Control Plan

“Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” – African Proverb

In India, for thousands of years, when a child is born, there is a tradition of preparing horoscope (Janampatri). It not only tells information (Karmas) about their past but also about this birth too. In present times, we have Social Security Number or Aadhar Card (in India) which gives complete information about a person. Control Plan serves the same purpose for any Product or Service in the organization.

As per IATF 16949 Clause 3.0, Control plan is a documented description of the systems and processes required for controlling the manufacturing of the product.

Control Plan is the backbone for the Manufacturing process. It is considered to be a LIVE document. There are more than 20 clauses of the Standard wherein it is referenced.

Some of the IATF subscribing OEM have their specific requirements related to Control Plan, which hare stated below

Although APQP manual (2^nd Edition) has specified a template for Control Plan but the organization can decide its own template (or as per customer specific requirement) but ensuring that all the contents as specified in IATF 16949 Standard (Annexure A Page 54) are specified.

Work instruction is an extension of the Control Plan and can-not replace it as its objective to specify the requirements of the Control Plan in more detail.

As per IATF 16949 Standard, clause 8.5.1.1, the following are the key expectations.

• Type of Control Plan: Prototype, Prelaunch & Production

Prototype: Generally prepared when few samples are prepared for checking basic fitment, function etc. Sampling Inspection is 100%.

Prelaunch: Prepared for trial production (8 hours or 300 pieces or as applicable) to check the effectiveness of the process and product output. The sample size & Frequency is high.

Production: Prepared for Mass production. Sample size and frequency is per criticality of the process and customer requirement

• Family Control Plan: For bulk material production (Steel, Tyres etc.) and parts having similar manufacturing processes (Moulding, Surface Treatment etc.), the family Control Plan can be prepared as process and product characteristics remain the same irrespective of the part number.
• Review Frequency: The control plan has to be reviewed based on the following requirements.
• An organization can decide frequency based on Risk analysis
• Shipment of non-conforming material to customer
• Customer complaint
• Any changes affecting Product, Manufacturing Process, Measurement, Logistics, Supply sources, Production volume changes, or risk analysis (FMEA)

Inputs to Control Plan

Drawing

Process Flow Chart

DFMEA, PFMEA, Special Characteristics

Customer Requirements (CR), Customer Specific Requirements (CSR)

Statutory & Regulatory Requirements

Lesson learned from similar parts

CFT knowledge of the process

Design Review

Output of Control Plan

Work Instruction

Operator Guidance Sheet

Process Sheet

Job Setup Instruction

Operator Qualification requirement

Daily Inspection Plan

Benefits of Control Plan

Ensures Quality of product

Reduces variation & waste in the process and product

Enhances Customer Satisfaction

Clear Communication with process owner & customer

Some question to ponder:

• Control Plan is considered to be a LIVE document but is it really? But in many organizations, Control Plan is not reviewed even after 5 years!!
• In your organization, who gives input for preparing the Control Plan? Quality Engineer or Cross Function Team (CFT)?
• How often we check the accuracy and linkage between Drawing, Customer Requirements, Customer Specific Requirements, DFMEA, Process Flow Chart, PFMEA and Work Instruction?
• What should be the sequence of document preparation? ‘PFMEA, CP, WI’ or ‘PFMEA, WI, CP’ or ‘CP, PFMEA, WI’ or ‘CP, WI, PFMEA’?
• How often names of the CFT is updated when we make changes in Control Plan?
• Why so often there is NO linkage between PFMEA, Control Plan and Work Instruction?

References:

IATF 16949: 2016

APQP

PPAP

iatfglobaloversight.org

This is the 40^th article of this Quality Management series. Every weekend, you will find useful information that will make your Management System journey Productive. Please share it with your colleagues too.

Your genuine feedback and response are extremely valuable. Please suggest topics for the coming weeks.