Core tools are recognized as a standard in the entire automotive industry. The best famous are those published by the AIAG organization. It consists of five reference documents – PPAP, APQP, FMEA, SPC and MSA.
They are used throughout the product life cycle, from the pre-launch phase, through current production, to the delivery of service parts after the End of Project.
In addition, they are the basic components of the Quality Management System (QMS), which guarantees the production of quality components that are delivered on time to the customer.
In the United States, the aerospace, defense, pharmaceutical and medical industries are adopting core tools as their standard requirements throughout the supply chain in a similar way to the automotive industry that has done with IATF 16949:20216.
Core tools – advantages when using
The undoubted advantage of using core tools is to facilitate communication between suppliers and customers. This is done by providing a common language and process to design and manufacture products.
Internal auditors of the Quality Management System should also know them (IATF requirement 7.2.3 Internal auditor competency). They are also important for third party auditors and the relevant departments involved in the launch of a given project. They should not be treated as separate manuals without being linked to each other.
Just like the APQP phases, the same core tools interact with each other. For example, failure to perform an SPC for special characteristics may result in the customer not granting approval for a manufactured component prior to the official Start of Production (SoP).
Fig. 1. Core tools from the perspective of the AIAG organization.
Types of reference manuals
Core tools includes five manuals which are described below:
– PPAP Production Part Approval Process – It is a kind of culmination of the pre-series phase. Please see a dedicated article for more information.
– FMEA Failure Mode and Effects Analysis – This is the first document that has been jointly developed by two of the most important organizations in the automotive industry. Of course, we are talking about AIAG and VDA.
– SPC Statistical Process Control
– MSA Measurement System Analysis
– APQP Advance Product Approval Process – This manual is a kind of a guideline in which pre-launch phases the above-mentioned documents should be applied.
