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Steps

  1. Open the Control Plan Risksheet — Navigate to Risks space, select your Control Plan document (e.g., “Control Plan - AEB Sensor Unit”), and open it in the Risksheet editor.
  2. Locate the Control Method row — Find the control method item (level 3) where you want to define the reaction plan. The control method should already have measurement technique, sample size, and frequency configured.
  3. Edit the Reaction Plan field — In the Reaction Plan column (orange header section), click the cell for your control method and enter the corrective action procedure.
  4. Define immediate containment actions — Specify what operators should do when a nonconforming part is detected:
    • Stop the line and quarantine affected parts
    • Alert the shift supervisor or quality engineer
    • Tag and segregate suspect product
    • Initiate containment lot size calculation
  5. Reference problem-solving methodology — Link to your organization’s corrective action process:
    • 8D (Eight Disciplines) for customer-facing issues
    • 5 Why analysis for root cause investigation
    • A3 problem solving for systematic improvement
    • Quality alert or deviation notice procedures
  6. Configure escalation paths — Document when to escalate based on severity:
    • Special Characteristics (SC): Notify quality engineering within 1 hour
    • Critical Characteristics (CC): Immediate line stop, notify plant manager and customer quality representative
    • Standard characteristics: Follow normal nonconformance procedures
  7. Link to PFMEA detection ratings — Ensure your reaction plan accounts for the failure mode’s detection rating:
    • Detection 1-3 (error-proofing/auto-stop): Reaction plan may be automatic (line stop, auto-reject)
    • Detection 4-6 (gauging/SPC): Reaction plan requires operator decision-making
    • Detection 7-10 (visual inspection): Reaction plan must include verification steps to prevent escapes

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Configuration Example

Reaction Plan field for "Torque measurement after fastening operation":
IMMEDIATE: Stop assembly line, quarantine all parts since last OK measurement.
CONTAINMENT: Calculate suspect lot based on time since last verified OK torque.
INVESTIGATION: Initiate 5 Why root cause analysis within 2 hours.
ESCALATION: Notify Quality Engineer (SC) or Plant Manager + Customer Quality (CC).
CORRECTIVE ACTION: Document findings in 8D report, update control plan if process change required.
VERIFICATION: Re-verify first 5 parts after corrective action before resuming production.

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Reaction Plan Workflow

diagram
Reaction plans like “Notify supervisor” or “Take corrective action” are too generic to be effective. Specify who to notify (by role), when to escalate (time limits), what containment actions to take (quarantine criteria), and which problem-solving method to use (8D vs 5 Why vs A3). Vague reaction plans fail audits and leave operators unable to respond effectively during nonconformances.
Special Characteristics (SC, orange badge) and Critical Characteristics (CC, red badge) require faster escalation and stricter containment than standard characteristics. Your reaction plan must acknowledge the classification—CC failures often require immediate customer notification per contractual agreements, while standard characteristics may follow internal procedures only. Check IATF 16949 requirements for customer-specific SC/CC handling.
If your organization uses Polarion changeRequest or task work items for quality alerts, reference the alert creation procedure in your reaction plan. This creates traceability from process nonconformance → quality alert → corrective action → PFMEA update, closing the APQP continuous improvement loop.
Review the PFMEA for this process step to ensure your reaction plan addresses the failure modes identified during risk analysis. If the PFMEA shows a high-severity failure mode with detection rating 7-10 (low detection capability), your reaction plan must compensate with aggressive containment and verification steps to prevent customer escapes.

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Verification

You should now see the Reaction Plan column populated with your corrective action procedure. The control plan is ready for use in production—operators can reference the reaction plan when nonconformances occur, and auditors can verify that your control plan includes appropriate escalation and containment logic for all characteristics. Check the Control Plans Report dashboard (Documentation space) to confirm your control plan items appear in the summary metrics. The report should show 25 control plan items for the AEB Sensor Unit with complete reaction plan coverage.

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See Also