Advanced Product Quality Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)

Planning (APQP)
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APQP
Advanced Product Quality Planning
Introduction to APQP
What is APQP

Why Perform APQP

When to Perform APQP
How to Perform APQP

Introduction toAPQP
Complex products and supply chains present plenty
of possibilities for failure, especially when new
products are being launched. Advanced Product
Quality Planning (APQP) is a structured process
aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction with new
products or processes.
APQP has existed for decades in many forms and
practices. Originally referred to as Advanced Quality
Planning (AQP), APQP is used by progressive
companies to assure quality and performance
through planning. Ford Motor Company published
the first Advanced Quality Planning handbook for
suppliers in the early 1980s. APQP helped Ford
suppliers develop appropriate prevention and
detection controls for new products supporting the
corporate quality effort. With lessons learned from
Ford AQP, the North American Automotive OEMs
collectively created the APQP process in 1994 and
then later updated in 2008. APQP is intended to
aggregate the common planning activities all
automotive OEMs require into one process.
Suppliers utilize APQP to bring new products and
processes to successful validation and drive
continuous improvement.
There are numerous tools and techniques described
within APQP. Each tool has potential value when
applied in the correct timing. Tools that have the
greatest impact on product and process success are
called the Core Tools. The Core Tools are expected to
be used for compliance to ISO / TS16949. There are
five basic Core Tools detailed in separate guideline
handbooks, including Advanced Product Quality
Planning (APQP). The other Core Tools are:

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA)
Statistical Process Control (SPC)
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)

What isAPQP
APQP is a structured approach to product and
process design. This framework is a standardized set
of quality requirements that enable suppliers to
design a product that satisfies the customer.
The primary goal of product quality planning is to
facilitate communication and collaboration between
engineering activities. A Cross Functional Team
(CFT), involving marketing, product design,
procurement, manufacturing and distribution, is
used in the APQP process. APQP ensures the Voice of
the Customer (VOC) is clearly understood, translated
into requirements, technical specifications and
special characteristics. The product or process
benefits are designed in through prevention.
APQP supports the early identification of change,
both intentional and incidental. These changes can
result in exciting new innovation supporting
customer delight. When not managed well they
translate to failure and customer dissatisfaction. The
focus of APQP is utilization of tools and methods for
mitigating the risks associated with change in the
new product or process.
APQP - Concurrent Process

WhyApply APQP
APQP supports the never ending pursuit of
continuous improvement. The first three sections of
APQP focus on planning and prevention and make up
80% of the APQP process. The fourth and fifth
sections support the remaining 20% of APQP and
focus on validation and evidence. The fifth section
specifically allows an organization to communicate
learnings and provide feedback to develop standard
work and processes. A list of APQP benefits are:

Directing resources by defining the vital few items

from the trivial many
Promote early identification of change
Intentional (what is being changed on
purpose to bring value to the customer)
Incidental (environments, customer usage,
degradation and interfaces)
Avoid late changes (post release) by anticipating
failure and preventing it
Fewer design and process changes later in
the product development process
On-time quality product at lowest cost
Multiple options for mitigating the risk when
found earlier
 Higher capability of verification and validation of
a change
Improved collaboration between Design of the
Product and Process
Improved Design for Assembly and
Manufacturability (DFA/M)
Lower cost solutions selected earlier in the
process
Legacy capture and reuse, advancement of Tribal
Knowledge and standard work creation and
utilization

Late Failure Mode Discovery

Early Failure Mode Discovery

When toApply APQP

APQP facilitates communication between the supply
chain and the organization / customer. Requirements
that translate into more detailed specifications are
clarified and decomposed to more detail as the
process continues. APQP is used in 2 ways:
1. New Product Introduction (NPI) Support:
APQP supplements product development processes
by adding a focus on risk as a substitute for failure.
This allows the team to take action on the risk
instead of having to wait for failure to occur in testing
or worse, in the hands of the customer. APQP utilizes
risk based tools that focus on all aspects of product
and process design, service, process quality control,
packaging and continuous improvement. Each
application of APQP may be unique to a previous
application because of the percentage of new
content, changes to current off-the-shelf technology
or past failure history.
2. Product or Process Change (Post Release):
APQP follows a product or process change outside of
Product Development and assures the risk of change
is managed successfully by preventing problems
created by the change.
How toApply APQP
APQP is comprised of one pre-planning stage and
five concurrent phases. Once begun, the process
never ends and is often illustrated in the Plan Do
Study Act (PDSA) cycle. PDSA was made famous by
W. Edwards Deming. Each section is aligned with
analytical risk discovery tools and techniques. Finding
risk in product and process development is more
desirable than finding late failure. The APQP Sections
are defined below:
Section 0: Pre-Planning
APQP begins with assumptions, concepts and past
knowledge. Bookshelf knowledge and standard work
practices are listed as well as areas where significant
change is expected. This section compiles the inputs
into Section 1 Plan and Define.
Section 1: Plan and Define
Section 1 links customer expectations, wants, needs
and desires to requirements. Plan Development will
assure the output of this section is satisfactory
product quality. Resource planning, process and
product assumptions are made. A list of preliminary
special characteristics and design / reliability goals
are also established.
Section 2: Product Design and Development

The focus in Section 2 is on product design and

development. Geometry, design features, details,
tolerances and refinement of special characteristics
are all reviewed in a formal Design Review. Design
verification through prototypes and testing are also
part of this section. Tools which typically provide
great benefit in this section are Design for Assembly
(DFA) and Design for Manufacturability (DFM),
Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA)
and Design Verification Plan and Report (DVP&R).
Section 3: Process Design and Development
Section 3 explores manufacturing techniques and
measurement methods that will be used to bring the
design engineers vision into reality. Process Flow
Charts, Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
(PFMEA) and Control Plan Methodology are
examples of tools used in this section.
Section 4: Product and Process Validation

Validation of the process quality and volume

capabilities is the focus of Section 4. Statistical
Process Control (SPC), Measurement Systems
Analysis (MSA) and Process Capability Studies are
introduced in this section. Product Part Approval
Process (PPAP) is ready for submission and
production begins upon approval.
Section 5: Feedback Assessment and Corrective
Action
Section 5 explores learnings from the ongoing
manufacturing process, RPN reduction, corrective
actions (both internal and external), Eight
Disciplines of Problem Solving (8D) and the capture
of information pertinent for future use.

APQP Inputs and Outputs by Section

Each section of APQP depends on risk information
that has previously been discovered. The information
sharing assures a flow of logical risk discovery and
mitigation. The detailed inputs and outputs for each
section are described below:
Inputs into Section 1:

Voice of the Customer

Market research
Historical issues
Team experience
Business Plan and Marketing Plan
Product and Process Benchmark
Product and Process Assumptions
Product Reliability Studies
 Customer Inputs as applicable

Outputs of Section 1:

Design Goals
Reliability and Quality Goals
Preliminary Bill of Material (BOM)
Preliminary Process Flow
Preliminary list of Special Characteristics
Product Assurance Plan
Gateway approval

Outputs of Section 2:

Design FMEA (DFMEA)

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/A)
Design Verification
Design Review
Prototype Control Plan
Engineering Drawings CAD the Master
Engineering Specifications
Material Specifications
Change Control for Drawings
New Equipment, Tooling and Facilities
Requirements
Special Product and Process Characteristics
Gages / Testing Equipment Requirements
Team Feasibility Commitment and Gateway
approval

Outputs of Section 3:

Packaging Standards and Specifications

Quality System Review
Process Flow Chart
Floor Plan Layout
Characteristics Matrix
Process FMEA (PFMEA)
Pre-Launch Control Plan
Process Instructions
 Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) Plan
Preliminary process capability plan
Gateway approval

Outputs of Section 4:

Significant Production Run

MSA Results
Process Capability Studies
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
Production Validation Testing
Packaging Evaluation
Production Control Plan
Quality Planning Sign-Off and Gateway approval

Outputs of Section 5:

Reduced Variation
Improved Customer Satisfaction
Improved Delivery Performance
Effective Use of Lessons Learned

Examples of Where to Incorporate APQP:

Develop Requirements from Voice of the
Customer (VOC) using Quality Function
Deployment (QFD)
Develop a Product Quality Plan integrated into
Program / Project Timeline
Translate percentage of new content into Product
and Process Assumptions
Product design activities communicating special
characteristics or key characteristics to the
process design activity, prior to design release
This may include new geometry, shape, parts,
tighter tolerances and new materials linking
the DFMEA to PFMEA
Develop test plans (DVP&R)
Use of formal Design Review to track progress
 Plan, acquire and install appropriate process
equipment and tooling based on design
tolerances provided by the product design source
Assembly and Manufacturing personnel
communicating suggestions of ways to better
assemble a product (DFM/A)
Establish adequate Quality Controls for Special
Characteristics or Key Characteristics features of
a product or parameters of a process, which still
risk potential failure
Performing Stability and Capability studies on
special characteristics to understand the variation
present and predict future performance
withStatistical Process Control (SPC)and Process
Capability (PPK and CPK)

How to Develop a Product Quality Plan

(PQP)
The APQP process begins with the creation of a
Product Quality Plan (PQP). The PQP may be unique
for each individual development. During the planning
section, a core group of personnel will review the
concept design, process and product assumptions,
overall goals of the project and past failures. After
collecting this information, the core team selects
tools from each section, based on the value they may
bring when failure prevention is discussed. The PQP
is linked to the project timing plan to aid in program /
project management efficiency. The tools and
techniques are selected based on what risk may be
present, created by the intentional and incidental
change. Discovering unknown risk is desirable. Each
risk is quantified and mitigation actions are
developed and implemented increasing the
probability of project success.
Example of a Product Quality Plan
The Quality-One approach depicted in the following
PQP example is a matrix with calculated ratios of
qualitative tools verses quantitative evidence. Since
qualitative tools can be used earlier in the product
development process, Quality-One expects a 3:1
qualitative to quantitative ratio. The opportunity to
discuss potential issues based on change with
qualitative tools should be three times greater than
the actual data collected. Observed data collection
happens late in Product Development (PD) and
reaction to failure may be required. Discussion of the
change, using a tool and a Cross Functional Team
(CFT), often results in discovering and preventing a
failure early in PD. APQP is focused on predicting and
preventing failure (80%) and less on detecting it
(20%).

The APQP Cross Functional Team (CFT)

The Cross Functional Team (CFT) in APQP evolves and
changes as the process progresses. Preliminary
details required to begin Product Quality Planning
are collected by a CFT prior to project kick-off. This
process is typically short and does not involve any
product or process design effort. Aspects of Pre-
Planning include:

Scope of the project

Product and Process Assumptions
Past Failure
Team size, structure and experience
Methods for issue resolution
Space and resources required
Timing of the project

The CFT adds members as certain disciplines are

required. Two examples of team evolution are:
purchasing engagement when make / buy decisions
are required and engagement of tool design
resources when prototype and production tooling is
required.
APQP is performed using Collaborative Product
(Process) Development (CPD). Each CFT discipline
communicates with their counterparts on items
which can impact quality, cost or delivery, either
positively or negatively. Special Characteristics are
also communicated between each CFT discipline. The
earlier a product or process problem can be found,
the less expensive and work intensive it will be to fix
it. Working concurrently per the project timeline, the
team completes the Plan and Design activity:

Product Engineering (PDE) addresses Product

Design and Development
Process and / or Manufacturing Engineering (ME)
addresses the Process Design and Development

Each section has inputs, outputs and management

gateway reviews. Gateways are timed to coincide
with key decisions impacting project Quality, Cost or
Delivery.

How is APQP related to PPAP?

Product Part Approval Process (PPAP) highlights the
proof or evidence collected through APQP. Validated
results from the first trial run supports the assertion
that quality of delivery is expected. The trial run must
represent the production environment, with correct
tools, machines, processes, personnel and conditions
that may affect part quality.
PPAP and APQP cannot be separated, as PPAP
documents are the result of APQP. PPAP provides
evidence that APQP has been successfully
performed. Poor performance in a PPAP or a rejected
sample can be attributed to poor APQP. Deliverables
in PPAP are extensions of APQP Planning. The PPAP
elements are listed below, note that many are the
same as APQP tools or are the output results of
APQP tools:
 Part Submission Warrant (PSW)
Design Records
Engineering Change Documents
Customer Engineering Approval
Design FMEA (DFMEA)
Process Flow
Process FMEA (PFMEA)
Dimensional Results
Performance and material test results
Initial Process Capability Study
Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA)
Qualified Laboratory Documentation
Bulk Material Requirements (if required)
Control Plan
Cosmetic or Visual Signoff
Sample Product
Master Sample
Checking Aids
Records of Compliance with customer specific
requirements

How are APQP, NPI and DFSS Related

APQP,New Product Introduction (NPI), Design for Six
Sigma(DFSS) and other Product Development
Processes share goals and development tools.
Examples of these tools can be found in our Core
Competencies.APQP is often the Product
Development Process that is used as a default
process to support supplier engagement. DFSS is a
highly focused effort reserved for high value
requirements or specifications. APQP is broader in
scope than DFSS and scalable to perceived risk each
supplier, design or process poses on program
success.
Example of APQP, NPI and DFSS
relationship
An Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is
preparing a new end user product. The product will
follow the OEM NPI. Several of the subsystems and
components require supplier engagement to assure
that their expertise is included in product design.
APQP will be used to collaborate with the suppliers.
DFSS will focus on key features that are highly
valuable and quite different than past products. A Six
Sigma Black Belt is assigned to follow these features
across all communications channels and groups. The
tools used in each of these endeavors are the same.
The tools may be used at differing utilization levels at
the Black Belts discretion.

APQP - Plan Do Study Act

APQP - PQP Flow Chart
APQP - PQP Example
PPAP Level Selection

Learn More About APQP

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