TS 12402

TS 12402 defines the inspection document used to present the results of inspections carried out at the works on iron and steel products. Within technical product documentation, this kind of document supports common understanding during supply, acceptance, and traceability by recording not only what the product is, but also how it was checked.

In general technical practice, inspection documents are structured records that communicate product identity, inspection results, and related conformity information in a controlled way. For iron and steel products, they help parties exchange batch- or shipment-level information and present quality-related statements in a standardised format. This standard itself is focused on the defined inspection document only; it is not a general quality-system standard for the full manufacturing process.

What the inspection document does in practice

An inspection document brings together the control results for a product group in a readable, organised form. In the iron and steel sector, this matters because results linked to dimensions, appearance, material properties, or other acceptance criteria can be kept together in one document. It helps make clear which observations were used when the delivered product was assessed by the manufacturer, supplier, or user.

This type of record is especially useful in the metal industry, where different product types and order requirements may need to be handled together. The information in the document typically connects the product description with the inspection outcome, but the scope of TS 12402 is limited to defining the document format or concept itself rather than the full production route.

Defined boundary of the standard

• Applies to iron and steel products.
• Defines the document used to report results of inspections carried out at the works.
• Belongs to the field of technical product documentation.
• Concerns the inspection document itself, not a standard for manufacturing methods.