(a) Approval tests. The approval tests are those tests prescribed for the preproduction sample in MIL-S-18655. The approval tests must be conducted by an independent laboratory accepted by the Commandant under §159.010 of this chapter.

(b) Production inspections and tests. Production inspections and tests of each lot of signals produced must be conducted under the procedures in §159.007 of this chapter. Signals from a rejected lot must not be represented as meeting this subpart or as being approved by the Coast Guard. If the manufacturer identifies the cause of the rejection of a lot of signals, the signals in the lot may be reworked by the manufacturer to correct the problem. Samples from the rejected lot must be retested in order to be accepted. Records shall be kept of the reasons for rejection, the reworking performed on the rejected lot, and the results of the second test.

(1) Inspections and tests by the manufacturer. The manufacturer's quality control procedures must include inspection of materials entering into construction of the signals and inspection of the finished signals, to determine that signals are being produced in accordance with the approved plans. The manufacturer must select samples from each lot and test them as specified in the production lot procedures in MIL-S-18655.

(2) Inspections and tests by an independent laboratory. An independent laboratory accepted by the Commandant under §159.010 of this chapter must perform or supervise the inspections and tests under paragraph (b)(1) of this section at least 4 times a year, unless the number of lots is less than four. The inspections and tests must occur at least once during each quarterly period, unless no lots are produced during this period. If less than four lots are produced, the laboratory must perform or supervise the inspection and testing of each lot. If a lot of signals tested by the independent laboratory is rejected, the laboratory must perform or supervise the inspections and tests of the reworked lot and the next lot of signals produced. The tests of each reworked lot and the next lot produced must not be counted for the purpose of meeting the requirement for the annual number of inspections and tests performed or supervised by the independent laboratory.