PPAP Consulting

In the manufacturing world, the ability to accurately measure, compile and statistically analyze data is critical in this day of flush mounts, close tolerance fits and reliable/consistent assembly of product.

As an example, look at how doors fit on cars 40 years ago and compare it to today’s vehicles. Cars in the past often had huge gaps between the door and the frame. Often the door did not fit properly nor closed snuggly. It wasn’t uncommon to hear car doors rattling and bouncing while driving. It was also common place to hear wind noise and feel extreme cold coming through doors and windows on cold winter days.

Fast forward to today’s automobiles. It’s most common to see doors which slam tightly shut and hear very little to no noise while driving. The fit, form and finish is exemplary with exceptional control of gaps.

Many of these simple advances that we take for granted came about through the advent of better production tools and processes. However, these tools and processes would not have been possible without the improvement of measuring systems which allowed for more repeatable and accurate results. Couple this with out of the box ready to use statistical software packages which provide instantaneous capability assessments, giving the Engineering world the much-needed quantum leap in design.

CMM Inspection (Co-ordinate Measurement Machine) and scanner systems have improved over the years with ever improving accuracy, repeatability and dependability. These types of measurement systems provide real time variable data for use by Engineering and Quality practitioners to help drive new design and continuous improvement activities. Engineering changes and design improvements are now rapid compared to the past. PPAP activities have become streamlined with respect to full dimensional layouts and capability data. All these improved activities have reduced lead time for bringing new products to market thereby improving and increasing innovation in many sectors.

On the negative side, this newer measurement technology is costly and can be cost prohibitive to a smaller company. This can lead to the feeling or belief that there is no real ability to compete with their bigger competitors.

There is a simple solution to this problem. Instead of purchasing expensive equipment a smaller company can contract the services of an ISO 17025 certified inspection facility for a fraction of the cost.  ISO Certification Consultants, Quality Engineering Consultants and PPAP Consultants have a relationship with such a service. This is the answer to a company’s need to become competitive. Your company provides the certified drawing and instructions for the required measurement points and our partner measurement service develops the program. Your company sends representative parts to be measured and our partner provides the measurements for you. They can either provide just the raw data or actual capability studies for your Engineering team.

A contracted CMM/Scan Capable and ISO 17025 certified supplier can be the answer to a company needing to launch a new product or provide empirical data for Engineering changes and PPAP submissions.

We’ve been conducting our own independent survey of the PPAP Consulting field and have uncovered some interesting facts.

1. People don’t know what they don’t know. This is another way of saying that there is a common misconception that the completing and submitting PPAP’s is completely within the realm of the company’s resident Engineer.
2. Clients think It may be too costly
3. Clients may think that they would be better served in hiring a full time QE practitioner. This thinking is based on the premise that only a fully trained QE in their organization would be more qualified to submit a PPAP.
4. Some clients can’t afford to hire a full time QE so they opt to get around it in some way by either using another type of Engineer on staff
5. Many companies don’t truly understand the importance of submitting a clean and professionally compiled PPAP
6. Many company’s do not manufacture their products somewhere in North America. Many do not read, write or speak English so they opt to not even consider trying to do business in North America.

I will provide clarification and dispel some of the myths.

Regarding the preceding points:

1.     a.   Many clients we deal with typically hire a junior Quality Engineer for their organization or promote someone in their Quality Department to perform the functions of a fully qualified Quality Engineer. This is usually done as a cost- effective solution to the organization. In some cases this can work depending on the complexity of the PPAP submission. In a complex PPAP submission, the documentation may be incomplete, weak or insufficient. The receiving company representative may be more qualified and may quickly note the deficiencies. In this case, the PPAP will be rejected. The submitter may or may not know how to correct the deficiency. This can ultimately lead to a loss of confidence by the customer that the product which they are expecting will not be to the standard that they require. This could ultimately result in serious quality and delivery issues which may lead to legal ramification for the manufacturer.
2. There is another more serious implication to this scenario. If the receiving QE on the customer side is also not as competent then quite often PPAP’s get accepted as is. This has the same or worse results as in Scenario a. When dealing with complex parts which have been engineering as safety critical, having competent individuals on both sides can be the difference between a safe/robust product or a product which can fail in the field. This can lead to loss of life/limb and consumer confidence as well as potential legal action and liability claims.
3. Sometimes a company may believe that hiring a PPAP consultant is too costly. They tend to focus on the upfront one-time cost to have a properly completed and submitted package. What they tend to miss is the true cost of submitting a poorly completed PPAP. In addition, hiring a QE or promoting someone internally has ongoing costs to the company which far exceed the one- time cost of a consultant.
4. Company’s hire a full time QE with the belief that they will be trained and ultimately provide a high quality submission. With time this can be the truth. However it takes experience and training to truly understand how to compile a high quality PPAP document. When one considers the basic requirements for a PPAP submission, a highly trained consultant in Quality can pay big dividends and help the company in immeasurable ways.
5. Some companies use another type of Engineer to save money. This is a very common scenario. Sometimes this can work however it’s fraught with all the same potential disasters as listed above
6. Many companies don’t truly understand the importance of submitting a clean and professional PPAP. This statement is borne by a lack of understanding of what is the purpose of a PPAP. A PPAP is a snapshot of the company’s readiness to meet their customer’s contractual requirements. This should never be taken lightly as the PPAP is a legally binding document. At a future date, it can be referenced as the original state of the system and process that was developed to manufacture products to the customer’s needs. Taking a shortcut and not properly considering all the potential failure modes leads to not predicting future outcomes and not designing process’s and products with robust controls. This can be a legal and financial calamity for an organization. For smaller company’s it could potentially lead to bankruptcy in severe cases.
7. Many companies do not manufacture in North America and do not speak, read or write English. Our PPAP Consulting group recognizes that there are many strong manufacturing companies outside of North America who would like to successfully bid on work but do not due to language constraints. Our relationships with translation partners has addressed this gap. Our PPAP consulting div. of ISO Certification Consultants Inc. can help an international company on many levels.

We’ve addressed a number of the misconceptions and myths surrounding PPAP submissions and the validity of hiring a third party PPAP Consultant. ISO Certification Consultants works with a number of highly qualified Quality Engineering specialists who understand what a professional PPAP submission is.

We’ve also carved a niche business by working with manufacturers worldwide who wish to bid and compete on business in North America but don’t speak, read or write English. This is where we can help with our partner translation services. Also, we can provide ongoing Manufacturing Representation here in North America as we are headquartered in Toronto Ontario in Eastern Standard time. Our team is positioned across a number of key strategic areas in both Canada and the United States.