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ISO 2859-1 (AQL Standard)

Understand ISO 2859-1 and how it applies to industrial sampling and inspection decisions.

ISO 2859-1 is the global standard for acceptance sampling by attributes and the foundation of AQL tables.

Standard in practice

Most inspection firms use ISO 2859-1 as the baseline for sample sizes and acceptance numbers.

Buyer alignment

Aligning on the same standard avoids disputes over pass/fail calls.

Step-by-step

  1. - Identify the inspection level that matches risk.
  2. - Choose AQL limits for critical, major, and minor defects.
  3. - Apply the acceptance numbers to your inspection results.

Checklist preview

  • - ISO 2859-1 table reference
  • - Signed-off defect classification
  • - Clear escalation path for borderline results

Key takeaways

  • - ISO 2859-1 reduces ambiguity in pass/fail decisions.
  • - Defect classification drives the acceptance numbers.