Advanced product quality planning (APQP) | Six Sigma Fundamentals: A Complete Introduction to the System, Methods, and Tools

Before we address the "why" of planning, we must assume that things do go wrong. Obviously, there are many specific answers that address the question of why they go wrong. Often the answer falls into one of these four categories:

We do not have enough time, so some things do not get done.
We have done something in a particular way, so we minimize our effort.
We assume that we know what has been requested, so we do not listen carefully.
We assume that, because we finish a project, improvement will automatically follow, so we bypass the improvement steps.

In essence, the customer appears satisfied, but a product, service or process is not improved at all. This is precisely why it is imperative for organizations to look at quality planning as a totally integrated activity that involves the entire organization. The organization must expect changes in its operations by employing cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams to exceed customer desires—not just to meet requirements. A quality plan includes but is not limited to:

A team to manage the plan.
Time to monitor progress.
Procedures to define operating policies.
Standards to clarify requirements.
Controls to stay on course.
Data and feedback to verify and to provide direction.
An action plan to initiate change.

Advanced quality planning (AQP), then, is a methodology that yields a quality plan for the creation of a process, product or service consistent with customer requirements. It allows for maximum quality in the workplace by planning and documenting the process of improvement. AQP is the essential discipline that offers both the customer and the supplier a systematic approach to quality planning, to defect prevention and to continual improvement. Some specific uses are:

In the auto industry, demand is so high that DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors have developed a standardized approach to AQP. That standardized approach is a requirement for the QS-9000 certification as well as the ISO/TS 16949. In addition, each company has its own way of measuring success in the implementation and reporting phase of AQP tasks.
Automobile suppliers are expected to demonstrate the ability to participate in early design activities from concept through to prototype and on to production.
Quality planning is initiated as early as possible, well before blueprint release.
When a company's management establishes a policy of prevention, as opposed to detection.
To provide the resources needed to accomplish the quality improvement task.
To prevent waste (scrap, rework and repair), identify required engineering changes, improve timing for new product introduction and reduce costs.
To facilitate communication with all individuals involved in a program and ensure that all required steps are completed on time at acceptable cost and quality levels.
To provide a structured tool for management that enforces the inclusion of quality principles in program planning.

When do we use AQP?

Design for six sigma is a true breakthrough approach for satisfying the customer with something better than the status quo. AQP is the vehicle for measuring this breakthrough approach from very early on (concept stage) all the way through production. Therefore, we use AQP when we need to meet, or exceed, expectations in the following situations:

During the development of new processes and products.
Prior to changes in processes and products.
When reacting to processes or products with reported quality concerns.
Before tooling is transferred to new producers or new plants.
Prior to process or product changes affecting product safety or compliance to regulations.

The supplier—as in the case of certification programs such as ISO 9000, QS-9000—has to maintain evidence of the use of defect-prevention techniques prior to production launch. The defect-prevention methods used are to be implemented as soon as possible in the new product development cycle. It follows, then, that the basic requirements for appropriate and complete AQP are:

A team approach.
- A systematic development of products/services and processes.
- A reduction in variation (this must be done, even before the customer requests improvement of any kind).
- Development of a control plan.

As AQP is continuously used, the obvious need for its implementation becomes stronger and stronger. That need may be demonstrated through:

Minimizing the current level of problems and errors.
Yielding a methodology that integrates customer—and supplier—development activities, as well as concerns.
Exceeding current reliability and durability levels to surpass the expectations of the competition and the customer.
Reinforcing the integration of quality tools with the latest management techniques for total improvement.
Exceeding the limits set for cycle time and delivery time.
Developing new, and improving existing, methods of communicating the results of quality processes for a positive impact throughout the organization.

What is the difference between AQP and APQP?

AQP is the generic methodology for all quality planning activities in all industries, so APQP is AQP. However, APQP emphasizes the product orientation of quality. APQP is used specifically in the automotive industry. In this book, both terms are interchangeable.

How do we make AQP work?

There are no guarantees for making AQP work. However, there are three basic characteristics that are essential and must be adhered to for AQP to work. They are:

Activities must be measured based on who, what, where, and when.
Activities must be tracked based on shared information (how and why), as well as work schedules and objectives.
Activities must be focused on the goal of quality-cost-delivery, using information and consensus to improve quality.

As long as our focus is on the triad of quality-cost-delivery, AQP can produce positive results. After all, we all need to reduce costs while we increase quality and reduce lead time. That is the focus of an AQP program, and the better we understand this, the more likely we are to have a workable plan.

The qualitative methodology in an AQP setting. Since this book focuses on the applicability of tools rather than on the details of the tools themselves, the methodology is summarized in seven steps:

Begin with the result in mind. This may be obvious, but it is how most goals are achieved. This is the stage where the experimenter determines how the study results will be implemented: what course of action can the customer take and how will that action be influenced by the study results? Clearly understanding the goal defines the study problem and report structure. To ensure implementation, determine what the report should look like and what it should contain.
Determine what is important. All resources are limited and, therefore, we cannot do everything. However, we can do the most important things. We must learn to use the Pareto principle (i.e., vital few, as opposed to the trivial many). To identify what is important, we have many methods, including asking about advantages and disadvantages, desired benefits, likes and dislikes, importance ratings, preference regression, key driver analysis, conjoint and discrete choice analysis, force-field analysis, value analysis, and many others. The focus of these approaches is to improve performance in areas in which a competitor is ahead or in areas where your organization is determined to hold the lead in a particular product or service.
Use segmentation strategies. Not everyone wants the same thing. Learn to segment markets for specific products and/or services that deliver value to your customer. By segmenting based on wants, the engineering and product development groups can develop action-oriented recommendations for specific markets, and therefore contribute to customer satisfaction.
Use action standards. To be successful, standards must be defined at the outset—with diagnostics. They are always considered as the minimum requirements. When the results come in, there will be an identified action to be taken, even if it is to do nothing. List the possible results and the corresponding actions that could be taken for each. Diagnostics, on the other hand, provide the "what if" questions that one considers in pursuing the standards. Usually, they provide alternatives through a set of questions, specific to the standard. If you cannot list actions, then you have not designed an actionable study and will have to redesign.
Develop optimals. Everyone wants to be the best. The problem with this statement is that there is only one best. All other choices are second best. When an organization focuses on being the best in everything, that organization is heading for failure. No one can be the best in everything and sustain it. What we can do is focus on the best combination of choices. By doing so, we usually have a usable recommendation based on a course of action that is reasonable and within the constraints of the organization.
Give grasp-at-a-glance results. The focus of any study is to turn people into numbers (wants into requirements), numbers into a story (requirements into specifications) and that story into action (specifications into products and/or services). However, the story must be easy to understand. The results must be clear and well-organized so that they and their implications can be grasped at a glance.
Recommend clearly. Once you have a basis for an action, recommend that action clearly. You do not want a doctor to order tests and then hand you the laboratory report. You want to be told what is wrong and how to fix it. From an advanced quality planning perspective, we want the same response. That is, we want to know where the bottlenecks are, what kind of problems we will encounter and how we will overcome them for a successful delivery.

APQP initiative and its relationship to DFSS. The APQP initiative in any organization is important because it demonstrates our continuing effort to achieve the goal of becoming a quality leader in the given industry. Inherent in the structure of APQP are the following underlying value-added goals:

It reinforces the company's focus on continuous improvement in quality, cost and delivery.
It provides the ability to look at an entirely new program as a single unit:
- Preparing for every step in the creation.
- Identifying where the most amount of effort must be centered.
- Creating a new product with efficiency and quality.
It provides a better method for balancing the targets for quality, cost and timing.
It deploys targets with detailed practical deliverables and specific timing schedule requirements.
It provides a tool for program management to follow-up all program planning processes.

The APQP initiative explicitly focuses on basic engineering activities to avoid concerns, rather than focusing on the results in the product throughout all phases. Based on the fact that the deliverables are clearly defined between departments (supplier-customer relationships), program concerns and issues can be solved efficiently.

The APQP initiative views waiting until the end of the entire planning cycle to conduct a review as unacceptable. Instead, it requires conducting a review at the end of each planning step. This provides a critical step-by-step review of how the organizations are following best possible practices. Also, this APQP initiative has a serious impact on stabilizing the program timing and content. Stabilization results in cost improvement opportunities, including reduction of special samples test trials. Understanding the program requirements for each APQP element from the beginning provides the following advantages:

It clarifies the program content.
It controls the sourcing decision dates.
It identifies customer related significant or critical characteristics.
It evaluates and avoids quality, cost and timing risks.
It clarifies for all organizations product specifications using a common control plan concept.

Application of APQP in the DFSS process provides a company with the opportunity to achieve the following benefits:

Program management has a value-added tool to track and follow-up on all the program planning processes, focusing on engineering method and quality results.
It provides a critical review of how each organization is following best possible practices by focusing on each planning step.
It identifies the complete program content upon program initiation, viewing all elements of concern for the organization and project as a whole.

Once program content has been clarified, the following steps can be taken:

Sourcing decision dates are identified.
Customer-related significant/critical characteristics are specified.
Quality, cost and timing risks are evaluated and avoided.
Product specifications are established for all organizations using a common control plan concept.

Using the APQP process to stabilize program timing and content, the opportunities for cost improvement are dramatically increased. When we are aware of the timing and concerns that may occur during the course of a program, it provides us the opportunity to reduce costs in the following areas:

Product changes during the program development phase.
Engineering tests.
Special samples.
Number of verification units to be built (prototypes, first preproduction units, etc.).
Number of concerns identified and reduced.
Fixture and tooling modification costs.
Fixture and tooling trials.
Number of meetings for concern resolution.
Overtime.
Program development time and deliverables (an essential aspect of both APQP and DFSS).

Note
(for a very detailed discussion on APQP see Stamatis 1998.)