40+ Years of Excellence

Supplier Development – Case Study

Auditing an Italian supplier against VDA 6.3 and IATF 16949

AUTOMOTIVE / VDA 6.3 & IATF 16949 AUDITS – Pro QC International’s expertise enhanced an automotive supplier’s quality management system, improved processes, reduced defect rates, and increased compliance with client requirements. A leading electrical equipment manufacturer with factories in the USA, Europe, and Asia faced a problem: a customer deemed their production quality unacceptable. Their customer, a German OEM, regularly audited the plant. The supplier had gone so far as to implement a 100% inspection regime, but it was not fixing the problem. The German OEM gave the supplier a deadline to rectify the issues, improve quality and provide evidence of compliance according to the German automotive standard VDA 6.3. Facing this challenge, the supplier approached Pro QC for an objective assessment of their challenges. They needed to achieve breakthrough improvement in quality performance at their Italian plant. Read on for the full story. A – PRO QC’s APPROACH Pro QC created a plan to objectively assess and measure the factory’s challenges on a system as well as a process level. These problems were then analyzed and prioritized, and an improvement plan was established with the factory team. The key steps and milestones of the plan are detailed below. STEP 1: Factory Assessment

Perform a factory assessment against IATF 16949:2016 and establish a baseline level of systemic compliance
Verify and compare with the German OEM’s existing audit results

STEP 2: Manufacturing Process Audit

Assess each manufacturing process against VDA 6.3
Interview operators and understand their challenges
Inspect work instructions and other documentation
Calculate and present the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)

STEP 3: Corrective Action Plan

Project team formation
Design a solution to address each challenge
Establish the corrective action plan
Establish the associated training plan

The assessment for STEPS 1 & 2 lasted 13 days and Pro QC deployed two consultants on-site with IATF 16949, VDA 6.3, AS9100, and Six Sigma Black belt skills. B – THE CHALLENGES Below is a sample of the challenges found during the assessment phase: Quality Challenges:

Pre-emptive risk analysis such as DFMEA and PFMEA were not regularly reviewed and therefore did not effectively prevent risks from occurring
Actual machine parameters conflicted with documented ones
The control plan was not strictly followed. Process drift was not addressed despite early signs it was trending that way and that prevention was possible.
Preventive maintenance was not effective
Work instructions were defined and available to staff but were not always followed.
Measurement systems analysis was not properly carried out. Equipment was not calibrated, hence the escape despite 100% inspection.
Output quality did not meet the German OEM’s requirements. Defective products escaped the plant and onto their assembly line.

Management Challenges:

The quality management system at the local plant was not aligned with the organization’s quality management system.
The high attrition rate in management and on the shop floor resulted in a highly unstable work environment and inconsistent directives
The German OEM previously performed audits, but the supplier did not take appropriate action to implement the requested changes.
Change management procedures were not properly introduced or followed through to ensure continuous improvement.

C – THE OUTCOME The outcome of the assessment and resulting actions are detailed below. The IATF 16949 Quality Management Audit produced 64 findings:

26 NCs (Non-Conformity)
38 OFIs (Opportunity for Improvement)

The VDA 6.3 Process Audit produced 51 findings:

6 Critical
45 Major

Upon review with both the German OEM and the factory team, Pro QC’s project team prioritized the findings together with the factory team and then jointly established an implementation plan. A project champion team was formed at the factory with an accountable person for each action item. The outcome of the project was:

A clear description of the gaps in the factory’s system
A project plan that established short-, medium-, and long-term gains
A clear implementation plan and an accountable team
Pro QC’s ongoing objective facilitation and validation of implemented actions

With a holistic improvement project, implementation plan, and the accountable team in place, the factory team was able to convince the German OEM to continue the partnership. About Pro QC Pro QC is a trusted company providing Global Quality Assurance solutions in over 88 countries and has supported the automotive industry for nearly 40 years. Explore Pro QC’s solutions:

Get a Quote Sample Reports

Click Below to Improve Product Quality with Pro QC

Get a Quote or Book a Service

We will be happy to give you more information about our quality solutions. Please fill in this form to contact us. We will respond as soon as possible.
If you would like to submit your CV, please click here.

Choose File

File upload (doc, docx, pdf, jpg, or png, maximum size 5MB)

17+18?

By contacting Pro QC International, you agree to our Privacy Policy and consent to receiving our newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.

North America
+1 206 397 1145

Mexico
+52 55 9990 7885

Colombia
+57 601 9190355

United Kingdom
+44 330 094 5589

France
+33 9 7303 6784

Germany
+49 15630 810151

Australia
+61 2 8252 7691

India & South Asia
+91 120 508 9113

Asia & Asia Pacific
+886 2 2832 2990

Stability

Pro QC has been providing quality assurance, engineering and consulting services since 1984.

Global Presence

We offer a dedicated Account Manager and quality solutions in over 100 countries.

Timely Feedback

We offer online reporting and detailed reports within 24 hours of job completion.

Quality Experts

Our global engineering team has the requisite industry expertise to verify quality and conformance.