Quality Edge
A First Look at the AIAGVDA SPC Manual
I did not know what to expect based on past experiences with the manual but this was surprisingly well developed.
Currently, there is a yellow cover draft of the AIAG VDA SPC Manual that is dated 1st edition, February 2026. It is being circulated to obtain feedback from future users of this Manual. This manual is the second in a series of joint manuals developed by AIAG and VDA. The first was published a few years ago addressing the FMEA.
It is stated that a global team of experts were involved in assessing and including the latest technologies and methodologies. The manual is actually defined as a Practical Application Guide. ISO 3534 is reference in the Scope of the manual. ISO 3534-1:2006 is an international standard “Statistics – Vocabulary and symbols – Part 1: General statistical terms and terms used in probability.” There is also another standard as part of this series titled “Statistics – Vocabulary and symbols – Part 2: Applied statistics.” Part 1 is referenced but Part 2 was not utilized based on Section 3 Standards and Guidelines but was referenced under Section 4 Terms and Definitions. Why Part 2 was ignored in Section 3 is not known, unless there was an error for the source used in Section 4 Terms and Definitions.
It was good to see that PDCA is promoted as “The Process Improvement Cycle.” The Process Control System with Control Loops has been expanded to include System Audits, Process Audits and Product Audits. Risk Analyses is also addressed but predominately forwards the user to the AIAG and VDA FMEA handbook.
Machine performance and Process Performance both utilize Pp and Ppk. The difference between Performance (P indices) and Capability (C indices). Figure 7-3: Capability for a Production Process Over Time is a very nice addition and provides substantial information about capability.
Control Charts are primarily presented from a narrative perspective providing users with an improved approach than just a series of formulas. There are examples using formulas, but this follows a good explanation of the tool. The General Geometric is also presented using ISO 22514 and ISO 3534 which also refers to this as the “Quantile Method” or “Percentile Method.”
Overall, the manual has increased the number of tables, comparisons and use of graphics. I do appreciate that AIAG and VDA provided the opportunity to download and review the current state of this manual. I did not know what to expect based on past experiences with the manual but this was surprisingly well developed.
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