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Explore the essential APQP framework, its significance, and the critical strategies to overcome production challenges to enhance overall product safety and quality.
Published 14 Sep 2023
APQP or Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is a systematic structure used in product development and manufacturing to ensure that products or processes created will measure up to the company's quality standards and customers' specifications. The framework assists managers in organizing relevant documents and allocating resources throughout the project timeline, from the planning phases all the way to monitoring feedback for continuous improvement.
Developed in the 1980s by Ford, GM, and Chrysler (collectively known as the “Big Three”), APQP underlines the importance of the customer’s wants, needs, and expectations in automotive manufacturing. It is one of the core tools of the International Standard for Automotive Quality Management Systems, specifically IATF 16949. Here are some specific reasons for its conception:
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There are five distinct phases of APQP. Each has its own objectives and detailed activities so that the personnel involved can check the quality from the beginning to the end.
The first stage of APQP involves defining the goals and specifications of the project based on the Voice of the Customer. Requirements may include function, performance, and aesthetics. By outlining these in a detailed checklist, managers can lay the groundwork for the entire APQP process and come up with benchmark data, assumptions, and marketing strategies.
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This is the phase where various departments come in: designers come up with blueprints for manufacturability and assembly. Engineers create prototypes, and the management validates their concepts based on the initial specifications.
This part of the process covers the planning for manufacturing, with considerations for product specifications like packaging, comprehensive costing, process flow chart with instructions, training plan, and quality assurance. Managers should also ensure that the process can operate for an extended period at optimum levels so it can match the customer’s expected quantity.
At this point, both the product and service processes are tested to check if they, indeed, meet quality standards and the customer’s requirements. Adjustments or refinements must be made before proceeding to the final phase.
The final phase involves the launch or the production proper. The focus of this should be on ensuring quality, minimizing any variations, and improving processes. Everyone involved must be ready with the planned preventive and corrective actions to manage any issues that emerge.
Despite having a well-formulated APQP checklist, it can be difficult to implement it because of the complexity of staging new projects and the unique composition of organizations. Here are some of the most common problems that could arise during any stage of the process.
While APQP was developed to support companies in the automotive industry, other sectors are adopting this framework and customizing it according to their needs. This includes aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and even healthcare, specifically those in medical device production.
AIAG or the Automotive Industry Action Group, with over 4,000 members under their purview, maintains the APQP standard. Check out their website to sign up for training sessions and workshops to equip your company with the right tools to understand APQP, implement the process successfully, and achieve compliance.
PPAP (Production Part Approval Process), one of the last steps in the key phases described above, is an output of APQP. If the PPAP does not meet the expectations of the customers, the APQP should be carefully reviewed from the beginning to find where the problem is. Modifications must be made to ensure that the initial requirements are provided.
In the simplest terms, APQP ensures that the requests of the customer are followed, while DFSS is a methodology that minimizes defect rates during the design phase. Manufacturers go for APQP when creating redesigns of existing products. On the other hand, DFSS should be employed when formulating a completely new product or process.
The importance of Advanced Product Quality Planning or APQP in quality assurance cannot be overstated. Mastery of this process requires more than just learning or following the various steps. This has to be ingrained in the mindset of all people involved. SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) can help your company get a good grasp of this system and, more importantly, sustain the practice to increase customer satisfaction.
Eunice Arcilla Caburao
Eunice is a content contributor for SafetyCulture. A registered nurse, theater stage manager, Ultimate Frisbee athlete, and mother, Eunice has written a multitude of topics for over a decade now.
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