QUALITY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
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Whether you’re looking to break into the automotive industry or want to protect your position as a top supplier, your customers expect clear evidence of your quality capability: an IATF 16949 certification.
An IATF 16949 certified quality management system tells customers everything they need to know about your company’s quality performance. It also certifies your reliability and process capability along the entire value chain.
- Quality Capability
- Process Capability
- Reliability
- Market Access
IATF 16949, the new automotive standard published in October 2016 as the successor to ISO/TS 16949:2009, is the ticket to the global auto industry. It uses the same high-level structure as the ISO management system standards but supplements the enhanced requirements of ISO 9001:2015 with requirements for the automotive sector. The latest revision did more than simply align the standard with ISO 9001:2015, though; it also added a number of changes specific to automotive manufacturing, including traceability and management of safety-relevant parts.
- Internationally recognized mark of quality in the automotive industry
- Improved dependability and process capability in the value chain
- Continuous process optimization and organizational improvement
- Stronger error and safety management culture
- Considerable trust and loyalty from customers
- Greater competitiveness and improved image
The certification process begins with a site readiness review (Stage 1) that must be followed by a registration audit (Stage 2) within 90 days. Within another 15 days, the final report is issued. If all requirements are met, the certificate is issued. If nonconformities are determined, the 90 days deadline for management of nonconformities starts, with last audit day onsite. Corrective actions must be communicated to DQS sooner – within maximum 60 days. Certifications are renewed after three years; however, the recertification process must be performed early enough to address nonconformities before the existing certificate expires. For that reason, we recommend recertifying three months prior to certificate expiration.
IATF 16949 was published in October 2016. All ISO/TS 16949 certificates expire on September 14, 2018. The new standard includes all changes from ISO 9001:2015 as well as a series of new requirements specific to the automotive industry, including issues such as:
- Safety-relevant parts and processes
- Traceability
- Products with embedded software
- Warranty management including No Trouble Found (NTF) process
- Integration of customer-specific requirements in the QMS scope
- Supplier selection, management and development
- Corporate responsibility policies
- First and second party auditors
- Temporary changes of production process controls
