AQL Inspection for Bags, Without the Statistics Headache
Quality assurance · Written by the Sales Engineering Desk · Updated August 2026
AQL (Acceptance Quality limit) is the international shorthand that lets a buyer and a factory agree on "how good is good enough" — before money moves.
“The acceptance quality limit (AQL) is the quality level that is the worst tolerable process average when a continuing series of lots is submitted for acceptance sampling.”— ISO 2859-1, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes
The three dials on the machine
- Lot size — your order quantity.
- Inspection level — General II is the default; III doubles sampling for high-risk programs.
- AQL numbers — typical bag settings: Critical 0, Major 2.5, Minor 4.0.
The standard tables then decide: how many pieces get opened, and the accept/reject count for each defect class. No negotiation drama at inspection time — the math was agreed in the PO.
Where factories cheat (and how to see it)
- Inspecting only the top cartons of a pallet. Require random carton selection across the lot.
- "Passing" samples pulled from the showroom batch. Sample from production cartons, sealed on site.
- No defect class list — every argument becomes opinion. Fix the classes in writing first.
What we do differently
Incoming, inline and final checkpoints run on AQL logic through the whole run — not just a final sweep — so third-party inspectors confirm rather than discover. Full process on the capabilities page.
Want AQL levels written into your next order? Specify them in the quote form — we quote against your inspection standard, not ours.