How to Write a Quality Issue Report

A quality issue report should let another person reproduce, contain, or investigate the problem. “The batch looks wrong” is an observation, not yet a usable report.

Identify The Item And Failure

Include the relevant identifiers:

Batch B-24071, packed on 22 July, contains labels with an unreadable expiry date in the lower-right corner.

Add product, version, site, order, or environment details as needed. Avoid including customer personal data unless your process requires and permits it.

Attach Evidence

Record:

• Expected result
• Actual result
• Quantity checked
• Quantity affected
• Photos, logs, or measurements
• Time and place discovered

For example:

Of 40 cartons sampled, 7 had an incomplete final digit. The approved label reference is attached as Label-v5.pdf.

Use filenames and links that another person can open.

State Containment Separately

Containment limits immediate harm. Corrective action prevents recurrence.

Warehouse 2 has quarantined the remaining 620 cartons pending inspection.

Do not call a temporary inspection a permanent fix.

Assign The Next Step

Quality Engineering will compare printer settings and label stock by 15:00. Production should not release the batch until Quality signs the disposition.

Use this rewrite instruction:

Rewrite this as a factual quality issue report. Include the item identifier, expected and actual result, sample size, affected quantity, evidence, containment, owner, and next deadline. Keep observations separate from suspected cause. Preserve all numbers and filenames.

If the issue disrupted a service rather than a physical process, use an incident report. For image evidence, see how to write a photo-proof caption.

See Wrivio’s Windows workflow for cleaning up field notes while keeping the original facts available for comparison.