What are your thoughts on Process vs Product Control Plans ?

[Sean Kelley]

I am interested in what everyone thinks about process driven control plans vs product. This is for a steel mill that has thousands of different grades of steel and the decision was made years ago to make them process specific and not product specific. Automotive auditors struggle with the concept a bit and wanted to see what some thoughts are from the great minds here.

 

[Ajit Basrur]

I am interested in what everyone thinks about process driven control plans vs product. This is for a steel mill that has thousands of different grades of steel and the decision was made years ago to make them process specific and not product specific. Automotive auditors struggle with the concept a bit and wanted to see what some thoughts are from the great minds here.

In your case, considering the huge diversity in the manufacturing process, process control plans are recommended as they "control" the process variables that influence the product quality.

 

[Kevin Mader]

I'm with Ajit on this. The automotive auditors might just be accustomed to seeing inspection planning around product quality characteristics rather than control of process variables/characteristics (SPC vs. SQC). Sounds like you have it set up right in your shop.

 

[Codeman]

Actually, you should be using both - process and product and here is why you need both?

Process - checklist describes the sequential steps normally used to manufacturer your types of products, and list the generic steps that the process undergoes to product a generic type of product.

Product - checklist that describes unique steps that need to be undertaken to meet specific requirements for a product.