Advanced Quality Planning: A Commonsense Guide to AQP and APQP

American companies realize that to regain their quality edge and dominance in the market place, they need to make fundamental changes in the way they operate. Recently, they have discovered the value of the systems approach to planning and the necessity to adopt quality as a business strategy. The goal is to produce products and services that continuously match customer needs.

Advanced Quality Planning: A Commonsense Guide to AQP and APQP is the first book dedicated to explaining with clarity and detail the total Advanced Quality Planning (AQP) process and how to set quality planning in the framework of a business strategy. The book provides a close look at the basic and advanced concepts of AQP so that both the novice and experienced user will be able to apply AQP appropriately and effectively. In addition, you will learn the "Big Three" automotive companies' required use of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), a specialized version of AQP that emphasizes the product orientation of quality. A clear itemized list of Chrysler, GM, Ford and Tier I suppliers' requirements is included, which reveals exactly what they would like to see implemented in their suppliers' processes.

Written in a practical format, the book takes you step-by-step through the advanced quality planning methodology, providing you with an overview and discussion of the role of teams in AQP, and its key components including: scheduling, creating a product definition, prototype development, manufacturing preparedness, analytical techniques, documentation, reliability and maintainability, and their implementation. Also included are checklists to help plan the actions that will be appropriate for their respective projects, and appendixes containing a sample business plan and a case study of Chrysler's Process Sign-Off, which demonstrates the results of an effective AQP implementation.

This book is recommended for the program manager who is responsible for selecting the proper quality tools and management techniques necessary to fulfill the quality planning strategy.

About the Author

D.H. Stamatis, Ph.D., is president of Contemporary Consultants, which specializes in quality issues including standards, management, and deployment. He is an adjunct faculty member at Central Michigan State University and has authored numerous books, including Documenting and Auditing for ISO 9000 and QS-9000 (Irwin, 1996).