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For decades, audit management has centered on paper checklists, with tracking moving to Excel spreadsheets in more recent years. Despite growing adoption of cloud-based manufacturing software, many auto suppliers still rely on paper checklists and spreadsheets to manage audit programs.
In 2016, the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) published IATF 16949, which replaced the popular ISO/TS 16949 used in over 62,000 facilities globally.
IATF 16949 certification is required for all automotive suppliers, and with compliance deadlines coming up, the countdown is on for companies to make the transition.
As you prepare, you’ll want to educate yourself about the new changes, assess any gaps in your process, and create an implementation plan that addresses them. Documenting compliance can be one of the biggest hurdles for companies - an area where automated audit platforms can have a big impact.
Layered process audits (LPAs) are a standard requirement in the automotive industry, which saw more than 53 million vehicles recalled in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The reality is that many companies struggle with implementing an LPA program effectively due to the overwhelming complexity of scheduling and data management.
The number one mistake we see these companies make? Trying to manage LPA programs with paper-based and spreadsheet-based systems.
Executed properly, LPA programs require hundreds or even thousands of individual audits over the course of the year. It’s extremely difficult to do the multilayer scheduling correctly with spreadsheets alone, and next to impossible to fully analyze the results for meaningful quality improvements with a paper-based system.
Providing daily checks of high-risk processes, layered process audits (LPAs) act as a finely woven net for catching defects upstream before they impact the customer.
While you may conduct thousands of audits throughout the year, what you actually catch with that net is directly proportional to the quality of your questions. Poorly designed questions leave room for error and make it hard to detect the right problems. But knowing where to find good questions, keeping them simple and updating them regularly can help you build a more robust and effective LPA program.
Companies with a robust culture of quality save an average of $350 million annually compared to low-performing companies, according to a survey by CEB. While the benefits are clear, getting there is no simple task. In fact, 6 in 10 companies struggle to create a culture where quality is a personal priority to employees, instead of just a management requirement.
So how do you achieve cultural change, an element that is both intangible and reliant on human behavior? Auto and aerospace suppliers are finding that layered process audits (LPAs), in addition to reducing defects, foster quality culture in several important ways.
In this post, we’ll look at how LPAs promote a culture of quality through standardization, leadership engagement, communication and customer satisfaction.
Reading the Automotive Industry Action Group’s CQI-8 Layered Process Audit Guideline, you might notice a line saying LPAs are “completed on-site ‘where the work is done.’”
For Lean manufacturing experts, this specific quote might bring to mind Gemba walks, a method where leaders observe and solve problems on the shop floor. In Japanese, Gemba means “the real place,” or in manufacturing, where the work is done.
Whether the reference is intentional or not, layered process audits (LPAs) and Gemba walks share clear similarities. Could it be why companies doing Gemba walks have an easier time with LPA programs, despite their complexity? This post compares Gemba walks with LPAs, exploring how to tell if you’re ready for LPAs and how to prepare.
In accordance with the new standard, IATF 16949, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recently published a document updating its customer-specific requirements. This publication, along with similar documents from General Motors and other large automotive customers, lays out tighter requirements that are prompting automotive suppliers around the world to evaluate their existing processes and systems to ensure compliance.
Notably, the document requires suppliers to conduct an internal quality audit at least once per year, and also mandates they conduct Layered Process Audits (LPA) on all elements of manufacturing and assembly lines that produce parts for FCA. In this article, we’ll highlight some of FCA’s specific requirements, evaluate their significance and in some cases, discuss potential solutions that can help companies with compliance.
During the past 30 years, global manufacturing has evolved into a fast-growing network of overlapping supply chains, ever-changing regulatory requirements and complex operational demands. Consider that many automotive and aerospace manufacturers can have thousands of suppliers and other third-parties in their supply chain for any given product. As such, these and similar organizations are becoming more and more strained in managing and overseeing the quality, cost and timely delivery of raw materials and parts. It’s more critical than ever to have the right tools and systems in place to support those many different aspects.
Supplier Quality Assurance (SQA) is the process intended to ensure that a supplier reliably supplies goods or services that satisfy the customer’s needs. This process is collaborative to ensure the supplier’s offerings meet the agreed-upon requirements with minimum inspection or modification.
Effective quality assurance should incorporate a combination of process and product audits that manage external and internal checks and focus on supplier management, quality conformity of the product through its lifecycle, production and equipment quality and effectiveness, and pre-shipment inspections. In this article, we’ll take a high-level look at the overall SQA process and discuss key considerations that impact its effectiveness. It’s important to note that, while SQA applies to both products and services, we’ll simplify the topic here by speaking only to product-related processes.
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We’re reshaping the world of archaic paper-based processes like layered process audits (LPAs), 5s, health & safety, Gemba, and mitigation management, all through our intuitive mobile software, Beacon Quality.
