Production Rejects

according to Soviet law, output (articles, semifinished products, parts, and so forth) that does not correspond in quality to standards, technical specifications, and other technical norms. A distinction is drawn between reparable and irreparable production rejects. It is technically possible and economically advisable to repair the defects in reparable rejects at the enterprise. Irreparable rejects are articles whose defects are technically impossible or economically disadvantageous to eliminate. Such articles may be used as waste.

Rejects may be the result of incorrect adjustment of a machine tool, malfunctioning of equipment and tools, errors in technical specifications (plans and drafts, for example), disruption of production discipline, or the workers’ low level of skill. Characteristic of production rejects is a discrepancy between the quality of the part or article and current technical requirements (for example, incorrect dimensions or failure to follow a standard formula).

The discovery of defective products is the responsibility of the workers, the foremen, and the employees of the technical control department. The “notification on rejects,” which lists the reasons for defects and names the guilty parties, serves as the basis for recording production rejects and analyzing and elaborating measures to eliminate them. The Classified Catalog of Production Rejects, which provides a systematized list of the causes of rejects and the guilty parties, is used in the analysis of the reasons for rejects.

Payment for production rejects depends on the usability of the product and the degree to which the worker is to blame. An irreparable production reject caused by an employee is not paid for; a reduced payment is required for a partially defective product, depending on the degree of usability. If the defects in an irreparable production reject are not the fault of a worker or employee, the payment for the reject equals two-thirds of the wage rate of a timeworker in the corresponding category. A reparable production reject is paid for at reduced rates that vary depending on the degree of usability of the product but that are equal to at least two-thirds of the wage rate. In these cases, monthly earnings are not to fall below the established minimum.

If an article is rejected because of a flaw in the worked metal (a discrepancy in quality, or a pit or a crack), which is discovered after at least one workday has been spent on processing or assembling the part, the reject is paid for in terms of piece rates. Production rejects that are not the fault of the worker and that are discovered after the article has been accepted by the technical control department are paid for as if they were good articles. During a period of product development, production rejects that are not the fault of the worker are paid for by calculating the wage rate of a timeworker of the corresponding category.

Production rejects are accounted for in physical and monetary terms (cost). All financial losses, minus the value of the waste and the withholdings for rejects, are transferred to the product and are included in its actual cost. Thus, the higher the losses from production rejects, the higher is the actual cost of a good product, and the lower the profit of the enterprise.

Production rejects are reduced by organizational and technical measures, including the mechanization and automation of production processes, proper maintenance of equipment and fittings, and the introduction of advanced forms and methods of technical control. Many factors are of great significance in preventing production rejects: zero-defect manufacturing, strict observance of production discipline in the work area, correct organization of labor, improved worker skills, the development of socialist emulation for high product quality, and material and moral incentives for the workers to manufacture high-quality products.