First article inspection cost: a model you can copy.

Why don't most shops know what an FAI costs?

Most job shops don't know their FAI cost because FAI time gets booked to three different places, or not booked at all. A first article inspection (FAI) is the full inspection of one part from the first production run, documented on the AS9102 forms, to show the production process can make the part to the drawing. Inspector hours for it go to quality overhead. CMM programming goes to setup. The hour spent chasing an anodizer for a cert doesn't get booked anywhere. So the first lot looks less profitable than it should, and the next quote goes out with the same blind spot.

A flat dollar range for "an FAI" doesn't help either. A 15-characteristic bracket and a 400-characteristic manifold are not the same job.

The fix is the one you'd use for machining: list the operations, find what drives each one, and put a rate on it.

What goes into the cost of a first article inspection?

The cost of an AS9102 FAI is the labor for about ten steps, from drawing review to signature, plus CMM machine time. Each step has its own cost driver. Here is every step of a typical AS9102 FAI in a job shop, and what makes each one bigger or smaller. If your process has a step that isn't here, add a row.

Two terms come up in every row. A characteristic is one numbered requirement on the drawing (a dimension, a GD&T control or a note), and gets one balloon and one row on Form 3, the characteristic accountability form. Form 2 lists the materials, special processes and functional tests, with their specs and cert numbers. Form 1 is the part number accountability form that heads the report.

Almost every step scales with characteristic count, so count balloons before you quote. Form 2 is mostly waiting on other people. See AS9102 Form 2 explained for what each field needs.

What does a full FAI cost? A worked example

In this worked example, a full AS9102 FAI on a 120-characteristic machined aluminum housing takes 763 minutes (12.7 hours) of labor and costs about $1,126. Every number below is an assumption, picked to be plausible for that part. None of it is an industry benchmark. Swap in your own.

Each row is rounded to the dollar, so the rows add to $1,082, not the $1,081 labor total (763 minutes × $85/hr ÷ 60 = $1,080.92). What matters is the shape. CMM programming is the biggest single line at 228 minutes (3.8 hours). The paperwork steps (ballooning, typing into Form 3, Form 2, Form 1, review and signature) add up to 332 minutes, about 5.5 hours, which is more than the CMM programming. That paperwork is the part most shops never price.

A reusable CMM program drops the number. Five setups and a heat treater who never sends certs push it up.

Is there a formula for FAI cost?

Yes, as a rough model: FAI minutes are a fixed amount plus a rate per sheet, per characteristic and per Form 2 item, and FAI cost is those minutes times your labor rate plus CMM machine time. Collapse the worked example and you get a formula you can drop into your quoting spreadsheet. With the example's assumed rates:

minutes ≈ 175
        + 10   × sheets
        + 1.25 × all characteristics
        + 2.5  × CMM characteristics
        + 3    × manual characteristics
        + 30   × Form 2 items

FAI cost ≈ (minutes ÷ 60) × labor rate + CMM hours × machine rate

The 175 minutes is the fixed part: 45 for base drawing review, 60 for CMM fixturing, 20 for CMM load, 30 for Form 1 and 20 for base review. The 1.25 per characteristic is ballooning (1 minute) plus review (0.25). The 2.5 per CMM characteristic is programming (2) plus typing into Form 3 (0.5). Run the example through it and you get 175 + 30 + 150 + 210 + 108 + 90 = 763 minutes, the same as the table.

Calibrate the formula before you trust it: pull your last five FAIs, note characteristic counts and actual hours, and adjust the rates until the formula lands close.

How long does a first article inspection take?

FAI time depends on characteristic count, and the calendar time is usually longer than the labor time. In this article's model, the 120-characteristic example is 12.7 hours of labor, about a day and a half for one person. Two different clocks run on every FAI.

• Hands-on time is the labor in the table. Put a simple part through the same model (30 characteristics, 1 sheet, 1 Form 2 item, all measured by hand, so drop the 80 fixed CMM minutes): 95 + 10 + 37.5 + 90 + 30 = 262.5 minutes, about 4.4 hours. A big multi-sheet part or an assembly can run to several days. Your own numbers will differ.
• Calendar time is what your customer feels. Inspection is rarely the reason it's long. The report sits waiting on a material cert, a plating cert that names the wrong spec revision, or a reviewer who's at a customer site until Thursday.

If you promise a ship date that includes an FAI, plan for the calendar clock. Ask for certs at the same time you issue the PO to the processor, not when the parts come back.

How do you quote an FAI to a customer?

Quote a required AS9102 FAI as a separate one-time line item, like tooling or a fixture. If the PO says an AS9102 FAI report is required, the report is a deliverable, and a deliverable gets its own line.

Why a separate line works:

• It's visible. Buried in piece price, the FAI cost disappears on the second order and you under-quote every repeat after.
• It sets up the delta conversation. When Rev D shows up, the customer already knows FAIs cost money.
• It's honest about the FAI piece. If the FAI part is destructively tested or kept as a reference sample, say so and price that piece.

Some customers refuse an FAI line. Then you put it in the piece price of the first lot, knowingly, and note it on your internal quote so it doesn't carry into repeat pricing. Either way, decide it on purpose.

When should you charge for a delta FAI?

Charge the customer for a delta FAI when the customer caused the change, and absorb it when you did. A delta FAI is the shop-floor name for what AS9102 calls a partial FAI: it re-verifies only the characteristics a change could affect. The full vs partial FAI guide covers when each applies.

Don't price a delta FAI as a straight percentage of the full one. Run the example's formula with 12 changed characteristics (8 on the CMM, 4 by hand), one sheet to review and no Form 2 changes: 175 + 10 + 15 + 20 + 12 = 232 minutes, about 3.9 hours, or about $344 with an assumed 15 minutes of CMM time. That's 10% of the characteristics for about 30% of the full FAI cost, because the model keeps the fixed work (reviewing the change, editing the CMM program, Form 1, review and signature) on every FAI.

What does a rejected FAI report cost?

A rejected first article inspection report (FAIR) costs the rework hours plus the delay to shipment and payment, and it rarely shows up in anyone's job costing.

• Rework hours. Find the problem, fix the form, maybe re-measure. If a paperwork fix takes 3 hours at an assumed $85/hr, that's $255. More if the part has shipped and you have to measure a second piece.
• Held shipments and late payment. Some customers won't accept or pay for a lot until its FAI is approved. On a 50-piece order, that can be the whole invoice sitting still.
• Scorecard hits. Some customers' supplier ratings count rejected FAIs, and a run of them can put you on a watch list.

To put rejections in the model, multiply your rework cost by the fraction of FAIs that come back. With an assumed one in five coming back at 3 hours each, that's $255 ÷ 5 = $51 added to every FAI on average, before counting the delayed invoice. Most rejections come from a short list of causes, covered in why FAI reports get rejected. Running through a first article inspection checklist before you submit is the cheapest fix.

What cuts the hours on an FAI?

The hours that are easiest to cut are the clerical ones: ballooning, retyping CMM results and rebuilding forms. In the worked example those steps are about 5.5 hours of the 12.7.

• Balloon once, cleanly. Stable balloon numbers make every later partial FAI faster. See how to balloon a drawing.
• Stop retyping CMM output. Typing 84 rows by hand takes time, and it's also where transposed digits come from. Knowing how to read a CMM report helps you map it to Form 3 rows faster.
• Use a template you trust. If you're still building forms from scratch, start from the free AS9102 Excel templates and the Form 3 field guide, and check the field numbers against your customer's required form.

Where does FAI software help?

FAI software helps with the clerical steps, not with CMM run time or late certs. Software can't make your CMM run faster or get your plater to send certs on time. What Deburr does: it balloons the drawing and flags the characteristics it isn't sure about, takes pasted CMM text output into Form 3, blocks sign-off when a reading was taken with an out-of-calibration gauge, and routes Forms 1, 2 and 3 to a preparer and a reviewer, who sign. Pricing is $249/mo (Shop) or $499/mo (Pro) for the whole team, with no per-seat fees and a 14-day trial, so you can put it through the same model above with your own numbers.

Related: Full vs partial FAI · AS9102 Form 3 explained · Why FAI reports get rejected · PPAP vs FAI · First article inspection software: a buyer's checklist

FAQ

How much does a first article inspection cost?

There is no industry price for a first article inspection. The cost is your own quality labor plus CMM machine time, and it grows with characteristic count, drawing sheets and AS9102 Form 2 items. In the worked example on this page, with 120 characteristics, 3 sheets, 3 Form 2 items and assumed rates of $85/hr for labor and $60/hr for the CMM, a full FAI comes to 12.7 hours and about $1,126. Put your own numbers into the model.

How long does a first article inspection take?

First article inspection time depends mostly on characteristic count. In this page's model, a 120-characteristic machined part takes 12.7 hours of labor and a 30-characteristic part measured by hand takes about 4.4 hours; large multi-sheet parts and assemblies can take several days. Calendar time is usually longer than labor time, because material and special-process certs and the reviewer's signature hold the report up.

Should I charge the customer for a first article inspection?

If the purchase order requires an AS9102 first article inspection report, the report is a deliverable, and many shops quote it as a separate one-time line item next to setup and tooling. A separate line keeps the FAI cost visible, shows the customer why a drawing revision costs money, and stops the cost from being buried in the piece price of the first lot.

Is a delta FAI cheaper than a full FAI?

Yes, but not in proportion to the characteristics re-verified. A delta FAI, called a partial FAI in AS9102, still needs the change reviewed, the CMM program edited, Form 1 completed and the package reviewed and signed. In this page's worked example, a partial FAI covering 12 of 120 characteristics (10%) costs about $344, roughly 30% of the $1,126 full FAI.

Sources

1. How does First Article Inspection fit into AS9100 Rev D?, Advisera 9100 Academy
2. Verify your production process (AS9100), LRQA
3. AS9102 Rev C training, Paradygm
4. FAI Requirement Determination Questionnaire, Kaman (example customer lapse-in-production rule)
5. Quality clause Q2A, First Article Inspection (rev 12), Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (example customer FAI flowdown)

All times, rates and dollar figures in this article are assumptions for a worked example, not industry data.