PPAP Submission Checklist Template

What the PPAP Submission Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Trigger, Submission Level & Plan

   6 tasks

   The PPAP lead records why a submission is needed and what the customer asked for. Enter the date the customer needs the submission first: every due date before submission counts back from it. The submission level, design responsibility, appearance and bulk material answers add the tasks this part needs.

   • Record the PPAP request and who runs it — the customer, part number, name and drawing revision, the reason for submission, the submission level the customer asked for, who is design responsible, whether the part is an appearance item or a bulk material, the date the customer needs the submission and the people who run it
   • Confirm the submission level and requirements with the customer — the level in writing, the due date, the customer’s PPAP requirements and their edition, how to submit (portal, email or on paper), how many sample parts to send and who approves the submission on the customer’s side
   • Notify the customer and get the change approved before it is made — appears for a process, material, sub-supplier, tooling or site change: raise the customer’s change request, describe the change and its risk, and wait for written approval before the change reaches production
   • Agree the Level 4 requirements in writing — appears for Level 4: the list of elements and any other evidence the customer wants with the warrant, confirmed in writing before the work is planned
   • Collect the customer-specific requirements that apply — the customer’s current supplier quality and PPAP requirements, special process assessments, material reporting, part marking, labelling and packaging rules, and any sub-supplier approvals they expect to see
   • Plan the PPAP elements, owners and dates — each of the 18 elements with an owner, a due date and whether it is submitted or retained at this level, so nothing is left until the week of submission
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Design Record, FMEAs & Control Plan

   7 tasks

   The documents that define the part and the process come first. The process flow, the process FMEA and the control plan must describe the same steps, in the same order, for the process that will run in production.

   • Prepare the design record and ballooned drawing — element 1: the design record at the revision on the order, with every dimension, note and requirement numbered on a ballooned drawing so each one can be matched to a measurement or test result
   • File the authorised engineering change documents — element 2: the customer’s authorised change documents for any change built into the part or tooling but not yet shown on the design record, or a note that there are none
   • Get customer engineering approval where required — element 3: the customer’s engineering approval of the design verification or test results where they require it, such as approval of test plans and reports on initial parts
   • Review the design FMEA — element 4, for a supplier design-responsible part: the design FMEA released, covering the special characteristics, with its recommended actions closed or owned, and its results carried into the process FMEA
   • Update the process flow diagram — element 5: every step from receiving to shipping, including inspection, rework, repair and outside operations, numbered to match the process FMEA and the control plan
   • Update the process FMEA — element 6: the failure modes, effects, causes and controls for each step of the process flow, including the change that triggered this submission, with actions on the highest risks
   • Update the production control plan — element 7: each operation and characteristic with its specification, special characteristic marking, measurement method, sample size and frequency, control method and reaction plan
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Gauges & the Significant Production Run

   6 tasks

   Prove the gauges before you trust their readings, then run the part the way it will be made in production. The dimensional, material, performance and capability results all come from this run.

   • Validate the checking aids — element 16: each fixture, gauge, model or template used to check the part, with its drawing, a check that it conforms to that drawing, its calibration and its measurement system study
   • Complete the measurement system analysis studies — element 8: gauge repeatability and reproducibility studies for variable gauges and attribute agreement studies for pass or fail checks, for the measuring equipment named in the control plan, judged against the customer’s acceptance criteria
   • Confirm the line is ready for the production run — production tooling, equipment, gauges, trained operators, materials from approved sources and the production control plan all in place, so the run represents normal production
   • Run the significant production run — parts made at the production site with production tooling, gauges, process, materials and operators at the production rate, from each cavity, tool or line that will make the part; customer handbooks commonly ask for at least 300 consecutive parts unless the customer agrees otherwise
   • Select and label the sample production parts — element 14: the quantity the customer asked for, taken from the run, from each cavity or stream where required, the same parts that are measured, each labelled with the part number, revision and supplier as PPAP samples
   • Retain and label the master sample — element 15: a part from the run kept as the reference for this approval, labelled with its approval date once approved, and kept where inspectors and operators can use it
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Results from the Production Run

   7 tasks

   Measure and test the parts from the significant production run against every requirement on the design record. Raise any result outside the specification with the customer before submission, not in it.

   • Record the dimensional results — element 9: every ballooned characteristic measured on the sample parts from each cavity or stream, with the specification, the result and whether it conforms
   • Complete the material test results — element 10: tests of the materials named on the design record, with test results or certificates of analysis against each specification, and the customer’s material reporting where they require it
   • Complete the performance test results — element 10: the functional, durability or performance tests the design record or the customer’s test plan requires, with each result against its requirement
   • Complete the initial process studies — element 11: capability or performance indices for the special characteristics, from the significant production run and each cavity or stream, judged against the customer’s acceptance criteria, with an action plan for any that fall short
   • Attach the qualified laboratory documentation — element 12: the scope of each laboratory that did the inspection or testing, with evidence that an internal laboratory is competent for those tests and the accreditation of an external one
   • Complete the appearance approval report — element 13, for a designated appearance item: colour, grain, gloss and texture checked against the customer’s master or requirements, and the report signed off as the customer specifies
   • Complete the bulk material requirements — for a bulk material: the customer’s bulk material requirements checklist, which says which elements apply to this material and when, completed and agreed with the customer
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Internal Review & Part Submission Warrant

   7 tasks

   Review the whole package before anyone signs. The quality manager signs the Part Submission Warrant last, and nothing after that task can be completed until they do.

   • Record compliance with the customer-specific requirements — element 17: evidence for each requirement collected in Phase 1, such as special process assessments, material reporting, part marking, labels and packaging approvals
   • Collect the sub-supplier approvals — part approvals from your own suppliers of components and materials in the part, approved by you before you submit, where the customer expects them in the package
   • Check every element against the submission level — each element in the plan complete, marked submitted or retained for this level, and the retained ones filed where they can be produced when the customer asks
   • Hold the internal PPAP review — quality, engineering, production and the laboratory review the package together: one part number and revision throughout, every result conforms or has the customer’s agreement, and the documents agree with each other
   • Close the gaps found in the review — appears when the review finds gaps: each gap fixed and re-checked by the person who found it, or agreed with the customer in writing, before the warrant is signed
   • Complete the Part Submission Warrant — element 18: part number and revision, the reason for submission, the submission level, the part weight, a summary of the results and any deviation noted on the warrant; one warrant per part number unless the customer agrees otherwise
   • Quality manager signs the Part Submission Warrant — the supplier’s authorised person confirms the results show conformance, the samples were made on the production process at the production rate, and every required document is submitted or retained
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Submission & Customer Disposition

   4 tasks

   Submit what the level requires, in the customer’s format, and record the customer’s decision. An interim approval or a rejection adds the tasks in Phase 7.

   • Submit the PPAP to the customer — the signed warrant, the elements this level requires and the labelled sample parts, sent the way the customer asked, with the submission reference recorded
   • Host the customer’s review at your site — appears for Level 5: the complete package, the sample parts and the production line ready for the customer’s review, with the people who prepared each element available
   • Answer the customer’s questions on the submission — each question or request for more evidence logged, answered by the owner of the element and sent back by the date the customer set
   • Record the customer’s disposition — approved, interim approval or rejected, with the date, the customer’s signed warrant or approval record, and any conditions or reasons the customer gave
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Interim Approval or Rejection

   4 tasks

   Applies only when the customer grants interim approval or rejects the submission. Hidden once the disposition is Approved.

   • Record the interim conditions and the approved deviation — appears for interim approval: the time or quantity limit, the deviation or authorisation the customer issued, how interim shipments are identified and what must be fixed before full approval
   • Close the interim actions and resubmit before expiry — appears for interim approval: each open item closed, the affected elements repeated, a new warrant signed by the quality manager and the submission made before the interim approval expires
   • Contain stock and investigate the rejection — appears for a rejection: parts made for the part number held, the customer told what is held, and the cause found and corrected with a structured root cause analysis
   • Correct and resubmit the PPAP — appears for a rejection: the elements affected by the correction repeated, a new warrant signed by the quality manager, the corrected submission sent and the customer’s new decision recorded
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: Release & Close-Out

   4 tasks

   Ship production quantities only once the customer has approved the part, or within the limits of an interim approval. A rejection hides the release and briefing tasks, because nothing ships until a corrected submission is approved. Keep the full PPAP file for as long as the part is active and the customer’s retention period.

   • Release the part for production shipments — the part released in your systems only after full approval, or within the interim limits, together with any other approval the customer needs before production shipments
   • Brief production on the approved process — the approved control plan, special characteristics, reaction plans and master sample explained to each shift, with a reminder that any change to the approved process needs the customer’s approval first
   • Retain the PPAP records — the full file, submitted and retained elements together, stored for as long as the part is active plus the customer’s retention period, with the records from any superseded part number carried forward or referenced
   • Close the PPAP — every task complete or marked not applicable with a reason, the disposition filed, and lessons for the next submission recorded