Control plan (IATF only)
Plain-language summary
The control plan is the production rulebook: for every part (or family), at every phase — prototype, pre-launch, production — what is controlled, how, how often, by whom, and what happens when it goes wrong.
What the clause is really asking
Develop control plans at the required levels covering the listed minimum content: controls from the PFMEA, special characteristics with their methods, monitoring/measurement systems, reaction plans, customer approval where required — and review/update them after any relevant change (process, FMEA, MSA findings, customer issues).
What auditors look for
Auditors stand at a station with the control plan: is what it says happening, at the stated frequency, recorded as stated? Then coherence: PFMEA-to-control-plan alignment, SCs present, reaction plans real. Then currency: updated after that recent change/complaint?
Typical evidence
Control plans per phase; PFMEA correlation; revision history showing updates after changes/complaints; reaction plan evidence.
How to comply — recommendations
Treat the control plan as the living master document of production. One rule keeps it honest: every customer complaint and every process change ends with the question 'does the control plan change?' — answered in writing on the CAR/ECN.
Common nonconformities
Control plan describing checks nobody performs; frequencies on paper that production ignores; not updated after complaints; SCs missing; no pre-launch level used at launch.
Related clauses
Builds on ISO 9001 8.5.1 (see Example row); links IATF 8.3.3.3, 8.3.5.2
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
- ArticleControl plans explained: what goes in one, how it links to the PFMEA, and a free template
- ArticleProcess FMEA explained: the AIAG-VDA 7-step method, Action Priority vs RPN, and the process flow that feeds it
- ArticlePPAP explained: the 18 elements, submission levels 1–5, run-at-rate, and what the submission is actually proving
- ArticleMSA and Gage R&R explained: type 1 studies, ANOVA vs average and range, %GRR vs %tolerance, ndc and attribute agreement
- 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.
- 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 downloadProcess Flow TemplateThe first document of the core-tools chain — every step the part actually takes, including the storage, transport and rework loops the control plan never shows.
- Free masterclass · ~21 minProcess Flow & PFMEA MasterclassThe AIAG-VDA 7 steps on one welded bracket — the process flow that feeds Structure Analysis, prevention vs detection, rating S/O/D, why RPN is gone and what the AP letters oblige you to do.
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