Imported Product Inspection & Test Plan (ITP)

Third-party QC via HQTS · AQL to ISO 2859-1

Bubbalooba Pty Ltd (ABN 15 151 030 796) trading as PO Box Designs  ·  Version 1.0, July 2026

The document above is the authoritative version. This page reproduces its content for convenience.

1. Purpose & Scope

This ITP applies to custom aluminium planters, screening and balustrading manufactured by our offshore partner for import to Australia. It defines the inspection stages, responsibilities, standards, acceptance criteria and records that assure imported product meets our approved drawings and specifications before it reaches site.

2. Roles & Responsibilities

• PO Box Designs — owns the specification and approved drawings, sets inspection requirements and AQL levels, reviews inspection reports, and makes accept/reject/hold decisions.
• Offshore manufacturing partner — manufactures to the approved drawings and specifications and presents product for inspection.
• HQTS (independent third-party inspector) — conducts inspections against our specifications using AQL sampling to ISO 2859-1 and issues documented reports.
• Principal contractor / specifier — may nominate additional hold or witness points or documentation requirements, incorporated into the project ITP.

3. Inspection Stages (HQTS Model)

Our imported-product quality regime follows the recognised four-stage third-party inspection model, plus sample approval:

Stage	Timing	Purpose
SC — Sample Check	Before production	First-article / approved sample verified against drawings and finish standard before mass production.
PPI — Pre-Production Inspection	Before production starts	Raw materials, components and factory readiness verified against specification; catches substitution or spec issues early.
DPI / DUPRO — During Production	~when first units complete	Product inspected in production against approved sample and specs; corrects deviations before the full run is built.
PSI — Pre-Shipment Inspection	≥80% packed, 100% produced	Final random inspection of finished, packed goods to AQL against specification — the key hold point before shipment.
CLS — Container Loading Supervision	At loading	Correct quantity, condition and load/packing verified as goods are loaded into the container.

4. Inspection Criteria & Acceptance

At the applicable stages, inspection covers:

• Quantity verification — cartons and units against the purchase order;
• Dimensional / volumetric checks — length, height, thickness and key dimensions against approved drawings;
• Workmanship — welds, folds, joins and edges checked for defects;
• Finish — powder-coat colour, gloss, coverage and adhesion against the approved sample / AS 3715;
• Markings & labelling — item IDs, tags and documents verified (e.g. planter ID convention);
• Packaging — integrity and protection of finished surfaces; carton checks as applicable.

AQL sampling. Inspections use Acceptable Quality Limit (AQL) sampling to ISO 2859-1 (MIL-STD-105E). Sample size is drawn statistically from the lot, and the number of allowable defects is set by the agreed AQL. A common architectural/general-goods setting is AQL 2.5 for major defects, with tighter limits for critical characteristics — the exact levels are agreed per project.

Defect class	Description	Typical AQL
Critical	Defect that could make the product unsafe or non-compliant (e.g. structural).	0 (typically)
Major	Defect likely to result in failure or reduce usability (e.g. finish/dimension out of tolerance).	AQL 2.5 (typical)
Minor	Minor deviation unlikely to affect use (e.g. slight cosmetic).	AQL 4.0 (typical)

AQL levels are set per project. The AQL levels above are typical defaults, not fixed. For balustrading and other safety-critical items, critical characteristics are set to zero allowable defects. Final AQL levels and any critical characteristics are agreed with the client and stated in the project ITP.

5. Hold & Witness Points

The PSI (Pre-Shipment Inspection) is the primary HOLD point: goods are not released for shipment until the PSI result is reviewed and accepted by PO Box Designs. Where a client or principal contractor requires it, additional hold or witness points (e.g. attendance at PSI, or review of DPI reports) are added to the project ITP.

6. Results, Non-Conformance & Reporting

• Reporting — each inspection produces a written report with a Pass / Pending / Fail result and photographic evidence of all inspection points.
• Pass — product proceeds to the next stage or to shipment.
• Pending / Fail — non-conformances are documented and dispositioned (rework, re-inspection, or reject) before goods can be released; a re-inspection is carried out where required.
• Records — inspection reports are retained against the job and available to the client on request.

7. Documentation Package

On request, the imported-product documentation package for a project can include: the project ITP; sample approval records; PPI, DPI, PSI and CLS reports as applicable; material / mill certificates; powder-coat finish details; and a summary compliance statement referenced to the project specification.