NPI Project Initiation Checklist

Capture the customer part number, internal item master ID, expected annual usage (EAU), peak weekly volume, and program life. EAU drives the work-center selection, tooling life, and whether the part justifies a dedicated cell vs. a shared line.

Pull the current rev print from PLM (Windchill, Arena, SolidWorks PDM) and identify all critical-to-quality (CTQ) and key product characteristic (KPC) dimensions. These drive the inspection plan, gauge selection, and Cpk targets — getting them wrong here propagates into PPAP rework.

Negotiate target on-time delivery, PPM defect rate, first-pass yield, and Cpk on KPCs with the customer's SQE. These become the program scorecard and the basis for any supplier development triggers post-launch.

Review the work-center load forecast and confirm the program can absorb without displacing existing customers. If the program would push a CCR (capacity-constrained resource) past 85% utilization, escalate to the plant manager before committing.

Record what is in scope and what is not — packaging, secondary operations, kitting, freight terms, customer-supplied components, ITAR or export-controlled content. Unstated assumptions are the most common source of mid-program scope disputes.

Name the manufacturing engineer, quality engineer, buyer, production planner, and tooling engineer assigned to this program. Each is the single point of contact for their function across the launch.

Identify the customer's program manager, SQE, and receiving inspection contact, plus all sub-tier suppliers on the BOM (raw material, plating, heat treat, special process). Flag any sole-source or Nadcap-restricted suppliers — those drive lead time risk.

Schedule the standard NPI gates — kickoff, design freeze, tooling release, pilot run, PPAP submission, SOP. Customer attendance is required at design freeze and pilot run; internal-only at the others.

Confirm how customer-driven changes flow in — portal, ECN, deviation request — and the response SLA. Verbal changes from the customer's engineer are not actionable; route everything through the documented channel or it does not exist.

RACI rows: BOM ownership, print revision control, PPAP submission, FAI sign-off, tooling acceptance, container approval, launch readiness. Without an explicit Accountable name per row, gate slippage is invisible until it is critical.

Draft the routing in the ERP (Epicor, NetSuite, Plex) — operations, work centers, standard times, run rates. Flag any operations that require a special process supplier (heat treat, plating, NDT) so PO lead times are reflected in the timeline.

Quote primary tooling, backup tooling, perishable tooling for first year, fixtures, and any custom gauging. Variable gauges (CMM programs, custom comparators) are a frequent miss — they are not optional once Cpk is on the customer scorecard.

Apply the plant capitalization threshold (commonly $5K or $10K) and the customer-amortization rule. Customer-owned tooling does not hit your CAPEX but still needs an asset tag and an annual physical verification.

Build the AFE package — payback, NPV at the plant hurdle rate, sourcing alternatives, lead time impact. Multi-month tooling lead time means CAPEX approval is the longest-pole item on most programs; skipping the early submission is a classic launch-delay cause.

Walk the BOM line-by-line for lead time and MOQ. Bar stock, castings, forgings, and electronic components are the usual long-lead items. Place pilot-run material on PO before design freeze if the lead time exceeds the gap to pilot.

Walk every operation in the routing with the core team — manufacturing engineer, quality, operator-level input from a similar program. Use AIAG-VDA severity / occurrence / detection rankings; do not let the team default to all 5s, which destroys the prioritization.

Filter to the action priority high (or RPN above the plant threshold, commonly 100 or 120). Anything tied to a CTQ goes on the list regardless of RPN — customer-facing characteristics carry their own escalation regardless of math.

Prefer poka-yoke and process design changes over inspection-based controls — inspection catches defects, it does not prevent them. The control plan must mirror the PFMEA one-to-one or PPAP reviewers will reject it.

Weekly review through pilot, biweekly through SOP, monthly through 90-day post-launch. Sliding the review when nothing seems wrong is how teams miss the warning signs of a launch in trouble.

Each top-priority risk gets one named owner — not a function, a person — and a target close date. Risks owned by 'the team' do not get worked.

Reverse-schedule from the customer SOP date through PPAP submission, pilot run, tooling tryout, and design freeze. Build in two weeks of float before PPAP for control plan validation runs — that is where most launches lose time.

Get the level in writing from the customer SQE. Level 3 is the default for new parts at automotive customers; aerospace defaults to AS9102 plus a customer-specific package. Submitting Level 2 when the customer expects Level 3 is the most common PPAP rejection.

Eighteen elements per AIAG: design records, ECNs, DFMEA (if applicable), process flow, PFMEA, control plan, MSA, dimensional results, material certs, performance test results, qualified lab docs, AAR, sample parts, master sample, checking aids, customer-specific requirements, PSW. Missing one element rejects the whole package.

FAI runs on the first production-intent part off production-intent tooling — not engineering samples. AS9102 form 1 (part), form 2 (materials and processes), form 3 (characteristics) for aerospace; layout inspection per the control plan otherwise.

After PPAP, any of the eight customer-notification triggers (material change, sub-supplier change, process change, location change, tooling change after dormant period, etc.) requires re-submission. Build the ECN routing now so a change six months in does not invalidate the launch.