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
Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of ISO 9001 / IATF 16949 for the authoritative text.