1. Advanced Product Quality Planning Reference Model
in Automotive Industry
CHILIBAN Bogdan a
, CHILIBAN Mariusb
and INŢĂ Marinelac
a,b,
cLucian Blaga University of Sibiu, B-dul Vitoriei 10, Sibiu, Romania
a
bogdan.chiliban@gmail.com, b
marius.chiliban@ulbsibiu.ro, c
marinela.inta@ulbsibiu.ro
Keywords: APQP, automotive industry, mathematical model, knowledge, PERT
Abstract: The papers objective is to present a detailed model of the Advanced Product Quality
Planning methodology in the context of the automotive industry. The relations existent between the
various inputs and outputs of each planning phase are clearly formulized revealing the intricate web
of connections present among them thus facilitating understanding and comprehension of the vast
task for both novice and experienced managers. The model can also contain a time and cost analysis
of the various activities, concerning a family of products.
Introducere
APQP stands for Advanced Product Quality Planning. This is a procedure developed by the
american automotive industry, in a coordinated effort undertaken by Crysler, Ford and General
Motors. Its development was fostered by the incrased competition that european and japanese car
manufacturers had placed on the american automotive market. Its main objective is to create an
industry standard in the relationship existent between client and supplier up the production chain, so
as quality criterion are understood by the players and ultimately are delivered to the end customer.
Product Quality Planning is a structured method of defining and establishing the steps necessary to
ensure that a product satisfies the customer. APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) [1]
involves 75% up front planning and 25% implementation through production, to determine
customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
Although APQP is generally associated with the automotive industry, the quality planning
processes in APQP can be applicable within all industries, [2], [4]. The Quality-One APQP
approach is considered to be Best-in-Class, because it is easily communicated to design teams and
suppliers.
Fig. 1.APQP Process

2. The APQP procedure is divided into four stages as follows:
1. Plan and Define. In this phase the needs of the customer are transformed by the company
into requirements and specifications. A feasible analysis is undertaken in respect to products
and processes, and if it makes sense from a quality, cost and delivery point of view the
process moves on to the next section.
2. Product Design and Development. In this phase the design and product engineers work on
the actual design of the product in report with the identified requirements and specifications.
3. Process Design and Development. This section is worked on concurrently with the previous
phase. While the design of the product is proceeding, the manufacturing engineers
designated to the APQP develop the processes and asses the required tooling in order that
the product can be delivered in accordance with the product design and ultimately to the
identified requirements.
4. Product and Process Validation. In this section the product is being created for the first time
using the tools and techniques developed in the previous two phases. At the end of this
phase, once the product and process is validated and controlled properly the PPAP takes
place (samples are submitted to customers)
Mathematical aspects of modeling
PERT is a management technique to estimate the probability that a project will be finished on
normal time, [3]. According to the traditional PERT technique the probability of a certain project
meeting a specific schedule time can be described as follows:
(1)
(2)
Here, X is the number of standard deviations of the date or target date lies from the mean or
expected date.
is the normal expected time which is equal to the sum of normal expected times of activities on
critical path. That means if t1,...tn are the expected times of critical path activities, then 

n
i
ie t
1
 .
is the due date of completion and , is the project standard deviation which is written as:
 2
1
2
pathcriticalonactivitiesofvariance

n
t
td (3)
t and td for each activity are measured by the following formulae:
66
4 




 tt dand (4)
The time estimates are defined as follows:
the minimum possible time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds better
than is normally expected (optimistic time);
 - the best estimate of the time required to accomplish a tasks, assuming everything proceeds as
normal (most likely time);
 - the maximum possible time required to accomplish a tasks, assuming everything goes wrong
(pessimistic time).
In the APQP stages: Plan and define, Product Design and Development, Process Design and
Development, Product and Process Validation, the programmable activities are established, their
succession, time and cost limits. The analysis of all activities can be achieved thru a PERT analysis
and can be simulated with software programs like WinQSB. Analysis thru the PERT method
requires the existence of programmed activities but also their precedence relationships. Precedence

3. refers to the activities that need to be finished in order that others may begin. The time necessary for
every activity is estimated subjectively so that a total time for the realization of the entire project
can be estimated. In the simulation all the activities are analyzed and assembled in a network,
automatically by usage of the WinQSB software.
For every stage the programmed activities have been defined, including the time and cost of each
one. We retain that every one of them has a clearly defined start and finish and is undertaken only
change,(Table 1).
Table 1 The project activities
Cod Description [Hours]*
[Euro]
A1 Voice of the customer
A2 Business Plan/ Marketing
Strategy
A3 Product/Process Benchmark
Data
A4 Product/Process Assumtions
A5 Product Reliability Studies
A6 Customer inputs
A7 Design Goals 4*39
A8 Reliability and Quality Goals 4*39
A9 Preliminary Bill of Materials 2*21
A10 Preliminary Process Flow
Chart
16*153
A11 Preliminary Listing of Special
Product and Process
Characteristics
6*57
A12 Product Assurence Plan 6*49
A13 Management Support 4*51
A14 Design Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis (DFMEA)
68*424
A15 Design for Manufacturability
and Assembly
10*64
A16 Design Verification 6*38
A17 Design Reviews 4*26
A18 Prototype Build – Control
Plan
4*24
A19 Engineering Drawings 8*48
A20 Engineering Specifications 6*36
A21 Material Specification 6*35
A22 Drawing and Specification
Changes
4*26
A23 New Equipment, Tooling and
Facilities Requirements
6*36
A24 Special Product and Process
Characteristics
6*36
Cod Description [Hours]*
[Euro]
A25 Gages/Testing Equipment
Requirements
4*24
A26 Team Feasibility
Commitment and
Management Support
4*30
A27 Packaging Standards 2*12
A28 Product/Process Quality
System Review
4*24
A29 Process Flow Chart 16*104
A30 Floor Plan Layout 4*24
A31 Characteristics Matrix 4*24
A32 Process Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis(PFMEA)
72*440
A33 Pre-Launch Control Plan 6*36
A34 Process Instructions 32*198
A35 Measurement System
Analysis Plan(MSA)
2*12
A36 Preliminary Process
Capability Study Plan(SPC)
2*12
A37 Packaging Specifications 2*12
A38 Management Support 6*48
A39 Production Trial Run 8*349
A40 Measurement System
Evaluation(MSA)
24*135
A41 Preliminary System
Capability Study(SPC)
24*123
A42 Production Part Approval 8*52
A43 Production Validation
Testing
20*122
A44 Packaging Evaluation 2*12
A45 Production Control Plan 6*36
A46 Quality Planning Sign Off
and Management Support
6*50
The planning and analysis of the project has been achieved by following certain steps in
WinQSB software.
Step1. The PERT/CPM module of the WinQSB is selected for the introduction of activities, their
precedence, time and cost, Fig. 2.
Step 2. By utilizing Format → Switch to Graphic Model commands the PERT diagram is
achieved (Fig.3). It is known that for the PERT technique there are two ways of work: networks
with activities on arrows and networks with activities in knots.

4. It is known that for the PERT
technique there are two ways of
work: networks with activities on
arrows and networks with activities
in knots.
The diagrams presented are with
activities in knots as shown in figure
3. The circular representations
contain the codified activities as A1,
A2,....,A13, in the upper part time
required in hours and in the lower
part, corresponding costs.
Activities succession is deduced
from the arrows visible on the
diagram.
Step 3. The solution of the
project can be achieved by
selecting the Solve Critical Path
option found in the Solve and
Analyze menu.
As a result the critical path is
achieved, with its cost time, as well
as the time and cost for every stage
and the starting and ending points
of each activity (Fig. 4).
a) stage 2 b) stage 3
Fig.3. PERT Diagram, representing time and cost related
to the realization of the activities
In columns 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 the starting and ending points of each activity are presented, also the
difference between the earliest finalization moment and the earliest starting moment of every
activity.
Fig.2. Introduction of activities in WinQSB, required time and cost

5. Fig. 4 PERT matrix
Step 4. Analysis and interpretation of results.
Following the analysis of activities in each stage the following have been deduced:
 In the Plan and Define stage there are two critical paths. Activities A3, A9, A10 and A31 are
on the first critical road, respectively activities A4, A9, A10, A31 are on the second. These
activities delay the execution of the first stage, total completion time 22 [hours]. Total cost
of this stage is 409 [Euro], and the cost of the critical path is 229 [Euro].
 In the Product Design and Development stage the result is 19 paths as shown in figure 4.
The total cost of this stage is 847 [Euro], and of the critical paths 752 [Euro].
 In the Process Design and Development There are five critical paths. The cost for the
completion of this stage is 934 [Euro] and the cost of the critical path is 862 [Euro].
 In the Product and Process Validation stage two critical paths were discovered, comprised of
the activities: A34, A39, A40, A41 and A42. The total cost of this stage is calculated at 879
[Euro] and the cost of the critical paths is 659 [Euro].
Conclusion
In this paper a PERT analysis of the APQP process, utilizing information and experience from
S.C. COMPA S.A. company is presented. The analysis role is to constitute a high level overview of
the complex process that APQP is. It provides information related to the time and sequence of all
activities and especially of the critical path, to which managers must allocate sufficient resources.
A key role of the PERT analysis is that it permits easier resource reallocation for the critical
activities identified on the critical paths, thus modifying the execution time and cost of all phases.
The utilization of the Gantt Graph facilitates the monitoring and control of the project in real time.
The PERT analysis contributes to a better understanding of the activities inside the APQP, both
from a content and relationship point of view. This has lead to a 10% reduction of the times
necessary for the execution of critical activities (Measurement System Evaluation, Production Trial
Run, Process Instructions, preliminary Bill of Materials).
References
[1] Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)- Advanced Product Quality Planning and Control
Plan Reference Manual, (Chrysler, Ford, General Motors), Second Edition, (1995).
[2] Bobrek, M., Sokovic, M. Implementation of APQP-concept and design of QMS. In 3th
International
Scientific Conference on Achievements in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Poland, (2005).
[3] Ningcong X., Hong-Zhong H., Yanfeng L., Liping H., Tongdan, J. Multiple failure modes
analysis and weighted risk priority number evaluation in FMEA. Engineering Failure Analysis,
Volume 18, Issue 4, pp. 1162–1170, (2011).
[4] Mark A. Morris, ASQ Automotive Division Webinar, Advanced Product Quality Planning and

6. Control Plan based on APQP second edition, (2012).