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Control plan template

A control plan is a table that lists, for each process step, what is checked, against which specification, how, how many parts and how often, and what the operator does when a result is out. It is how the risks found in the process FMEA are kept in check every day. This template has the usual columns, a product or process mark and a special class for each characteristic, and a reaction plan column on every row. Page 2 has more rows, a change log, a checklist before sign-off and approvals. The phases follow IATF 16949 Annex A (prototype, pre-launch, production) plus the Safe Launch controls that the AIAG Control Plan manual (CP-1, 1st edition, effective March 2024) adds; the sheet names those sources and does not copy their forms.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the control plan templateHeader fields for control plan number, part, process, contact, team and dates, a phase and Safe Launch to circle, and a table with columns for process step, machine, characteristic, product or process, special class, specification, measurement method, sample size, frequency, control method, reaction plan and who.
Characteristic and specificationProduct or processSpecial classMethod, sample size, frequencyControl methodReaction planChange log and approvals

When to use it

When to use a control plan

  • For every new part or process before production starts, often as part of a customer's launch requirements.
  • When the process FMEA changes, so each high-risk line has a check and a reaction on the floor.
  • After a customer complaint, to add or tighten the check that should have caught the problem.
  • When operators are unsure what to check, how often, or what to do with a bad result.
  • Not as a list of every dimension on the drawing: it covers the characteristics that need controlling in production.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Fill in the header

    Control plan number, part number and revision, part name, process, key contact, team and dates. Circle the phase: prototype, pre-launch or production, and circle SL if the plan carries Safe Launch checks.
  2. 2

    List the steps and characteristics

    Follow the process flow. For each step, write the characteristics you control and mark each one as a product feature or a process setting. Mark special characteristics with your customer's symbol.
  3. 3

    Give the specification

    The limits for each characteristic, from the drawing, the customer or the process sheet, such as 5.20 mm ± 0.05.
  4. 4

    Say how, how many and how often

    The measurement method or gauge, the sample size and the frequency. A gauge must be able to measure to the tolerance.
  5. 5

    Say how it is controlled

    The control method: a check sheet, an SPC chart, a first-piece check, a poka-yoke or an automatic stop.
  6. 6

    Write a reaction plan for every row

    What the operator does when a result is out: stop or adjust, hold the suspect parts made since the last good check, tell someone and restart only after a good check. The Excel version flags rows missing a reaction plan.
  7. 7

    Approve it and keep it current

    Sign it off, put the checks into the work instructions and update the plan with the FMEA whenever the process changes.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: two rows of a control plan for a hose crimping step.

Row 1 of the example, from FMEA to reaction

  1. 1PFMEA line

    Crimp diameter too large

    A high-severity failure mode in the process FMEA.
  2. 2Control

    Crimp diameter 5.20 mm ± 0.05

    Micrometer, 5 parts every hour, recorded on a chart at the station.
  3. 3Reaction plan

    If a result is out

    Stop the crimper, hold every part made since the last good check, tell the team leader, restart only after a good first piece.

From the process FMEA failure mode crimp diameter too large, the control plan row checks crimp diameter 5.20 plus or minus 0.05 millimeters with a micrometer, 5 parts every hour, and says what to do when a result is out.

A high-severity failure mode in the FMEA gets a check and a reaction, so the operator knows what to do without waiting for the engineer.
  • Row 1, product characteristic: crimp diameter 5.20 mm ± 0.05. Measured with a micrometer, 5 parts every hour, recorded on a chart at the station.
  • Reaction plan: stop the crimper, hold every part made since the last good check, tell the team leader, and restart only after a good first piece.
  • Row 2, process characteristic: crimp pressure within the range on the setup sheet. Read from the machine display at every setup and every two hours.
  • Reaction plan: reset to the setup sheet, check the diameter on the last 5 parts, and call maintenance if it drifts again in the same shift.
  • Both rows come from the process FMEA line for a crimp diameter that is too large, so that high-severity failure mode has a check and a reaction.

Anyone running the crimper can see what to check, how often and what to do when a result is out, without waiting for the engineer.

Common mistakes

  • Reaction plan: notify supervisor

    It leaves the suspect parts in the flow. Say what happens to the process and to every part made since the last good check.

  • A control plan that does not match the FMEA

    High-severity lines in the FMEA need a row here. Update the two together.

  • A gauge that cannot measure the tolerance

    A check with a gauge that is too coarse passes bad parts. Confirm the gauge with a measurement system study where it matters.

  • Frequencies nobody can keep

    A check every 15 minutes on a busy station gets skipped. Set frequencies people can do, and use mistake-proofing where a check is not enough.

  • Written for the audit, not the operator

    If the checks are not in the work instructions and at the station, the plan sits in a folder. Put them where the work is done.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite you run the same quality checks at every stage with number limits, required photos and signatures, and an out-of-spec answer can raise a tag or start a CAPA automatically.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Control plan template: common questions

  1. A document that lists, for each process step, the product and process characteristics that are controlled, the specification, how each is measured, how many parts are checked and how often, how the result is recorded, and what the operator does when a result is out of specification.

  2. The process FMEA finds the risks: how the process could fail and how bad that would be. The control plan says how the process is checked every day to keep those risks in check. High-severity items in the FMEA should appear in the control plan, and the two should be updated together.

  3. For each process step: the product and process characteristics that are controlled, the specification or tolerance, the measurement method, the sample size and frequency, how the result is recorded, and a reaction plan. The reaction plan says what to do when a check fails: stop or adjust the process, hold the suspect parts made since the last good check, tell someone, and restart only when a check passes. One that only says notify the supervisor leaves the suspect parts in the flow.

  4. Product or process characteristics that affect safety, legal compliance, fit or function, marked with a symbol your customer defines. They usually need tighter control, such as more frequent checks or a process capability study.

  5. IATF 16949 Annex A describes three control plan phases: prototype for the checks on early builds, pre-launch for the extra checks during the first production runs, and production for normal running. The AIAG Control Plan manual (CP-1, 1st edition, effective March 2024) adds Safe Launch: extra checks during pre-launch or early production, kept until an exit criterion the team sets is met, for example a period with no customer problems. Circle the phase this sheet is, and SL if it applies.

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