Product approval process — PPAP (IATF only)
Plain-language summary
Before shipping, products and processes must pass the customer's approval process (typically PPAP) — and you must apply the same discipline to your suppliers before their parts enter your approved product.
What the clause is really asking
Conform to the customer-defined approval procedure: documentation package (FMEA, control plan, MSA, capability, dimensional results, material certs etc. per required level), customer disposition before volume supply, and approval of your purchased products before your own submission. Records retained per 7.5.3.2.1.
What auditors look for
Auditors sample current parts and ask for the approved PPAP at the current engineering level: customer approval evidence (PSW signed/portal status), package contents per required level, supplier PPAPs feeding into it. Production at a newer change level than the approved PPAP is a classic major.
Typical evidence
PPAP packages with signed PSWs; submission level evidence; supplier PPAP records; PPAP-to-engineering-change reconciliation.
How to comply — recommendations
Keep a PPAP status register: part, change level, approval date, level, expiry conditions. Re-check it on every engineering change (link 7.5.3.2.2) — the register catches the drift that audits punish.
Common nonconformities
Production at a change level newer than the approved PPAP; PSW missing or unsigned; supplier parts never PPAP'd; package incomplete for the claimed level.
Related clauses
Builds on ISO 9001 8.3.4 / 8.6
In the book
Chapter 8 — Operation — Where the Product Is Won or Lost treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble. This IATF requirement is covered in the Automotive Edition, in the same six blocks as the ISO clause around it.
Resources for this clause
- ArticlePPAP explained: the 18 elements, submission levels 1–5, run-at-rate, and what the submission is actually proving
- ArticleControl plans explained: what goes in one, how it links to the PFMEA, and a free template
- ArticleMSA and Gage R&R explained: type 1 studies, ANOVA vs average and range, %GRR vs %tolerance, ndc and attribute agreement
- ArticleCp vs Cpk vs Ppk: process capability without the confusion
- Toolkit · $29PFMEA ToolkitProcess FMEA to the current method: type S, O and D and the Action Priority letter answers itself, colour-coded — with a linked process flow tab and the control plan handoff built in.
- Free downloadControl Plan TemplateThe production rulebook as a working file — a blank control plan, a filled worked example, and a 12-point health check for the plans you already have.
- Free downloadCpk CalculatorPaste your measurements, get Cp, Cpk and predicted yield instantly — prove the process is capable.
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