ISO/TS 16949

ISO/TS 16949

Initially implemented in 1999 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO/TS 16949 was developed jointly by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) as the QS 9000 replacement. The IATF is an international group of automotive manufacturers and national automotive associations represented by General Motors, Ford, Fiat, Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen, BMW, Peugeot-Citroen and Renault. ISO/TS 16949 forms the requirements or the application of ISO 9001 for automotive production and relevant service part organizations

In April 2002, a new revised standard ISO/TS 16949:2002 was introduced. Companies currently certified to the 1999 version were required to upgrade their systems to the ISO/TS 16949:2002 by December 15, 2003. However, Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler have agreed to allow their ISO/TS 16949:1999 certified suppliers an additional one-year grace period, allowing these companies until December 15, 2004 to transition from ISO/TS 16949:1999 to the 2002 version.

The ISO/TS 16949 Process Approach

The IATF has mandated a process-based approach to auditing, with an emphasis on meeting the customer's needs. Organizations may see some changes in methodology in order to more clearly stress the important elements of Customer Oriented Processes including:
 Process ownership
 Process definition and linkages
 Process monitoring and feedback loops for process improvement
 Process effectiveness in meeting customer requirements and key performance indicators for the business