Due to the fact that automotive suppliers who have obtained QS-9000 or VDA6.1 quality system certification may not have their certificates recognized by all countries worldwide (so far, the three major automotive factories in the United States and OEMs in Germany, France, and Italy have only reached mutual recognition for "internal audit" (QS-9000 element 4.17) and "subcontractor development" (4.6.2.1 in QS-9000 element 4.6)), and neither QS-9000 nor VDA6.1 have been issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
In order to reduce unnecessary resource waste for automotive suppliers and facilitate the implementation of global procurement strategies for automotive companies, representatives from the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), ISO/TC176, Quality Management and Quality Assurance Committee and its sub committees have developed the IATF16949 technical specification based on the ISO 9001:1994 quality system, combined with the requirements of quality systems such as QS-9000, VDA6.1, EAQF (France) 94, and AVSQ (Italy) 95. The specification was issued and applied on January 1, 1999.
The IATF16949 technical specification has been approved by 2/3 of the member countries of the ISO Technical Committee through voting. The ISO Technical Committee conducts a review of it every three years to determine whether it can be converted into an international standard.
The IATF16949 technical specification complies with the current automotive quality system requirements in the global automotive industry and can avoid multiple certification audits. The issuance of the IATF16949 technical specification can be temporarily applied in the automotive industry to collect information and experience during use.
In the IATF16949 technical specification, the text with a box represents ISO copyright, which is quoted from clause 4 and Appendix A of ISO 9001:1994. Industry specific supplementary requirements are outside the box.
In order to obtain recognition from the customer members of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) for the IATF16949 technical specification certification, the ISO Technical Committee has developed a globally unified certification scheme (IATF16949 Automotive Certification Program and Guidelines for Achieving IATF Recognition) and requires compliance. If there are special customer requirements that supplement the IATF16949 technical specification, they must be included in the audit to obtain customer recognition of the IATF16949 technical specification certification.
Goal of IATF16949
Continuous improvement in the supply chain
★ Quality improvement
★ Productivity improvement
★ Cost reduction
2. Emphasize the prevention of shortcomings
★ Application of SPC
★ Error prevention measures
3. Reduce deterioration and waste
★ Ensure inventory turnover and lower inventory levels
★ Quality cost
★ Non quality additional costs (waiting time, excessive handling, etc.)
Applicability of IATF16949
IATF16949 specifies the quality system requirements for automotive suppliers for the design/development, production, installation, and service of automotive related products.
IATF16949 applies to suppliers and subcontractors who provide production and service components for the following projects on site:
a) Components or materials, or
b) Heat treatment parts, painting, electroplating, or other processing services, or
c) Other products specified by customers.
IATF16949 is also applicable to the entire automotive supply chain.
The benefits of IATF16949 for automotive suppliers
1. Integrate the quality requirements of automotive suppliers.
2. Establish a common quality system to avoid multiple certification audits.
3. Reduce the frequency of supplier quality system reviews.