Contents of a Good Control Plan

Contents Good Control Plan

Contents of a Good Control Plan

Contents of a Good Control Plan

Control Plans are prepared to ensure that products are produced with good quality to fulfill customer expectations. All the conditions within which all this happens are anticipated in advance so that there are no surprises. Control Plans provide a structure to the business organizations for the designing, formulation and implementation of various methods through which control could be exercised upon the whole process.

Control Plans form a vital part of the quality strategy of a company. It is a living document which can go through many updations in its lifecycle with the change in process structure or design. Same control plan can also be used for multiple products if they are produced by the same process. Control Plans provide the actions that are required to be taken at each step of the process. This ensures that all steps of the process and their output remain within control. Additionally, it also the process monitoring methods that are used to monitor the process performance.

To prepare an effective control plan, a basic understanding of the process should be undertaken. Detailed process maps with drawings and sketched can be attached to it for reference purpose if required. A joint team having representation of all the sib-processes or departments involved or benefitting from the process should be convened to prepare the control plan. Even of all are not present, their views should be sought on the matter.

Contents of a Good Control Plan

• Process name
• Name of the company
• Name(s) of the person who prepared it
• Name(s) of the person who approved it
• Page No
• Control Plan No or Document Id
• Revision No
• Process Step
• Sub-Process Step
• CTQ
• Specification Feature
• Specification Input – both upper limits and lower limits (whichever is applicable)
• Measurement method (as decided in the meeting)
• Sample size (as per process requirement)
• Frequency (at fixed time duration)
• Name, Department or Designation of the person responsible
• Name of the document or database where information will be recorded
• In case any deviation is found, then step or corrective action to be taken to remove the deviation
• Reference of the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) or WI (Work Instructions) telling what to do in case deviation is found

An effective control plan positively influences the quality environment in the company. All the goods produced as a result possess very good quality because all the things which can affect the quality of the product have already been thought about and controls have been put in place to prevent their occurrence. Due to this, waste is greatly reduced in the process and organization is able to deploy its resources more efficiently. Above all, top management is left with plenty of free time to devote towards progress of the organization as all the processes are performing well due to the presence of effective controls being put in place.