Introduction to Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
Jan 2, 2025
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is a valuable tool for establishing confidence in metal component suppliers and their production processes. In today’s competitive manufacturing environment controlling cost and maintaining a high level of quality have become vital to a company’s success. Increasing costs of equipment, materials and labor combined with expanding world markets have resulted in an increase of outsourced parts. Many component parts are being outsourced to overseas manufacturers. This often results in longer lead times and larger order quantities. Therefore it has become imperative to provide quality parts that meet the customer’s requirements the first time and every time. Initially PPAP was utilized by the automotive and aerospace industries. PPAP is now being utilized by several industries to improve communication and provide quality products.
What is Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
PPAP defines the approval process for new or revised parts, or parts produced from new or significantly revised production methods. The PPAP process consists of 18 elements that may be required for approval of production level parts. Not all of the elements are required for every submission. There are five generally accepted PPAP submission levels. The PPAP manual contains detailed information, guidelines and sample documents useful for completing the process requirements. The resulting PPAP submission provides the evidence that the supplier has met or exceeded the customer’s requirements and the process is capable of consistently reproducing quality parts.
Why Perform Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
The PPAP process verifies that the supplier understands all customer engineering design specifications and requirements and that the process is capable of consistently producing product meeting those requirements during an actual production run at the quoted production rate. PPAP and other quality tools continue to be implemented into more industries; therefore it is important to gain an understanding of the PPAP requirements to remain competitive as a parts supplier.
When to Perform Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
A PPAP is required for any new part submission as well as for approval of any change to an existing part or process. The customer may request a PPAP at any time during the product life. This demands that the supplier must maintain a quality system that develops and documents all of the requirements of a PPAP submission at any time.
How to Perform Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
The process of completing a PPAP submission is fairly complex. This detailed process is a collection of key elements that must be completed to verify that the production process will produce a quality product. Not all of the elements are always required for a PPAP submission. The particular requirements of the PPAP are usually negotiated during the quoting process.
PPAP Levels of Submission
The PPAP submission requirements are normally divided into five classifications or levels, as follows:
- Level 1 – Part Submission Warrant (PSW) only submitted to the customer
- Level 2 – PSW with product samples and limited supporting data
- Level 3 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data
- Level 4 – PSW and other requirements as defined by the customer
- Level 5 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data available for review at the supplier’s manufacturing location
The PPAP process is a detailed and lengthy process. The PPAP package includes documentation of various multiple cross-functional tools and documents the ability of the supplier to meet all customer requirements. PPAP provides customers adequate information to validate that all areas of the design and production processes have been reviewed thoroughly to ensure that only high quality products will be allowed to ship to the end customer.