CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Industry Specific Standards

ISO/TS 16949

Introduction

ISO/TS 16949 is an ISO Technical Specification that specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, and where relevant, installation and servicing of automotive-related products. The standard aims to align the existing automotive quality system requirements within the global automotive industry.

ISO/TS 16949 was written by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) that consisted of participating members like BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford Motor Company, General Motors (including Opel Vauxhall), PSA Peugeot - Citroen, Renault SA, Volkswagen and trade associations such as AIAG (US), ANFIA (Italy), FIEV (France), SMMT (UK) and VDA (Germany). Because of this, the ISO/TS 16949 certification is accepted by IATF - participating members as the international equivalent of QS 9000, AVSQ, EAQF, and VDA 6.1.

Benefits of Implementation

ISO/TS 16949 provides uncountable benefits - both tangible and intangible. A typical organisation would enjoy the following:

• fulfil one of the conditions of supply to some of the major automotive makers
• gain customer recognition and approval and open doors to the worldwide markets
• have a systematic approach to control all its processes and proven methods that will help to improve product quality levels
• greater transparency and consistency in its output
• and ultimately, a reduction in customer complaints and retention of customers

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the relationship between QS-9000, ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949?

QS-9000, implemented in 1994 and revised in 1998, was an Industry Specific Standard developed by the big three automotive manufacturers - Ford, GM and Daimler Chrysler with the purpose to provide one common quality system for suppliers. Subsequently, many truck manufacturers including Mack, Volvo, Freightliner, GM and Navistar adopted QS-9000 as the standard.

QS-9000 was to be used as a supplement to ISO 9001 as it contained additional requirements for each ISO 9001 element that were specific to the automotive industry. The objective was to have a quality system geared towards continuous improvement, prevention of non-conformance, and scrap and rework reduction at suppliers. QS-9000 was supported by a set of additional manuals issued by the AIAG to address PPAP, APQP, MSA, FMEA and SPC.

In April 2002, representatives of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the International Automotive Oversight Bureau (IAOB) announced that QS-9000:1998 would be phased out by December 15, 2006, and would be replaced with the new ISO/TS 16949:2002 standard.