ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

First article inspection

When you make something new, like a toy or a robot, you have to check it before it goes out to all the kids who want to play with it. That checking process is called "first article inspection." When you check the first toy or robot you made, you look at every little part of it to make sure it is all good and that it is safe to play with.

First article inspection is just like that. It is when people check the first item in a big batch, to make sure all the items will be good and safe too. They look at every single part of that item to make sure everything is working right and that there are no mistakes. If they find any problems, they can fix them before making more of them.

This is especially important when the item is something that people use, like a car part or a medical device. It's not okay to have mistakes there because people's safety and health is at risk. This is why first article inspection is extremely important.