other statistical measures, and prepare inspection and test reports. Some electronic inspection equipment automatically provides test reports containing these inspection results. When defects are found, inspectors notify supervisors and help to analyze and correct the production problems.
The emphasis on finding the root cause of defects is a basic tenet of modern management and production philosophies. Industrial production managers (see the statement on this occupation elsewhere in the Handbook) work closely with the inspectors to reduce defects and improve quality. In older production philosophies, it was considered acceptable to simply throw away or repair defective parts, but the root cause of the defects remained. Current philosophies emphasize constant quality improvement through analysis and correction of the causes of defects. The nature of inspectors’ work has changed from merely checking for defects, to determining the cause of those defects.
Increased emphasis on quality control in manufacturing means that inspection is more fully integrated into the production process than in the past. Formerly, many companies considered quality control to be independent from the production work. Now, companies have integrated teams of inspection and production workers to jointly review and improve product quality. In addition, many companies now use self-monitoring production machines to ensure that the output is produced within quality standards. Many firms have completely automated inspection with the help of advanced vision inspection systems, using machinery installed at one or several points in the production process.
Like that of many other occupations concentrated in manufacturing industries, employment of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is expected to grow more slowly than average through the year 2012. The slower than average growth stems primarily from the growing use of automated inspection and the redistribution of quality-control responsibilities from inspectors to production workers. Numerous job openings also will arise due to turnover in this large occupation. Many of these jobs, however, will be open only to experienced production workers with advanced skills.
Employment of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers will be positively affected by the increased focus on quality in American industry. The emphasis on improving quality and productivity has led manufacturers to invest in automated inspection equipment, hire more inspectors, and to take a more systematic approach to quality inspection. Continued improvements in technologies, such as spectrophotometers and computer-assisted visual inspection systems, allow firms to effectively automate simple inspection tasks, increasing worker productivity and reducing the demand for inspectors.
Inspectors will continue to operate these automated machines and monitor the defects they detect. The increased emphasis on quality has increased the importance of inspection and the demand for inspectors. These two trends—increased emphasis on inspection and increased automation of inspection—have had opposite effects on the demand for inspectors.
Apart from automation, firms are integrating quality control into the production process. Many inspection duties are being redistributed from inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers to other production workers who monitor quality at every stage of the process. In addition, the growing implementation of statistical process control is resulting in “smarter” inspection. Using this system, firms survey the sources and incidence of defects so that they can better focus their efforts on reducing production of defective products.
In many industries, however, automation is not being aggressively pursued as an alternative to manual inspection. Where key inspection elements are oriented toward size, such as length, width, or thickness, automation may play some role in the future. But where taste, smell, texture, appearance, fabric complexity, or product performance is important, inspection will probably continue to be done by workers. Employment of Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is expected to increase in the rapidly growing employment services industry, as more manufacturers and industrial firms hire temporary inspectors to increase the flexibility of their staffing strategies.
Training requirements vary, based on the responsibilities of the inspector, tester, sorter, sampler, or weigher. For workers who perform simple “pass/fail” tests of products, a high school diploma generally is sufficient. Simple jobs may be filled by beginners provided with in-house training. Training for new inspectors may cover the use of special meters, gauges, computers, or other instruments; quality-control techniques; blueprint reading; safety; and reporting requirements. There are some postsecondary training programs in testing, but many employers prefer to train inspectors on the job.
Complex precision-inspecting positions are filled by experienced assemblers, machine operators, or mechanics who already have a thorough knowledge of the products and production processes. To advance to these positions, experienced workers may need training in statistical process control, new automation, or the company’s quality assurance policies. As automated inspection equipment becomes more common, computer skills are increasingly important.
In general, inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers need mechanical aptitude, math and communication skills, and good hand-eye coordination and vision. Advancement for these workers frequently takes the form of higher pay. They also may advance to inspector of more complex products, supervisor, or related positions such as purchaser of materials and equipment.
Other workers who conduct inspections include agricultural inspectors, construction and building inspectors, fire inspectors and investigators, forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists, occupational health and safety specialists and technicians, and transportation inspectors.
The first product lot in a launch is produced at slower production rates and typically exhibits the highest number of quality issues. At the end of each day the non-partial quality data is summarized and delivered to the customer's point person whom then distributes it to the responsible production managers. This inspection process continues until the launch is completed and or the product exhibits the highest quality levels attainable. Each shift is assigned one the Quality Inspection Teams 2. Each of the Quality Inspection Teams has a Supervisor, Data Clerk and a group of Auditor-Inspectors 3.
Summary of: http://www.acemfgservices.com/Launching_Windows_htm/Inspection_Teams.htm
How Many Australian Federal Inspectors Do You Need to Change FSIS's Mind. Consumer Alert's update on current food-related policies and proposals Volume 1, Issue 11 - December 9, 1997 How Many Australian Federal Inspectors Do You Need to Change FSIS's Mind. The reason given by the FSIS was that the Australian program does not include enough federal oversight over the participating meat facilities. The pilot program, Project 2, was introduced in five selected plants. One AQIS officer or government certified veterinarian remains at the facilities full-time.
Summary of: http://www.consumeralert.org/pubs/OnthePlate/ausie.htm
In great part to your efforts, our funding has been restored for next year. --> Your information is just a click away. We are collecting data on the numbers of Indiana and non-Indiana users. You will be taken to the Learn More portal or, if you have clicked on a Learn More Now newsletter link or a previously bookmarked link, you will go directly to that information. Learn More operates under the direction of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education Learn More Resource Center Suite 2100 201 N.
Summary of: http://www.learnmoreindiana.org/@adults/adults_careers/career_profiles/100431.xml/job_description
For workers who perform relatively simple tests of products, a high school diploma is sufficient; experienced production workers fill more complex inspecting positions. As product quality becomes increasingly important to the success of many manufacturing firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. In some cases, the job titles of these workers also have been changed to quality-control inspector or a similar name, reflecting the growing importance of quality. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one. Sorters may separate goods according to length, size, fabric type, or color, while samplers test or inspect a sample taken from a batch or production run for malfunctions or defects.
Summary of: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos220.htm
Nature of the Work Inspectors, testers, and graders ensure that your food will not make you sick, your car will run properly, and your pants will not split the first time you wear them. These workers monitor quality standards for virtually all manufactured products, including foods, textiles, clothing, glassware, motor vehicles, electronic components, computers, and structural steel. As quality has become a more central focus in many production firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. These workers also may verify dimensions, color, weight, texture, strength, or other physical characteristics of objects. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one.
Summary of: http://guide.symplicity.com/resources/profession_article.php?id=261
Inspectors work at all stages of production. Some inspect the materials that go into products. Some inspectors use their senses while testing products. They may also work in teams, or under a more experienced inspector. They like to be treated fairly and have supervisors who will back them up.
Summary of: http://www.iseek.org/sv/13000.jsp?id=100431
As product quality becomes increasingly important to the success of many manufacturing firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. In some cases, the job titles of these workers also have been changed to quality-control inspector or a similar name, reflecting the growing importance of quality. Job duties vary by the type of products produced or the stage of production. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one. Industrial production managers work closely with the inspectors to reduce defects and improve quality.
Summary of: http://www.ispe.org/campusconnection/featured-inspect.htm
As quality has become a more central focus in many production firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. Regardless of title, all inspectors, testers, and graders work to guarantee the quality of the goods their firms produce. Specific job duties vary across the wide range of industries in which these workers are found. These workers also may verify dimensions, color, weight, texture, strength, or other physical characteristics of objects. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one.
Summary of: http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh9899/210.htm
These workers monitor quality standards for virtually all manufactured products, including foods, textiles, clothing, glassware, motor vehicles, electronic components, computers, and structural steel. Inspectors visually check products and may also listen to, feel, smell, or even taste them. Many inspectors use micrometers, electronic equipment, calipers, alignment gauges, and other instruments to check and compare the dimensions of parts against the parts' specifications. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a much longer detailed one. Inspectors, testers, and graders are involved at every stage of the production process.
Summary of: http://www2.jobtrak.com/help_manuals/outlook/ocos220.html
These workers monitor quality standards for virtually all manufactured products, including foods, textiles, clothing, glassware, motor vehicles, electronic components, computers, and structural steel. As quality has become a more central focus in many production firms, daily duties of inspectors have changed. Some jobs involve only a quick visual inspection; others require a longer, detailed one. Inspectors, testers, and graders are involved at every stage of the production process. Some inspectors examine materials received from a supplier before sending them to the production line.
Summary of: http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh20002001/354.htm