IATF 16949:2016 was published on October 3rd, 2016 and it describes the requirements for a quality management system for organizations in the automotive industry, including automotive production, service and/or accessory parts organizations.
It replaces ISO/TS 16949:2009 which the International Automobile Task Force (IATF) and ISO agreed to discontinue in order to deal with constant changes in the auto industry.
While IATF 16949:2016 is fully aligned with ISO 9001:2015 it is not an independent quality management standard, which means that any organization wishing to be certified to this standard also needs to comply separately with all the ISO 9001:2015 requirements.
However, unlike ISO/TS 16949, IATF 16949:2016 does not contain the ISO 9001:2015 text, it only contains the additional requirements specific to the automotive industry.
Key changes to the standard include:
High Level Structure (HLS) – The adoption of a High Level Structure (HLS) that is shared with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 facilitates the incorporation of multiple standards in an organization.
Risk management and safety – The aim is to reduce failures in the development process and to ensure product safety through the entire product lifecycle by identifying and mitigating the risks at all stages.
Customer specific requirements – It defines a difference between customer requirements and Customer-specific requirements (CSR) to avoid misunderstanding and specifies the procedures for addressing them.
Product traceability – Includes improvement of the traceability requirements of products to support regulatory changes that apply to the industry.
Products with embedded software – The standard now explicitly addresses the electronics and the software that are now commonly embedded into vehicles.
Warranty management – Inclusion of a warranty management process that addresses No Trouble Found (NTF) and the use of automotive industry guidance.
Management of sub-tier suppliers – The standard requires that organizations ensure conformance of products, processes and services throughout their entire supply chain.
Incorporation of corporate responsibility requirements – Organizations are required to implement corporate responsibility policies and initiatives that address bribery and other ethical issues.
Changes from ISO/TS 16949:2002 to ISO/TS 16949:2009
The previous version of the standard ISO/TS 16949:2009 was based on ISO 9001:2008 and similar to ISO 9001:2008 it had no new requirements. Also, similar to ISO/TS 16949:2002 it did not require complying to both standards.
Changes from QS-9000 to ISO/TS 16949:2002
ISO/TS 16949:2002 was a major upgrade from its predecessor, QS-9000. It resulted from the dissatisfaction within the industry on how QS-9000 was being implemented.
It was felt that there were too many organizations that were not at the QS-9000 level but had been registered to it. The IATF tried to improve the state of affairs by instituting two key changes. The first was to create its own oversight body and scheme, and the second was to reduce the number of registrars that could audit to ISO/TS 16949:2002.
ISO/TS 16949:2002 was based on ISO 9001:2000 to which had been added specific requirements of the automotive sector. It did not require complying to both standards as the ISO/TS 16949:2002 text included the ISO 9001:2000 text to which the following were added:
Greater management involvement
Top Management must review all key processes and the quality objectives should be included in the business plan
The quality team must be informed of processes not meeting expectations and they should have the ability to stop production to correct quality problems
Management reviews should be recorded and include the cost effect of poor quality
Greater resource management
There should be a multi-disciplinary approach whereby design, development, production and quality teams are competent in each other’s areas.
Product safety should be built in to the design and development process
Employees should be motivated to achieve quality objectives and there should be clear contingency plans in the event of an emergency
Inconsistent application of housekeeping standards across the organization are to be treated as quality and safety issues
Product Realization
Product and Process design and development are a single process
A Control Plan that follows customer requirements should be produced that includes all information relating to the product, processes, measurement, reaction plan and corrective actions. Any system changes should be reflected in the Control Plan.
There must be a plan to identify, measure and reduce variances
Suppliers must be accredited to TS 16949 or ISO 9001
Measurement, Analysis, & Improvement
Manufacturing process studies are required with improvements made to reduce variation
The need for layout inspections and functional verifications for the product as specified in the Control Plan
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