CMM programs and inspection results are different handover records
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A coordinate measuring machine program explains a planned measurement routine. An inspection result records what was reported for particular work. Keeping one does not necessarily preserve the other.
This distinction matters when a workshop closes and a customer later asks for evidence about supplied components. The custodian needs the relevant result and its context, not simply a file that could once control a measurement routine.
Hexagon’s PC-DMIS 2020 R1 reporting documentation describes reports containing data from features measured by a routine. It is an example of the distinction, not current operating instructions for every CMM or software version.
Two records for two questions
Consider a fictional bracket order:
| Record | Question it helps answer | Context to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement routine | What routine was prepared for this work? | File identity, version, part reference and relevant configuration notes |
| Issued inspection result | What was reported for the identified components? | Job and component identities, date, report status and supporting references |
Ask the quality specialist to confirm the relationship. A routine may have changed between batches. A draft report may not be the issued result. The archive should explain those differences rather than allow a later reader to choose whichever file opens first.
The inspection-report completion guide helps establish which evidence remains owed to the customer. Preserve the responsible review and release record with the applicable report, through the business’s quality arrangements.
Preserve meaning without promising reuse
Someone may ask for a measurement program to use elsewhere. That is a different purpose from receiving historical results. Ask the relevant rights holder, supplier and competent metrology specialist about permission, configuration and suitability. Do not claim a program is transferable or ready to run on another system merely because it can be copied.
The engineering software access plan should distinguish reading old reports from editing or executing routines. Those uses can require different software and permissions.
Keep customer information controlled. A machine buyer does not automatically need the closing business’s component results. Tell UK Auction Group which customer records are excluded from the equipment package and which hardware decisions depend on completing the authorised archive arrangement.
Before staff leave, ask the future custodian to retrieve the issued result for one named bracket from the index. They should be able to identify its status and the person who can answer a technical question. If they find only a program, or cannot connect the report to the components, record the gap for the quality lead. The wider drawing archive can provide the related revision history without pretending that it supplies a missing measurement result.
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