Control Of Changes (Process Related)

[John Halfacre Jr]

Have a question concerning process changes per IATF 16949.

To give some background of our company, we produce washers for the automotive industry that can be produced on several similar like machines in all areas. When we PPAP a part, the thought is we are PPAPing the process, not the machines. I agree with that, but we may decide to improve capacity and increase the tool multiple from a 3 to 5 to improve productivity or reduce cost. Do we need to notify the customer of these changes if the overall process has not changed, and it is not listed in their supplier manual as a requirement?

Looking for some feedback from other in the IATF world that probably deal with similar situations as I am.

 

[Miner]

Full disclosure: My automotive experience is a little dated, but I doubt this has changed much. You mentioned that you made washers, so I presume that you are punching them using die sets (tooling) in punch presses (machines). I have worked in a similar operation (deep draw die sets run in presses). The first rule is that you must PPAP all of the tooling. If you have 3 die sets, you PPAP all 3 tools. If a given tool has multiple cavities (such as a mold), you must layout all cavities for that tool.

Note: this part may have changed since I was in automotive.
When it comes to the machines, you must use some judgment. If your tool can run on 4 identical punch presses, you typically do not need to PPAP all 4 presses. However, if you can and do run the tool on presses with different tonnages, you should PPAP each tonnage press.

 

[optomist1]

Hi John, the key phrase here is "similar machines". and how different they are, I would urge you to solicit input from your OEM or customer SQE or similar, as this can be a sticking point and may or may not impact the PPAP and run at rate process and approval. Stated another way, this question and answer may be customer dependent...

Hope this helps
Optomist1

 

[Golfman25]

Technically you must PPAP the die in every machine, under the assumption the machine is part of the process and changing the machine is changing the process. The lazy, check the box auditors will hit you for this. In reality your process is tooling dominant, so the machine has a very minor effect, if any for simple washers. I think most people ppap All the presses.

As for the tools, you need to notify for new tools or significant refurbishment. Although sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

over the years, I have gone round and round with auto customers on this. It’s a real PIA as they are generally completely unfamiliar with the process. Good luck.