Data collection in 3 or more dimensions
 

Has anyone discovered a method to collect data with multiple variables, such
that the intersection of the variables represent a single data point.

e.g Part Number, Defect Type, Color, Number of occurrences
1234 Bent Red 2
1234 Scratched Red 3
1234 Marred Red 1
1234 Bent Blue 4
1234 Scratched Blue 1
1234 Marred Blue 1
1235 Bent Red 2
etc
etc

Considering there could be 25 parts numbers, 15 defects, and 6 colors, It
would not be effective to have the data arranged as above. Rows and columns
could represent 2 variables, but how about beyond that? This data will be
manually filled out and then entered into (a) corresponding sheet(s)

I'm not interested in displaying or charting the data, just collecting it
for future analysis.