July 06, 2004 -- SEATTLE, Wash,. (USA) -- (JobwerxNews) -- Could this be the end of QS-9000 and the beginning of ISO/TS 16949:2002 as the industry standard of choice?

INSIGHT: The certification of quality standards ISO TS 16949, from the ISO 9000 family series, recognizes extraordinary commitment to meeting customer requirements.

The ISO/TS 16949 standard is sanctioned by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It differs from other ISO standards in two important ways: it is restricted to automotive companies and their suppliers; and it requires compliance with a customer's requirements worldwide, not just regionally.

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.

This standard is the result of an agreement between ISO and the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), aimed at meeting the quality management system needs of the international automotive sector.

FOCUS:

BASF coatings manufacturing and research and development sites in North America recently earned ISO/TS 16949 quality certification. Three of the five sites, located in Greenville, Ohio, Morganton, N.C., and Windsor, Ontario, manufacture automotive coatings. The other two sites are BASF's Research and Development Center in Southfield, Mich., and its Customer Service Center in Whitehouse, Ohio.

To earn certification, each of the BASF sites had to pass a rigorous audit conducted by ABS Quality Evaluations, a certified registrar for this and other ISO standards. The audit covered customer requirements and all of the internal processes involved in meeting them. Audited areas included detailed process maps, customer satisfaction procedures, competency-based employee training and motivation programs, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at all five plants.

BASF is one of many international automotive suppliers and OEM(s) that must conform, not only to be competititve, and comply to the advisory by the "big three" automotive companies. This group so informed suppliers that they must upgrade their quality registrations to ISO/TS 16949 back in August 2002. The deadlines for transitioning are December 14, 2006 for suppliers to Ford and General Motors and July 1, 2004, for DaimlerChrysler suppliers. This mandate ultimately guarantees the end of QS-9000 and the beginning of ISO/TS 16949:2002 as the industry standard of choice.

These requirements to meet quality standards in the automotive industry will produce continued improvements in the performance of products and service.

The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) will answer questions about assessment against this standard as will OEM(s) with which your organization is in business.

Click here to view more current news articles