The new automotive standard

The new quality standard for the automotive industry, ISO/TS 16949:2002, will formally supercede QS 9000 at the end of 2006. There is already activity within organizations transferring to the new standard during the transition period but, as Graham Colbrook from BM TRADA Certification discovers, there is much to be vigilant about

QS 9000, published in 1994, was a major step forward for automotive supplier QMS standards. It represented a fundamental change in how supplier quality was assured by the ‘big three’ carmakers: Ford, Daimler Chrysler and General Motors. Previously, automotive customers had relied on their own quality engineers to liaise with suppliers using their own standards. An equally significant change introduced alongside QS 9000 was a shift in responsibility for supplier QMS assessment to the international third party certification sector.

Out with the old...

Worldwide harmonization of quality requirements schemes across the automotive industry was never going to be achieved with QS 9000. The other automotive companies had no influence on the content of QS 9000, so most continued to use their own requirements documents. Inevitably, this meant that suppliers continued to endure multiple quality system assessments from their customers even though reduction of this wasteful activity was a declared objective of QS 9000.

More controversially, it has been suggested that Ford, Daimler Chrysler and General Motors had become concerned about what they saw as an unsatisfactory standard of third party auditing to QS 9000 despite the existence of a custom auditor qualification scheme. Finally, QS 9000 is based on ISO 9001:1994, which was replaced by ISO 9001:2000 at the end of 2003.

...in with the new

The first edition of ISO/TS 16949, released in 1999, was based on ISO 9001:1994. A second edition followed in 2002 which used ISO 9001:2000 as its foundation. ISO/TS 16949:2002 was developed by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) membership which includes eight of the world’s major car manufacturers, lending the standard credibility and encouraging wider acceptance of it.

The task was overseen by ISO Technical Committee 176, which ensured that the standard would be compatible with ISO 9001:2000. Ford, Daimler Chrysler and General Motors have embraced ISO/TS 16949:2002, but have agreed a transition period from QS 9000 which will expire on 14 December 2006. Nevertheless, there is already much activity within organizations transferring to ISO/TS 16949:2002.

ISO/TS 16949:2002 comprises the entire text of ISO 9001:2000 in boxes plus automotive additions which supplement the clauses of ISO 9001. Many of these are similar to their equivalents in QS 9000, so it is understandable that users would identify and interpret the significance of the changes. However, to concentrate on such detail is to risk missing a fundamental change, which is the need for a process approach.

As with QS 9000, the ISO/TS 16949:2002 standard is supplemented by reference documents. These are:

IATF guidance to ISO/TS 16949
frequently asked questions and sanctioned interpretations
customer-specific requirements
rules for achieving IATF recognition

Concerns over the adequacy of certification activities to QS 9000 have resulted in a strict certification regime for ISO/TS 16949:2002 with oversight activities controlled by the IATF via regional offices. The oversight role includes accreditation and monitoring of certification bodies’ ISO/TS 16949:2002 activities. The entry criteria and standards expected are rigorous for both certification bodies and their auditors.

Auditing ISO/TS 16949:2002

Internal and external auditors of organizations operating a process-based QMS must be able to understand the sequence and interaction of the processes in order to be able to audit them effectively. ISO/TS 16949:2002 itself is not specific on qualifications for internal auditors (clause 8.2.2.5), leaving the supplier organization to define these for itself. Sometimes customers define their expectations of their suppliers’ internal auditors, like Ford. Qualification requirements for external auditors auditing ISO/TS 16949:2002 comprise a mixture of specific qualifications and experience including time spent working in the automotive industry. The rules also dictate how certification bodies are to use their auditors eg continuity/rotation of auditors or team composition.

Organizations’ eligibility

ISO/TS 16949:2002 is intended to be applicable only to parts manufacturing (including service parts) organizations. A consequence of this requirement is that some organizations currently registered to QS 9000 will not be able to transfer, eg distributors and tooling manufacturers.

A second aspect concerning eligibility is that organizations seeking certification must be a direct supplier to a customer that requires its suppliers to register to ISO/TS 16949:2002.

Understand the process approach

Suppliers moving from QS 9000 to ISO/TS 16949:2002 sometimes show less understanding of the process approach than those coming to ISO/TS 16949:2002 from ISO 9001:2000. Conversely, suppliers migrating to ISO/TS 16949:2002 directly from QS 9000 usually show greater familiarity with the automotive core tools, ie the blue reference volumes which support QS 9000. The automotive process approach is described in sanctioned interpretation SI 4 04 and annex five of the rules. Training courses featuring automotive process approach methodology are available.

Auditing resources

Inevitably, the more stringent auditor qualification regime for ISO/TS 16949:2002 means that some QS 9000 third party auditors will not qualify. Additionally, many certification bodies currently certificated to QS 9000 will not meet the entry requirements for ISO/TS 16949:2002. Lastly, many customers are urging their suppliers to transfer well ahead of the QS 9000 expiry date. These factors point towards, in the short term at least, a diminished pool of ISO/TS 16949:2002 qualified auditors.

Below: Driving into the future - ISO/TS 16949:2002 will formally supercede QS 9000 in 2006

About the author

Graham Colbrook has been performing third party assessments of EMSs and QMSs for BM TRADA and other certification bodies for 15 years. He is a lead auditor for ISO 9001, a lead EMS auditor and a qualified auditor for QS 9000 and ISO/TS 16949:2002. He can be contacted on e: qualprof@ntlworld.com

About BM TRADA

BM TRADA Certification is a leading multi-sector certification body accredited by UKAS. The organization offers certification to quality, environmental, information security, and health and safety management systems, as well as product and personnel schemes.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of BM TRADA or other certification bodies.