products in industry, particularly the automotive industry. It is quite similar to the concept

of Design for Six Sigma. It is a defined process for a product development

system for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and their suppliers. According to the Automotive

Industry Action Group, the purpose of APQP is "to produce a product quality plan which

will support development of a product or service that will satisfy the customer." The process

is described in the AIAG manual, www.aiag.org or 248-358-3003.

History Advanced product quality planning is a process

developed in the late 1980s by a commission of experts gathered from the 'Big Three' US

automobile manufacturers: Ford, GM and Chrysler. This commission invested five years to analyze

the then-current automotive development and production status in the US, Europe and especially

in Japan. At the time, the success of the Japanese automotive companies was starting

to be remarkable in the US market. APQP is utilized today by these three companies

and some affiliates. Tier 1 suppliers are typically required to follow APQP procedures

and techniques and are also typically required to be audited and registered to ISO/TS 16949.

This methodology is now being used in other manufacturing sectors as well.

The basis for the make-up of a process control plan is included in the APQP manual. The APQP

process is defined in the AIAG's APQP manual, which is part of a series of interrelated

documents that the AIAG controls and publishes. These manuals include:

The failure mode and effects analysis manual The statistical process control manual

The measurement systems analysis manual The production part approval process manual

The Automotive Industry Action Group is a non-profit association of automotive companies

founded in 1982. Main content of APQP

APQP serves as a guide in the development process and also a standard way to share results

between suppliers and automotive companies. APQP specifies three phases: Development,

Industrialization and Product Launch. Through these phases 23 main topics will be monitored.

These 23 topics will be all completed before the production is started. They cover such

aspects as: design robustness, design testing and specification compliance, production process

design, quality inspection standards, process capability, production capacity, product packaging,

product testing and operator training plan, among other items.

APQP focuses on: Up-front quality planning

Determining if customers are satisfied by evaluating the output and supporting continual

improvement APQP consists of five phases:

Plan and Define Program Product Design and Development Verification

Process Design and Development Verification Product and Process Validation and Production

Feedback Launch, Assessment & Corrective Action

There are five major activities: Planning

Product Design and Development Process Design and Development

Product and Process Validation Production

The APQP process has seven major elements: Understanding the needs of the customer

Proactive feedback and corrective action Designing within the process capabilities

Analyzing and mitigating failure modes Verification and validation

Design reviews Control special / critical characteristics.

See also ISO/TS 16949

QS9000 PFMEA

References

External links