Quality Management
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP): What is it?
The PPAP(Production Part Approval Process) defines an approval process of new or revised parts, consisting of 5 submission levels.
As a client you may request confirmation regarding the quality process followed during manufacturing of a product and and thus request a PPAP for newly produced and designed parts or for when approving existing parts is deemed necessary.
In short, this process ensures that all engineering design specifications and production requirements meet the client’s requirements during an actual production quota.
Meeting the quality requirements of a customer is important in order to establish an efficient supply chain of the demanded product.
The 5 requirement levels of PPAP:
A thorough review process is followed to confirm that the production process will provide a quality product, although each requirement will vary from customer to customer. There are 5 levels of requirements for presentation of the production process, which are:
- 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