How does the template work out the inspection workload?

Each row's checks per shift come from its frequency: per hour is times x production hours per shift, per lot is times x lots per shift, per setup is times x setups per shift, and per shift is as typed. Parts measured per shift is the sample size x checks per shift, or the step's rate x hours for an every-part (100%) check. A bore checked on 1 part 6 times an hour over a 7.5 hour shift is 45 parts; at 20 seconds each that is 15 minutes of measuring per shift.

What Cpk and gauge R&R limits does it use?

The ones you type on Setup. The example uses a minimum Cpk of 1.33 and %GRR limits of 10 percent (acceptable) and 30 percent (conditional), guidance widely used in automotive supply from the AIAG PPAP and MSA manuals. Check what your customer requires; many ask for higher capability on initial studies or on special characteristics.

Does the workbook calculate Cpk or gauge R&R?

No. Type the results of your latest studies; the control plan compares them with your requirements and flags gaps. Use the Process Capability (Cpk) and Gage R&R templates on this site to run the studies themselves.

Why does a special characteristic show Check under Capability?

Because it has no Cpk. For a variable characteristic that usually means a capability study is still needed; for an attribute characteristic such as a visual check, it means the plan should state how the characteristic is controlled instead, typically 100 percent inspection or error-proofing. Either way, a reviewer should look at it.

Is this my customer's control plan form?

No. It holds the information customers ask for, in the usual column order, plus workload and capability checks. If your customer specifies a format, copy the columns into it. The header shows the phase (prototype, pre-launch or production) and the revision date.

How do I keep the control plan in step with the PFMEA?

Use the same process step names in both, put every special characteristic and every PFMEA prevention and detection control into the plan, and update the plan in the same change as the PFMEA. The example plan and the PFMEA template describe the same fictional part, so you can see how they line up.

Quality Systems and Compliance

Control Plan Excel Template

List every characteristic you control with its method, sample, frequency and reaction plan, and see whether the plan is capable and can be executed with the inspection time a shift has.

Free, and a plain .xlsx with no macros to enable. A CSV with live formulas and a printed how-to guide come with it.

Overview

This control plan template is a working Excel workbook for quality and process engineers and APQP teams. It ships with an example production control plan for a fictional die-cast aluminium pump housing, the same part as the PFMEA template on this site, with twenty characteristics over eight operations, so the dashboard is populated the moment you open it; replace the example rows with your own and everything recalculates.

Each row holds one product or process characteristic with its specification and limits, how it is measured, the sample size and frequency, the control method and the reaction plan, in the column order customers expect. From the frequency and the shift settings on Setup the workbook works out how many checks and how many parts each row measures per shift, and from the time to measure one part the hands-on inspection minutes; parts measured per shift is the same gross count as the Control Plan Execution Capacity calculator on this site. Latest Cpk and %GRR values are compared with your own requirements, and special characteristics with no capability data are flagged.

In practice, build the plan from the PFMEA's controls and special characteristics, then read the dashboard before launch: which characteristics are not capable, which gauges are not good enough, and whether the checks fit the inspection time a shift really has. In the example, two characteristics are below the minimum Cpk, two gauges need attention, and the plan uses 86 percent of the six inspection hours available per shift.

What this template includes

Control Plan table: process step, characteristic number, product and process characteristic, special characteristic class, specification with LSL and USL, unit, evaluation method, sample size, frequency, control method, reaction plan, latest Cpk and %GRR, and who is responsible
Checks per shift and parts measured per shift from the frequency (per hour, per shift, per lot, per setup or every part), and hands-on inspection minutes per shift from the time per part
Capability and gauge status words against your own minimum Cpk and %GRR limits, with special characteristics that have no Cpk flagged for review
Check column that names problems in words: step not on the list, duplicate characteristic number, LSL not below USL, a frequency without a count, a missing reaction plan
Dashboard with KPI tiles (characteristics, Cpk below requirement, gauges not acceptable, inspection load against the time available), a Cpk-by-characteristic chart and inspection minutes per shift by step
Header fields for part, control plan number, phase (prototype, pre-launch or production), contact, team and revision date
Method sheet with every formula, and a Verify sheet that re-checks the formulas against an independent reference (Self-check: PASS)

Suggested use case

Use it to build the control plan during APQP and for a PPAP submission, to keep it current after a PFMEA change, and to check that the measuring workload fits the people on a shift before launch.

How to use it

On Setup, type the header (part, number, phase, contact, team, revision date), production hours and lots per shift, the inspection hours available per shift and your Cpk and %GRR requirements.
Replace the example process steps with yours, each with its machine, rate in parts per hour and setups per shift.
On Control Plan, add one row per characteristic with its specification, limits, method, sample size, frequency and how many times, control method and reaction plan.
Type the time it takes to measure and record one part, and the latest Cpk and %GRR from your studies.
Fix anything the Check column flags, then read the Dashboard: capability gaps, gauge gaps and whether the inspection load fits the time available.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the template work out the inspection workload?: Each row's checks per shift come from its frequency: per hour is times x production hours per shift, per lot is times x lots per shift, per setup is times x setups per shift, and per shift is as typed. Parts measured per shift is the sample size x checks per shift, or the step's rate x hours for an every-part (100%) check. A bore checked on 1 part 6 times an hour over a 7.5 hour shift is 45 parts; at 20 seconds each that is 15 minutes of measuring per shift.
What Cpk and gauge R&R limits does it use?: The ones you type on Setup. The example uses a minimum Cpk of 1.33 and %GRR limits of 10 percent (acceptable) and 30 percent (conditional), guidance widely used in automotive supply from the AIAG PPAP and MSA manuals. Check what your customer requires; many ask for higher capability on initial studies or on special characteristics.
Does the workbook calculate Cpk or gauge R&R?: No. Type the results of your latest studies; the control plan compares them with your requirements and flags gaps. Use the Process Capability (Cpk) and Gage R&R templates on this site to run the studies themselves.
Why does a special characteristic show Check under Capability?: Because it has no Cpk. For a variable characteristic that usually means a capability study is still needed; for an attribute characteristic such as a visual check, it means the plan should state how the characteristic is controlled instead, typically 100 percent inspection or error-proofing. Either way, a reviewer should look at it.
Is this my customer's control plan form?: No. It holds the information customers ask for, in the usual column order, plus workload and capability checks. If your customer specifies a format, copy the columns into it. The header shows the phase (prototype, pre-launch or production) and the revision date.
How do I keep the control plan in step with the PFMEA?: Use the same process step names in both, put every special characteristic and every PFMEA prevention and detection control into the plan, and update the plan in the same change as the PFMEA. The example plan and the PFMEA template describe the same fictional part, so you can see how they line up.