Control of Quality Records - What is the required retention time?

4.16 says that records like PPAP, Tooling records and Purchases have to be retained for the length of time the part is active in production and service requirements plus one calendar year. If a product like Alternator is active in Production for 10 years and used in service for another 5 years, Does this mean that a company has to keep all these records for 15 years?????. Can you please interpret this requirement for me, because I am also not clear with the answer given in the Sanctioned interpretations.

We have the same delimma. We are a custom die cutter and sometimes have no idea what the status is on the parts we make. We might make a part once .. then in 10 years they order it again.

I'd be interested in any insight how how to handle this kind of situation.

joe

We are on the same problem. We supply steel coils for tier one suppliers. They produce beams, rims, bumpers and many other metalic parts. As I understand 4.16 we have to keep records while the part (the model or the design) is being produced plus some extra years. The problem is that no matter the model or the part designe changes our customer continues asking us for the same grade of steel (mostly) so our product is "always on service". When are we going to dispose these records ?

Thanks.
Ovidio Molina

Can I interprete it this way?
Active production means the actual part that is in process, not the whole product line.
E.g. a batch of TV is in active production for 5 days. But that model of TV is in active prod. for 5 years.

A perishable product may be in prod. for a long period of time. You may end up keeping records of products which have long cease to exist.

[barb butrym]

ok here is the scoop....The tool and the customer are the key elements. When the tool is retired, or when the customer agrees that there will be no more orders using that tool, then you need keep the record 1 more year.

On the other hand, what if you have never disposed of certain records (eg. design verification) because the past information is critical for future designs. The Third Edition states "the supplier shall eventually dispose of records." What is eventually? 1000 years?

[barb butrym]

absolutely, if that works for you. Ya gotta make it value added.....how long do you want to keep them? Seriously, how long will you need them? Technology mandates....how long will it be beneficial to keep them? My guess is not as long as you think.