I am a Dimensional Management consultant working in what seems to be a really backwards operation. In a previous contract (in Detroit with one of the big three) "profiles" weren't inspected as such but by measurements of specific points whose nominal coordinates were called out by the designer. At my current contract the designers call out a profile and leave it to the inspector (who often hasn't a clue as to the function of the part)to choose a sufficient set of points to validate the surface in question. On top of this, the basic dimensions to locate the tolerance zone are often difficult or unrepeatable (like a center of curvature as determined from 90 degrees of arc).

Is there any reference material out there that might help persuade both the design and inspection communities I work with that there is a better way?