Quality Management Systems for Automotive Production

ISO/TS 16949:2009 is a technical specification which provides additional requirements to ISO 9001:2008 with the aim of developing quality management systems in the automotive industry.

The Technical Specifications apply to the:

• design
• development,
• production and, where relevant,
• installation and service of automotive-related products.

The specifications were developed by the industry itself, and in particular 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 according to these specifications is a minimum pre-requisite for any supplier.

ISO/TS 16949:2009 is applicable to all types of automotive supply companies, from small manufacturers to multi-site multinational organisations. The standard is only applicable, however, to sites where production or service parts are manufactured.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of certification according to ISO /TS 16949 is that it is recognised internationally and avoids the need for obtaining multiple certificates according to VDA6.1 (German), EAQF (French), QS-9000 (US) and AVSQ (Italian) standards.