What is APQP?
Advanced Product Quality Planning (or APQP) 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 serves as a guide in the development process and also a standard way to share results between suppliers and automotive companies. APQP specify 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 aspects as: design robustness, design testing and specification compliance, production process design, quality inspection standards, process capability, production capacity, product packaging, product testing and operators training plan between 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
- Launch, Feedback, 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.