Final mold approval decision aid

Mold Approval: Approve, Condition, or Hold

A structured buyer workspace for deciding whether the evidence supports approval, controlled conditional approval, or a hold.

Static review summary: approve only when required evidence is closed, approve with conditions only when controlled open items have owners and release criteria, and hold when critical risk remains unresolved.

Step 1: Receive closure package

Confirm the sample identity, cavity set, revision, process record, and issues list before reviewing sign-off.

Step 2: Review findings

Structural findings normally require closure evidence; cosmetic findings need an agreed acceptance standard or correction.

Step 3: Review dimensions

Review critical dimensions, assembly fit, and cavity-to-cavity variation rather than accepting a selected sample.

Step 4: Review stability

Ask whether the approved samples came from a repeatable, documented process under production-relevant conditions.

Step 5: Review documents

Missing ownership, maintenance, process, acceptance, or transfer documents can remain a commercial and operational risk after sign-off.

Step 6: Separate open items

Every conditional item should have an owner, due date, evidence requirement, and written release condition.

Step 7: Approval decision

Approve only when required evidence is closed; use conditions for controlled open items and hold for unresolved critical risk.

Buyer action panel

Turn the scene into a decision

Keep questions and evidence beside the visual, not several screens below it.

Questions to ask the supplier

Which structural, cosmetic, dimensional, process, and documentation findings remain open?
Were all cavities and production-relevant conditions represented?
What evidence closes each item, and who owns it?
What exactly does approval release: tool payment, production, shipment, or all three?

Documents and evidence to request

Labeled final sample set and closed issues register
Per-cavity dimensional and functional results
Final process record and demonstrated cycle evidence
Approved cosmetic standard and verification samples
Tool ownership, maintenance, transfer, and production-release documents

Add to the next RFQ

Define the mold approval package and sign-off authority
Require per-cavity samples, issue tracking, and closure evidence
Separate tool approval from production and shipment release
State ownership, maintenance, transfer, and document-delivery requirements

When to delay approval

Any structural or safety-relevant finding remains unresolved
Critical dimensions or cavity variation lack reviewed evidence
The approved result depends on an undocumented or unstable process
Open items have no owner, due date, verification method, or release condition

This buyer-side explainer is a review framework, not a substitute for engineering, quality, commercial, or legal approval procedures. Approval requirements should be verified against the actual program, contract, drawing, samples, tests, and supplier records.