APQP & CP (Advanced Product Quality Planning & Control Plan) The primary goal of APQP is to create a structured method for defining and establishing steps for formal communication within the organization. This ensures a common process for the development of a control plan and advanced product quality planning to meet and/or exceed customer requirements. The 5 key phases in APQP are:

• Planning and defining the program.
• Verification of product design and development.
• Product and process validation.
• Feedback, assessment, and corrective actions.

PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) The main objective of PPAP can be summarized as the process of issuing parts (or initial samples) for production by a supplier and getting approval from customers. A PPAP can be initiated from quality planning, by customer request, or requested from suppliers. For production parts, products for PPAPs must undergo significant production runs. The organization must obtain approval from the customer’s authorized representative for:

• A new part or product.
• Correction of a discrepancy in a previously issued part.
• Modification of the product due to an engineering change to the design record, specifications, or materials.

FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) The primary objective of FMEA is to identify potential failures in a design or process, determining the causes of these failures, their likelihood of occurrence, their effects, and actions for control, reduction, or complete elimination. FMEA helps us to:

• Meet customer requirements.
• Control faults in process and product design.
• Improve the design of processes and products.
• Analyze and solve problems.
• Define and improve control devices or methods.
• Prevent design flaws.
• Identify special characteristics.
• Evaluate and analyze risks during product or process design.
• Eliminate risks and plan appropriate controls to ensure customer satisfaction; among others.

SPC (Statistical Process Control) SPC is an objective tool that aids in decision-making and facilitates the process of continuous improvement in a company. It’s a mathematical language that allows managers and operators to understand “what the machines are saying”, as SPC helps define limits and tolerances in production and the processes to be controlled, supported by the history of these and of the company. SPC can be broadly divided into three groups of activities:

• Understanding the process.
• Understanding the causes of variation.
• Eliminating sources of special cause variation.

MSA (Measurement System Analysis) Just as processes that produce a product can vary, the process of obtaining measurements and data can also vary and produce defects. MSA evaluates the test method, measurement instruments, and the entire measurement acquisition process to ensure the integrity of data used for analysis (typically quality analysis) and to understand the impact of measurement error on decisions about a product or process. MSA is a crucial element of Six Sigma and other quality management system methodologies. It includes:

• Selection of the correct measurement and approach.
• Evaluation of the measurement device.
• Evaluation of procedures and operators.
• Evaluation of measurement interactions.
• Calculation of measurement uncertainty of individual measurement devices and/or measurement systems.