We realized that the term man-day which product inspections or factory audit companies often use to quote prices, can be slightly confusing to new importers and even veteran importers.
What is man-day?
To put it simply, a man-day is the amount of time spent by one inspector during the process of conducting an inspection, this includes the time spent going to and getting back from the factory. This could also be based off of how many items are inspected
What classifies as a man day?
This is the tricky part. The answer to this question is not a one size fits all. Every product inspections company has a different policy in regards to what classifies as a man day. Here are some examples:
- 8 hours work time in the factory with one-way travel time = one man-day. If total hours above 10 then 1.5 man-day, if total hours above 16 then 2 man-days.
- 6 hours work time in factory with total travel time below 10 hours = one man-day. If total hours above 10 then 1.5 man-day, if total hours above 16 then 2 man-days.
- Some companies choose to add factors such as sample size (number of pieces to be inspected) as a calculation of man-days. This can be 200 samples for one man-day, 315 for two man-days and 500 for 3 man-days.
- There are companies which work out their man days solely off of number of pieces to be inspected. There are multiple factors when using sample size, Is assembly required? Is testing required?
- Someone companies include the time spent in office work when calculating time spent by an inspector on a certain inspection.
As you can see there can be multiple different angles to work with. So every time you get a quote, please do ask the quality inspection company what their man-day calculation policy is. A lot of company’s list their prices on their website which can be miss-leading to a customer unless clearly stated on their website along with man-day calculation policies.
Why can’t it be simpler?
The issue is even though our company, as well as other inspection companies have inspectors in major cities across provinces and countries. Our inspectors cannot just get to the factories within 20 minutes. Factories are often situated in industrial zones far away from the cities. Inspectors have to use trains, buses, taxis and even drive themselves to get to factories. We have even taken flights to get to cities since, not all skillsets of ALL different types of products are available in every single city.
Once inspectors get to a factory they do not just plough through products straight for 8 hours. They need a break, they also need to eat and rest their eyes. Once done with inspections the inspectors need to get home and work on compiling the report in a way they can communicate to our customers their findings. They have to choose out of hundreds of photos at times.
What is our man-day policy at ATI?
At ATI we work with each client on an individual basis by analyzing their requirements first. Our general guidelines are based off of time. If 8 hours plus travel time is below 11 hours, it’s one man-day. For 12-15 hours 2 man-days and for 16+ can be 2 man-days. We always advise our clients as best we can, it mostly advised to either split a product inspection over two days or send two inspectors instead of one. This is due to the issues stated earlier.
Conclusion
We hope this article clarifies a lot of misconceptions regarding 3rd party quality control companies and helps you understand what goes on in the background.