Guide to Control Plans
This page was last updated on 21st June 2022- Guide to Control Plans Overview
- Relationship to Quality Certification
- When are Control Plans Required?
- What are Control Plans?
- Preparation of Plans
- Related Control Systems
- Acceptance
- Monitoring Activities
- Appendix 1 - Some Helpful Headings for General Information
- Appendix 2 - Example of a Control Plan
- Appendix 3 - An Example of a Control Plan for Whole Vehicle (In Addition to Individual System Plans)
EU, UNECE, GB and UK(NI) vehicle type approval legislation all require manufacturers to hold Conformity of Production clearance with the approval authority that issue their type approval certification. This clearance is needed before granting of the initial approval and must be updated at regular intervals for the approval to remain valid over the products life.
A vehicle Type Approval defines the approved specification range of the vehicle. The manufacturer is then responsible for ensuring all the vehicles manufactured, sold and registered in the applicable market conform to this specification.
Conformity of Production (CoP) is a means of evidencing the ability to produce a series of products that exactly match the specification, performance and marking requirements outlined in the Type Approval documentation. Whether you are a manufacturer, or the agent applying for approvals on behalf of a manufacturer, and whatever your product is, suitable CoP arrangements must be made.
There are two key elements of CoP:
- Quality Management System – A system of processes and procedures which control the production of vehicles from design through to sales. One method of demonstrating this is holding ISO9001 accreditation as an organisation, however this is not mandatory.
- Control Plans – A document that demonstrates how ongoing compliance will be ensured for each Type Approval subject, for example inspections or tests which are undertaken during production
