460 Int. J. Productivity and Quality Management, Vol. 24, No. 4, 2018 Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Non-conformity recovery and safe disposal by Poka Yoke and hallmarking in a piston unit G. Sundaramali* Department of Manufacturing Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Email: gsuryamali@gmail.com * Corresponding author S. Abinav Shankar B. Tech-Mechanical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Email: abinavshankar@outlook.in M. Manoj Kummar B. Tech-Production and Industrial Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Email: manojkummarmadhes@gmail.com Abstract: Every industry has to ensure a quality check so as to ensure that the products manufactured by them are safe for the consumers. During this process, a lot of wastage occurs due to rejection. Because of this rejection a lot of time, money, resources and manpower are wasted. This research work focuses on minimising this rejection and also to ensure maximum recovery from the rejected material by Poka Yoke. Furthermore, the rejected products from a parent company are smuggled and sold in the market without the parent company’s notice, thereby spoiling their reputation. To elude this situation, hallmarking by engraving technique is also suggested. This helps in maintaining accountability of the rejected goods and also in preventing them from reaching the black market. Keywords: non-conformities; waste recovery; scrap reduction; safe disposal; hallmarking; Poka Yoke; engraving. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sundaramali, G., Abinav Shankar, S. and Manoj Kummar, M. (2018) ‘Non-conformity recovery and safe disposal by Poka Yoke and hallmarking in a piston unit’, Int. J. Productivity and Quality Management, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.460–474. Biographical notes: G. Sundaramali is pursing his PhD at VIT University in the field of surface modification techniques. Currently, he is working as an Assistant Professor at VIT University, India. He completed his MTech in Manufacturing Technology and Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering. He teaches handling optimisation, operations research and statistical quality control for BTech students.