APQP/PPAP: Configuration Settings
APQP/PPAP module configuration settings can be found under the company setup and modified by APQP administrators.
Enable APQP Settings Configuration
Toggles the visibility of the other options available on the APQP Setup page.
Turning this option on will cause your company's APQP settings to be applied to all APQP records involving your company and its suppliers. The settings on this page may also be applied to APQP records involving your customers, but only if they have not enabled this setting themselves. Records use a snapshot of the configuration settings which means after the generation of a record, most configuration settings will not retroactively update the record.
Creating an APQP/PPAP Package Settings
Next APQP Number
Shows the APQP Number that will be applied to your company's next APQP record. This setting is applicable only to APQP records where your company is the Supplier.
Customer can initiate ... submission levels
Only the Submission Levels displayed here can be selected by the customer when they create or edit an APQP record.
Supplier can initiate ... submission levels
Only the Submission Levels displayed here can be selected by the supplier when they create or edit an APQP record.
Part Info Tab Features
Require Purchase Order: Purchase order becomes a required field.
Enable...
Each option with an enable in this section will also have a setting for requiring the field. Turning these fields on will also populate them on the create page for APQP record creation.
- Risk Level: High/ Medium/ or Low
- Design/Build Responsibility: Design Only/ Build Only/ or Design and Build
- APQP-Directed or PPAP: APQP-Directed or PPAP
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Reason for Change: enabling this feature will enable a table for custom "reasons for change"
Checklist Tab Features
APQP Document Type
Enter one or more document types here for users to select when attaching a document to an item or an APQP record. These should either be broad categories of attachments, or should relate to the completion status of a given document (e.g., "Initial", "Pre-production", "Production").
To complete an item on an APQP checklist, a supplier/submitter may need to upload one or more attachments to the item first. An attachment only fulfills this requirement if the selected Document Type is one of the "Final" document types selected on the APQP Setup page by the customer.
Prevent the "Required/Optional" item field from being modified by suppliers
If this option is marked, then suppliers/submitters will not be able to specify whether an item is Required or Optional on each APQP checklist. The setting will instead be determined entirely by customer users and/or the customer's default settings for each element.
Require Item Start Date Entry Prior to Item Submission
This will require the supplier/submitter to enter the item's start date prior to submitting/signing for an item.
Enable APQP/PPAP Document Control
A dynamic setting (meaning changing the toggle will impact packages currently generated and future packages), document control adds a layer of access control to your internal users when accessing PPAPD links. Once enabled, the following action needs to occur:
- Add programs/licenses to the APQP/PPAP Document Control section for each part
Checklist Confirmation Feature
Checklist confirmation prevents all users from adding or removing items from the APQP/PPAP package. Additional requirements can be made by selecting one of the options below.
Note that documents, dates, and item requirements can still be modified prior to confirmation to allow modifications to plan.
The selection adopted for "Require Checklist Confirmation" is a "live" setting which means it will impact all non-completed packages. This is the only "live" APQP setting.
Prior to final PPAP Approval Form initiation
The supplier/submitter is required to sign their checklist confirmation field prior to initiating a final PPAP Approval Form (PSW). The customer/approver is required to confirm prior to signing the final form.
Prior to any item submission
The supplier/submitter is required to sign their checklist confirmation field prior to submitting/signing for any item on the checklist tab. The customer/approver is also required to sign before the supplier/submitter can submit. This is beneficial when a more formal agreement is required between both parties. An acknowledgement text can accompany the confirm action to help satisfy this requirement.
Never
The checklist confirmation will always be present but it is never enforced for either party to begin or complete the APQP/PPAP package. This is the standard default.
Enable and require checklist confirmation acknowledgement text for submitter
Selecting this checkbox will require the supplier/submitter to acknowledge the provided text at checklist confirmation signature.
Date Management
Item date requirements and changes can be fine tuned in this section. An item's "planned completion date" is a supplier/submitter field only updatable by them. An item's "due date" is a customer/approver field only updatable by them.
General Package Settings
Change "Coming Due" Timeline
This setting will change when the schedule status of "coming due" becomes active both for a package and an item. The default setting is 4 weeks prior to due date.
Enable Custom Item Types
Net-Inspect provides three standard item types: Element, Phase, and Event. We acknowledge that different industries and groups use different terminology required by their standard or to better communicate internally. Any item type can be entered and it will be displayed in the item row in the checklist template and consequently, when the checklist template is selected on the create page, on the checklist tab of the package.
Custom items are treated as a special item meaning then can have "element" item types nested under them and may have special behaviors in tables and on packages. These special circumstances are highlighted in their appropriate location articles. To learn more about custom items in a checklist template, refer to this article.