Free Template · from the makers of NominalQC, QC software for small manufacturers
Free first article inspection report template for Excel
The FAI package without the retyping: fill Form 1 once and the part number, name, serial and FAIR number flow into Forms 2 and 3. On Form 3, type the requirement, nominal, tolerance and the measured result — PASS/FAIL and the summary card fill themselves in, unilateral limits included. A sample-based in-process / final inspection report and an auto-numbered FAIR register round it out.
Related: Receiving inspection log + checklist for Excel · Cp/Cpk calculator (Excel template)
This log, without the spreadsheet
NominalQC logs first article, in-process and final inspections against the part’s own tolerances — every reading checks itself as the inspector types, and the record is stamped with who measured it.
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What’s in the download
- FORM 1 — Part Number Accountability, fields 1–25 in the AS9102 order: part / drawing / revision data, Detail vs Assembly and Full vs Partial dropdowns, sub-part index, sign-off
- FORM 2 — Product Accountability: materials, special processes and functional tests with spec number, code, supplier code, customer-approval verification and cert number
- FORM 3 — Characteristic Accountability, 60 rows: char no., reference location, designator, requirement, results, tooling, NC number, comments — plus Nominal / +Tol / −Tol helper columns that evaluate each result automatically
- Automatic PASS/FAIL that understands unilateral limits (blank +Tol = no upper limit; "63 Ra max" works) and accepts PASS/FAIL text for visual and note characteristics
- Live summary card — characteristics listed, results recorded, PASS, FAIL — and a status banner (IN PROGRESS → ALL CONFORMING → NONCONFORMING — n NC) mirrored onto Form 1
- IN-PROCESS INSPECTION REPORT: 25 characteristics × 5 samples, out-of-tolerance readings turn red as you type, per-characteristic result and an ACCEPT / REJECT verdict card
- FAIR REGISTER: auto-numbered FAIR-0001…, status, open NCs, customer approval date and days-open across every first article
- Print-ready: Forms 1 & 2 portrait, Form 3 and the inspection report landscape, each fit to one page wide
- 100% macro-free — works in Excel 2010+ on Windows and Mac, no security prompts
The zip contains the workbook (.xlsx) and a README quick-start. A worked example — a machined bracket with 15 characteristics and one nonconformance — is filled in on every sheet; overwrite it with your part. Field order and numbering follow the widely used AS9102 form layout (Rev B numbering; Rev C renames FAIR Number to FAIR Identifier); if your customer requires the exact SAE sheet, this workbook does the work of filling it.
Where this spreadsheet breaks
A first article proves one part on one day. The workbook can’t carry that proof into every part after it:
1.The tolerances are retyped for every report
Form 3 wants nominal and tolerance for every balloon, and so does the in-process report, and so does the next revision. The same numbers get typed — and mistyped — over and over.
NominalQC stores each part’s characteristics and tolerances once. Every inspection of that part — first article, in-process, final — checks itself against them automatically.
2.The FAI passes; production drifts
The first article is perfect. Piece 400 is not, and nobody knows until final inspection or the customer finds it, because in-process readings live on paper travelers.
In NominalQC every recorded measurement is checked against spec the moment it’s typed — out-of-tolerance flags red, the pass/fail result suggests itself, and the trend is visible before the lot is done.
3.Who measured it, with what, is a signature line
A signature on Form 3 says someone signed. It doesn’t stop a report from being filled in at a desk, and it can’t tell you the gauge was in calibration.
NominalQC locks the inspector field to whoever is signed in and ties gauges to a calibration register — an out-of-cal gauge is stopped at the point of measurement.
4.Finding last year’s FAI is an archaeology project
The customer asks for the FAI on a part you last ran eighteen months ago. It is in a folder, on a drive, named something, next to three other versions.
In NominalQC inspections are searchable records — by part, job, customer, inspection type and result — with the measurements attached, not a scanned form.
Who built this
I spent 16 years in manufacturing quality — machining, fabrication, assembly — and in every shop I ended up building the same Excel tools with macros because the software budget went elsewhere. These workbooks are the ones I kept rebuilding. Eventually I stopped rebuilding spreadsheets and built NominalQC instead — but the spreadsheet is still the right starting point for a lot of shops, so here they are, cleaned up and free.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. You get the full workbook and the setup guide in exchange for an email address. Two short follow-up emails about running the process, then silence — unsubscribe anytime.
Can I change the lists and dropdowns?
Yes — every dropdown pulls from the CONFIG sheet (your people, work centers, categories), and it’s all editable with no code involved. That’s the point: it should match your process, not ours.
Does it work on Mac or older Excel?
Yes — this workbook is 100% macro-free, so there’s no "Enable Content" prompt and it works in Excel 2010 or later on Windows and Mac.
Is this the official AS9102 form?
No — it is an AS9102-style workbook that follows the field order and numbering of the widely used form layout (Rev B numbering; Rev C renames FAIR Number to FAIR Identifier), with helper columns added so Form 3 evaluates itself. Many customers accept an equivalent form with the same fields; if yours requires the exact SAE sheet, do the work here and transcribe — the numbers are already right.
How do I enter a max-only or min-only requirement?
Leave the tolerance blank on the side that has no limit. "63 µin Ra max" is Nominal 63, +Tol 0, −Tol blank. "Wall 0.120 min" is Nominal 0.120, +Tol blank, −Tol 0. A blank +Tol means no upper limit; a blank −Tol means no lower limit.
What about visual and note characteristics?
Type PASS or FAIL (or OK / ACCEPT / REJECT) in the Results column and the evaluation honours it. Anything else it can’t judge — like a reference weight — is left unevaluated rather than guessed.
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