ISO/TS16949:2002 is an ISO technical specification which aligns existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards within the global automotive industry. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products.

Overview

The global automotive industry demands world class levels of product quality, productivity and competitiveness as well as continual improvement. To achieve this goal many vehicle manufacturers insist that suppliers adhere to strict technical specifications laid out in a quality management standard for suppliers to the automotive sector, known as ISO /TS 16949:2002.

ISO/TS 16949:2002 has been developed by the industry, the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), to encourage improvement in both the supply chain and the certification process. In fact, for the majority of leading vehicle manufacturers, certification to this specification is a mandatory requirement for doing business.

This specification aligns and supersedes existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards, including QS-9000, VDA6.1, EAQF and ASQ. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of all automotive-related products. First published in March 1999 and revised in 2002, there are now over 25,000 certificates issued in 80 countries and economies. 

The benefits of transitioning to ISO/TS 16949:2002 are many; the primary benefit being it provides automakers with a single global uniformly recognized automobile specific regulation. It pushes for a comprehensive management approach and the integration of company processes. A systematic approach for targeting, company code system and a continuous improvement process with regular proof management of all company and process related codes. The emphasis is on regular detection of customer satisfaction levels, benchmarking and strong emphasis on prevention and planning. Consistent error detection that consequently relates to increased client trust, stronger concentration on internal and external customers and targeted display of strengths, weaknesses and improvement potential. The standard has a better understanding of the automobile and supplier industry issues that gives it an advantage over its predecessors.

• Identify all the organization's processes affecting product quality
  
• Determine which of the ISO/TS 16949:2002 requirements are already addressed by the existing processes in the organization
  
• Find the ISO/TS 16949:2002 requirements not yet addressed by the existing processes in the organization
  
• Address customer specific requirements in the organization's processes
  
• It aids the organization in the initial Document Review for the ISO/TS 16949:2002 registration audit
  
• It increases the organization's awareness of what constitutes a major vs. a minor process, a support process and a customer oriented process. In other words, it helps Quality Managers identify the natural hierarchy of processes that already exists in the organization
  
• It may reduce the organization's audit costs by fully preparing the organization for the initial document review
  

Requirements of the Quality Standard - ISO/TS 16949:2002
ISO/TS 16949:2002 is an ISO Technical Specification aligning existing automotive quality system requirements developed by IATF, JAMA and supported by ISO technical committee (ISO/TC 176). ISO/TS 16949 applies to all internal and external suppliers of products or production material, or services such as heat treatment, painting, plating, varnishing, galvanizing or other surface treatments and products specified by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers.

ISO/TS 16949:2002 combines QS-9000, AVSQ, EAQF, and VDA, is aligned with ISO 9001:2000 and replaces QS-9000. The standard reflects the automotive sector's interpretation and additions to ISO 9001:2000 in comparison to ISO/TS 16949:1999, which is based on ISO 9001:1994 and does not have contributions or recognition from JAMA. ISO/TS 16949:2002 is organized along the same structure as ISO 9001:2000 and has 8 clauses in comparison to the 20 of the previous version. The eight clauses are titled: "Scope", "Application", "Terms and Definitions", "Quality management system", "Management responsibility", "Resource management", "Product realization" and "Monitoring and Measurement" with the last five dedicated to system requirements. ISO/TS 16949:2002 highlights the importance of cross-functional activities as can be seen from the requirements -

A process-oriented quality system

Control plan for processes producing bulk materials

Analysis of field failures

Continual improvement

Emphasizing defect prevention, reduction of variation & waste in the supply chain

Customer satisfaction requirements

Preventive action process

Improved employee training requirements

Communication with suppliers and customers to assure quality

Improve employee quality responsibility

Employee competence

Awareness and training

Design and development

Production and service provisions

Control of monitoring and measuring devices

Measurement, analysis and improvement

Globally automakers have indicated their individual requirements and their positioning on ISO/TS 16949:2002. DaimlerChrysler requires all its suppliers' to register to ISO/TS 16949:2002 by 1 July 2004, since certification to QS-9000 will no longer be accepted after this date. Ford and General Motors have established December 14, 2006 as the final date for registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002 by all its suppliers and will no longer accept certification to QS-9000 after this date.

Peugeot Citroen and Renault require all suppliers to register to ISO/TS 16949:1999 or ISO/TS 16949:2002 and accept EAQF as optional till 15 December 2003, after which, it is mandatory registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002. Volkswagen requires registration to ISO/TS 16949:1999 or ISO/TS 16949:2002 and to VDA 6.1 as optional, but after 15th December 2003 requires mandatory registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002 or VDA 6.1. BMW and Fiat requires compliance only to ISO/TS 16949:1999 or ISO/TS 16949:2002, but after 15 December 2003 registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002 becomes mandatory.

Nissan requires compliance only to ISO/TS 16949:1999 or ISO/TS 16949:2002, but, after 15 December 2003, requires mandatory compliance to ISO/TS 16949:2002. Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers recognize ISO/TS 16949:2002 and may reduce 2nd Party audits for suppliers who are certified by the standard.

Transitioning to ISO/TS 16949:2002
Since ISO/TS 16949:1999 and QS 9000 will expire by 2003 and 2006 respectively, companies should begin the process of transitioning to ISO/TS 16949:2002. Transitioning is a critical factor as indicated by the requirements of large North American and European vehicle manufacturers who make up a significant part of the customers supplied to.

The IATF has announced transition arrangements for ISO/TS 16949:1999 (expires on 15 December 2003) to ISO/TS 16949:2002, with a 'grace period' for companies that are already certified to ISO/TS 16949:1999, but no later than 15 December 2004. For organizations that have not upgraded their certification from ISO/TS 16949:1999 to ISO/TS 16949:2002 by 15 December 2003, the audit day reduction defined in clause 4.9 of Rules for achieving IATF recognition, for ISO/TS 16949:2002 shall apply during the 'grace period'. This would be applicable provided all customers of the organization subscribe to the 'grace period' to 15 December 2004, the certified QMS shall be maintained in accordance with ISO/TS 16949:1999 and CB Surveillance shall continue at the normal frequency and duration during this 'grace period'. Certifications and renewals to the QS-9000 third edition (includes ISO 9000:1994 text) standards document will expire December 14, 2006 (or earlier based on individual OEM customer requirements) after which the standard would be replaced by ISO/TS 16949:2002.

Transitioning to ISO/TS 16949:2002 like any other quality management systems transition effort, requires top management commitment including establishing and implementing a business plan, availability of required resources, proper training, extensive documentation and record keeping, implementation of quality metrics and audit to track compliance. It's important to study the organization in detail and understand the current manufacturing processes, delivery mechanisms, and personnel involved in each operation including all support activities and processes that directly or indirectly affect the products.

It is necessary to clearly define responsibilities, review the performance of the quality system and report as well as evaluate the cost of poor quality. Human resource management should be a primary focus area with the implementation of processes that define competence requirement. Another requirement is to provide training for all personnel and verify the efficacy of procedures and actions taken. Management can go a step further by putting in place additional processes while creating an environment that's conducive to employee motivation, towards realizing quality objectives as well as promoting innovation. These processes must provide employees with crucial metrics that clearly indicate the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute in achieving the quality objectives.

Due diligence with provision for adequate work instructions to production and for product and process design is critical during the transition phase. There are critical areas during the transition phase for production, product and process design that require due diligence and provision of adequate work instructions. During production, management must provide a process to authorize stopping production to correct quality issues while the use of control plans augments controlling production processes. Management must also ensure effective and efficient control of internal and external labs, process and product audits and analysis of data to drive continual improvement. They have to develop a process for key inputs and measurement in relation to customer perceptions and satisfaction.