ISO 16949

A successful partnership between ISO and the international automotive industry has resulted in the publication of a new edition of ISO/TS 16949, which specifies quality system requirements for suppliers in this sector.

Who is getting registered to ISO/TS 16949?
It is expected that the technical specification (TS) will become the common and unique basis for the automotive industry's quality management system requirements worldwide, gradually replacing the multiple national specifications now used by the sector (e.g. QS 9000, AVSQ, VDA6.1 and EAQF). ISO/TS 16949 therefore has a substantial potential market comprising more than 30 000 companies currently certified (registered) against one or other of the national specifications.

ISO/TS 16949:2002 was developed by a partnership comprising the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), with the support of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, which is responsible for the ISO 9000 family of quality management standards.

What’s different about ISO/TS 16949?
Pierre Caillibot, chairman of ISO/TC 176, observed, "The publication of the second edition of ISO/TS 16949 marks an important step for the automotive industry worldwide. It confirms that the profound changes made to ISO 9001 in its year 2000 edition have not diminished its relevance as the undisputed foundation standard for quality management systems. This is good news for the hundreds of thousands of organizations which have elected over the years to implement the ISO 9000 standards.

The new document aims at the development of a quality management system that provides for continual improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. Incorporating the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, ISO/TS 16949:2002 also includes detailed, sector-specific requirements for employee competence, awareness and training, design and development, production and service provision, control of monitoring and measuring devices, and measurement, analysis and improvement.

In a letter released last month by Gary C. Valade, executive vice president for global procurement and supply, DaimlerChrylser announced that it will require registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002 by July 1, 2004. The company indicated that it would continue to accept registration to VDA 6.1 and QS-9000 until the “final deadline”.

Released in March 2002, the second edition of ISO/TS 16949:2002 is aligned with ISO 9001:2000 and is specifically designed for the automotive industry and recognized by automotive manufacturers worldwide.