Technical RFQ Checklist

A request for quotation is a technical communication as well as a purchasing document. “Abrasive disc, fine grade” may be quick to type, but it does not tell a supplier which material is being processed, which machine will be used, what result is acceptable or whether a proposed alternative will fit the mounting system. A structured RFQ reduces clarification cycles, incomparable offers, unsuitable samples, receiving disputes and uncontrolled substitutions.

This chapter converts established abrasive-specification principles into a practical RFQ workflow. It supports product selection and purchasing decisions without assigning unverified product properties or replacing the product label, Technical Data Sheet, machine instructions, drawing, process controls or workplace risk assessment.

Chapter objectives

After this chapter, the reader should be able to:

• assign clear ownership for preparing and approving a technical RFQ;
• describe the application, workpiece and required result in supplier-ready language;
• record machine, interface, guarding and wet/dry conditions accurately;
• identify abrasive form, dimensions and grading system without false equivalence;
• distinguish mandatory requirements, preferences and supplier proposals;
• request useful documentation, marking, samples and traceability;
• obtain declared deviations and structured alternative offers;
• compare technical compliance separately from commercial value; and
• control RFQ revisions and post-award changes.

The RFQ should establish one common basis for every bidder. It needs enough information for a competent supplier to understand the application, identify a suitable product family, state assumptions and declare deviations. It should also give the buyer a consistent basis for technical review, quotation comparison and purchase-description preparation.

An effective RFQ answers five questions:

1. What material and feature will be processed?
2. What operation and result are required?
3. Which machine, interface and conditions apply?
4. How will the offer, sample and delivered goods be checked?
5. How must alternatives, deviations and changes be declared?

Do not use the RFQ to copy an operating speed, pressure, life claim or result from an unrelated product. Describe the application and let the verified product information and technical review establish the applicable limits.

RFQ quality improves when responsibilities are explicit. One person may perform several roles in a small company, but each decision should still have an owner.

Purchasing should not be expected to infer missing process details, and production should not accept a technically different alternative solely because its unit price is lower. Cross-functional review is especially valuable for new applications, high-volume use, safety-critical fit or expensive rework risk.

Before the RFQ is released, confirm that the application, outcome, machine, product form and response format are sufficiently clear. A short clarification before issue is normally less costly than comparing quotations based on different assumptions.

Place the essential decision information at the front of the RFQ. Attach drawings, photographs, process sheets or detailed tables after the summary.

Write the application statement as a complete sentence. For example: “Remove weld spatter and blend local transitions on carbon-steel fabrications before coating while maintaining the drawing-defined edges and surface-preparation requirement.”

Product suitability and process behaviour depend on the material, condition and geometry. Include the fields that materially affect the application.

Use separate RFQ lines where workpiece conditions create materially different duties. A heavy gate-removal operation and a light cosmetic blend should not be combined under one vague description merely because the material is the same.

Name the operation by its function: cutting-off, stock removal, weld grinding, deburring, blending, surface preparation, finishing or polishing. Then state what constitutes an acceptable result.

The ISO 21920 series provides the current framework for profile surface-texture indication, terms, parameters and specification operators. Apply the controlled drawing and measurement procedure rather than copying an isolated roughness value into an RFQ. [S343; S344; S345]

State measurement direction and location. Grinding patterns can produce different readings along and across the lay, while one average value may not reveal a local gouge or damaged edge.

A nominal product diameter does not establish machine compatibility. The RFQ should identify:

• machine or powered-tool type;
• manufacturer, model and equipment identification where relevant;
• spindle, arbor, thread, flange, backing pad, contact wheel or quick-change interface;
• guard arrangement and dimensional constraints;
• machine operating range or controlled operating setting;
• power source and available power;
• backing-pad or contact-wheel profile and hardness where applicable;
• access, orientation, workholding and contact geometry;
• extraction or coolant arrangement; and
• intended wet, damp or dry use.

Ask the supplier to state any required accessory, pad, flange or mounting component as part of the offer. Do not assume that visually similar components can be mixed.

When an exact product speed, mounting limit, accessory compatibility or ordering code is needed, Refer to the product label, Technical Data Sheet, or MKTECH representative.

State the required physical form before describing grain or grade. If the product family is open to supplier recommendation, say so explicitly and retain the fit, outcome and safety requirements.

ISO 525:2020 supports bonded-abrasive shape, dimensional-symbol, designation and marking practice, but it excludes coated and superabrasive products. Use the framework appropriate to the product family. [S342]

Write the complete designation context. P-grade coated abrasive, F-grade bonded abrasive, superabrasive grain designations and proprietary non-woven or structured-abrasive grades are not assumed one-to-one equivalents. [S346; S347; S348; S349]

Do not request “equivalent grit” without defining the result and product construction. Grain size is only one influence among grain type, backing, bond, structure, flexibility, coating pattern, machine, contact condition and workpiece.

Requirement classes make the RFQ firm where necessary and flexible where supplier product knowledge adds value.

Do not mark every field mandatory. Excessive prescription can exclude a suitable solution; insufficient definition can produce incomparable offers. Classify dimensions, mounting and intended use as mandatory when they govern physical compatibility or safe use.

Describe the actual operating environment so the supplier can assess intended-use compatibility and provide relevant information.

Include, as applicable:

• workpiece hazards, coatings and residues;
• dust, spark, noise and vibration conditions;
• extraction, ventilation and housekeeping arrangements;
• coolant, lubricant or process-fluid identity;
• wet/dry restrictions and electrical environment;
• cross-contamination controls for stainless steel, non-ferrous materials or coating preparation;
• food, pharmaceutical, clean-area or customer-specific restrictions;
• storage temperature, humidity and shelf-life considerations; and
• site rules affecting packaging, chemical documentation or waste handling.

FEPA provides distinct safety-instruction routes for bonded, coated and superabrasive products. This reinforces the importance of identifying the product family and obtaining the applicable safety and use information. [S352]

Commercial quantities must still be technically usable. State:

Avoid requesting a large production quantity before the technical route and acceptance basis are understood. For exact shelf life, storage limits, packaging identity or product marking, Refer to the product label, Technical Data Sheet, or MKTECH representative.

A sample request should identify the product, application condition and decision method. State whether the supplier is to provide loose samples, conduct a demonstration or support an on-site evaluation.

The RFQ should specify:

• sample identity and quantity;
• workpiece material and starting condition;
• machine, interface and process condition;
• operator or demonstration responsibility;
• inspection method, locations and timing;
• acceptable and unacceptable outcomes;
• sample disposition and reporting format; and
• relationship between sample acceptance and the final purchase description.

For delivered lots, define appropriate receiving checks such as identity, quantity, marking, packaging, visible condition, dimensions and agreed documentation. If attribute sampling is used, the sampling plan, inspection level, acceptance quality limit and acceptance numbers should come from the organisation's approved quality method and risk basis. ISO 2859-1:2026 provides lot-by-lot attribute-sampling schemes, while ISO 28590:2017 provides general guidance on selecting from the ISO 2859 series. Sampling does not demonstrate that every unit conforms and does not replace supplier process control. [S356; S357]

List the documents and identifiers that are relevant to the product and application rather than using a generic “all certificates” statement.

Quality-management certification provides useful organisational context, but it does not by itself prove that a particular abrasive fits the machine or will achieve the required result. ISO 9001:2015 is the current published edition at the time of this chapter; a replacement is under publication. Confirm application suitability through the product information and the controlled selection process described in this handbook. [S353]

Ask every supplier to return the same table. This makes assumptions visible and avoids comparing a detailed technical offer with a price-only response.

An alternative can be valuable, but “equivalent” should never be accepted as an unexplained label. Require the supplier to declare differences in:

• product family and intended operation;
• dimensions, mounting and accessories;
• grading system and designation;
• grain, backing, bond, density, flexibility or structure;
• wet/dry use and process sequence;
• product safety, storage and marking information;
• inspection or acceptance method; and
• delivery, packaging or traceability.

Review the impact on fit, guarding, product identification, contamination, process result, operator method, receiving, storage and total cost. Similar diameter and nominal grit do not establish equivalence.

Use two linked evaluations rather than one blended score that allows a low price to conceal a technical deviation.

Where cost-per-component or abrasive life matters, define the evaluation method before comparing claims. Do not treat an unsupported catalogue statement as a guaranteed production result.

Issue supplier clarifications through one controlled route. If an answer changes the technical basis, update the RFQ revision and provide the same information to every active bidder. Do not allow private assumptions to become an undeclared advantage.

ISO 10005:2018 supports the establishment, review, acceptance, application and revision of quality plans, while ISO 10007:2017 provides configuration-management guidance for controlled identity and change status. These principles support clear RFQ revision and award records without implying product approval by the standards. [S354; S355]

Record:

• RFQ number, revision and issue date;
• recipients of each revision;
• clarification question and common answer;
• changed requirement and reason;
• technical reviewer and authoriser;
• accepted supplier deviation;
• awarded product identity and quotation reference; and
• resulting purchase-description revision.

Before release, confirm that the RFQ:

• has a unique title, number, revision, owner and response date;
• describes the operation, workpiece, geometry and starting condition;
• states the required result and inspection basis;
• identifies the machine, interface, guard and wet/dry condition;
• names the abrasive form, dimensions and grading system where prescribed;
• separates mandatory, preferred and supplier-proposed attributes;
• describes safety, environmental and contamination conditions;
• states quantity, packaging, identification, storage and delivery needs;
• defines sample, receiving and acceptance arrangements where applicable;
• requests relevant product, safety, marking and traceability information;
• requires assumptions, deviations and alternatives to be declared;
• separates technical classification from commercial comparison;
• controls clarifications, revisions and substitutions; and
• contains no unverified product value, approval, result or guarantee.

• Confirm product, machine, mounting, guard and intended-use compatibility before purchase and use.
• Never infer a permitted speed or use condition from product appearance, nominal size or a competitor's product.
• Do not request altered wheels, removed safety markings or unapproved mounting combinations.
• Identify dust, sparks, noise, vibration, coolant, workholding and contamination controls for the actual task.
• Segregate damaged, wet, distorted, contaminated or illegibly marked products through the site's controlled process.
• Follow the product label, Technical Data Sheet, machine instructions and workplace risk controls.

Alternative Product Approval appears on the following page of the printed handbook (page 531), outside this chapter extract.