Batch traceability

Mechanical or physical testing of small standardised specimens, known as coupons, cut from a laminate, panel or production sample rather than testing the full component. Coupon results underpin material qualification, design allowables and batch quality control in composites manufacture.

An independent organisation, usually accredited by a national accreditation service, that assesses products, management systems or personnel against standards and issues certificates of conformity. Third-party certification gives specifiers confidence beyond a manufacturer's own declaration of performance.

Certification that a product design meets a defined set of rules or standards, granted after review of documentation and testing of representative samples, so that subsequent production items are accepted without individual testing. It is common in the marine sector, where classification societies type approve materials and equipment, and in automotive regulation.