Onsite Inspection Services FAQ
Overview & Benefits
1. Should I use onsite inspection or send my parts to a lab?
If turnaround speed is a factor or your parts are difficult to move, on-site dimensional inspection is usually the best choice. A Cross Precision Measurement technician comes straight to your shop with portable equipment, eliminating freight costs, shipping delays, and the risk of carrier damage or lost items.
The biggest advantage is real-time collaboration. Whether you need First Article Inspection (FAI) or CAD-to-part inspection, if data doesn’t line up or a measurement plan hits a snag, your quality team and our tech can troubleshoot it on the spot. If you are going through an engineering or manufacturing process change, you can run a part, bring it straight over to our technician, and immediately verify whether your machine settings are on target before running an entire batch.
2. How fast can someone come out to my shop for an inspection and how long does it take?
When you submit an inquiry, a Cross representative will reach out to you within 24 hours or less. Because our technicians stay busy on the road covering our entire footprint, actual arrival times depend on location, travel distance, and current job queues. Reaching out quickly lets us review your requirements, confirm technical details, and get your facility on the schedule right away.
Once we arrive on site, the length of the inspection depends entirely on the scope of your project:
- Initial Setup & Programming: Programming takes the longest time during our first visit. Our technician will lock into tooling balls, map the part to your CAD data, and build the measurement plan.
- Part Size & Complexity: Times vary depending on the number of critical dimensions required, part orientation, and whether parts need to be flipped or rotated. We handle everything from quick checks on small injection-molded parts to detailed multi-day inspections for large parts like automotive frames or check fixtures.
- Daily Progress: If an inspection takes multiple days or involves large part quantities, our technician will share daily progress recaps with your team.
3. Do I need to be present with the technician during an onsite inspection?
You don’t need to stand over our technician the entire time, but having a dedicated contact on site is extremely helpful. If a check fixture is missing a component, an engineering drawing version is unclear, or a hole location was moved during a prior engineering change, having your point-person nearby allows us to resolve issues immediately without losing valuable time. After the job, our technician will walk your team through the raw data step-by-step so you can confidently explain the results to the rest of your team.
Setup, Equipment & Shop Floor Prep
4. What kind of tools are used for onsite inspection?
We bring top-of-the-line portable equipment, including 2.5-meter and 3.5-meter 7-axis articulated CMM arms equipped with blue light 3D laser scanners. This high-precision gear allows us to handle a vast range of onsite inspection projects so we have everything we need to get the job done.
5. Does my shop floor need to be temperature controlled for an inspection?
Our portable measurement arms are built specifically for manufacturing floors, so cleanrooms are not required. However, for maximum measurement accuracy, keep these two factors in mind:
- Temperature: Keeping the inspection area at or under 80°F is ideal. While our CMM arms handle shop heat well, higher temperatures cause metal parts to expand, which can loosen tight measurement tolerances.
- Vibration: We must set up away from heavy impact machinery, such as large stamping presses. Heavy floor vibrations can transfer to the equipment arm and skew sensitive measurement data.
6. What do I need to have ready before a tech gets to my facility for onsite inspection?
To help us jump straight into measurement programming and keep your project on schedule, please have as many of the following readily available:
- CAD Data: Updated 3D CAD models.
- Part Drawings: Clear prints with critical dimensions highlighted.
- Part Quantities: Exact counts of parts or check fixtures to be measured.
- Previous Reports: Past CMM reports, measurement plans, or tooling ball coordinates (especially helpful for check fixtures).
Training, Problem-Solving & Quality Issues
7. Can you train my employees to use our CMM equipment?
Yes. Many facilities have portable CMM arms or stationary CMM machines sitting idle under dust covers because experienced operators have retired or left. We provide hands-on, on-site training for your staff to learn how to operate portable CMM arms or stationary CMMs. Depending on the software you use, we can also write custom measurement programs for your machines so your team can run inspections in-house moving forward.
8. What happens if you find out my parts are bad during an inspection?
We alert your quality and engineering teams immediately onsite if there’s a problem. Instead of just emailing a failed report days later, we analyze the dimensional inspection data with you right then to figure out why the parts aren’t matching the CAD drawing or engineering prints. Identifying root causes early prevents bad assemblies from reaching your customers, drastically reduces scrap costs, and protects your company from failing customer audits or facing massive product recalls.
9. Why should I choose Cross instead of another inspection company?
Our Precision Measurement team is world-class with superior technical expertise and proactive communication:
- Decades of Experience: Our lead technicians bring over 20 years of hands-on metrology experience directly to your shop floor.
- Direct Communication: We don’t just send a quick email quote. We set up pre-inspection calls, perform on-site walk-throughs, review drawings ahead of time, and guide you through what the final numbers actually mean for your process.
- Fast On-Site Support: We prioritize getting expert eyes on your project as quickly as possible to keep your production line moving.
Reports & Paperwork
10. How long does it take to get my final inspection report?
- Daily Recaps: If a job spans multiple days or covers multiple parts, our technician will compile daily findings and review them with your team at the end of each day before leaving your facility.
- Final Deliverables: Official certified inspection reports—or completed data populated into your company’s custom spreadsheets—are delivered within 24 to 48 hours after the job is completed.
Work With Our Team!
Want to schedule your onsite inspection or to talk with a Cross Precision Measurement expert to identify the best option for your facility? Our team is ready to help! Simply submit an inspection request form or email service@crossco.com.
Looking for calibration services? We can do that, too! Our network of fully accredited ISO 17025 calibration laboratories across the Southeast and Midwest provide service plans tailored to your individual needs.