Automotive ISO/TS 16949

ISO/TS 16949:2002 Questions and Answers

Last updated: March 2007

1. What is ISO/TS 16949:2002 ?

ISO/TS 16949:2002 is an ISO Technical Specification which aligns existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards within the global automotive industry. ISO/TS 16949:2002 specifies the quality system requirements for the design/ development, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products.

2. Who are the authors of ISO/TS 16949:2002 ?

ISO/TS 16949 was written by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF). The IATF consists of an international group of vehicle manufacturers, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford Motor Company, General Motors (including Opel Vauxhall), PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault SA, Volkswagen and their respective trade associations - AIAG (U.S.), ANFIA (Italy), FIEV (France), SMMT (U.K.) and VDA (Germany).

3. What is the format of ISO/TS 16949:2002 ?

Automotive Sector requirements, defining international automotive quality system requirements are contained in ISO/TS 16949, which is written around the format of ISO 9001:2000, in the case of ISO/TS 16949:2002.

Customer specific requirements are required by individual subscribing vehicle manufacturers and are provided separately.

4. What are the Eligibility requirements for ISO/TS 16949:2002 ?

ISO/TS 16949:2002 is relevant to automotive production and service part organizations only.
It is applicable only to sites where production or service parts are manufactured. (A site is defined as: a location at which value added manufacturing processes occur. Manufacturing is defined: as the process of making production materials, parts or assemblies, or heat treating, painting, plating services.). Any tier within the supply chain can apply.
Any potential supplier can only be accepted for registration if they have a documented request for quotation or is on a bid list of a subscribing customer.

This means that:

ISO/TS 16949:2002 is also relevant to vehicle manufacturing plants: Jaguar, DaimlerChrysler, Land Rover, Bentley are all working on quality systems to meet ISO/TS 16949:2002 requirements.
Some organizations that had been certified to QS-9000 were not eligible for ISO/TS 16949:2002 registration, for example: stockists and organizations who have no automotive customers.
Organizations which have automotive and non-automotive product will require separate certification for these separate product groups. They would have ISO/TS 16949:2002 certification for their automotive activities, and ISO 9001:2000 (or an alternative specified by their non-automotive customers) for the non-automotive business.
Organizations wishing to break into the automotive market must wait until they are on an automotive customer's potential supplier list before they can progress with registration .

5. Which vehicle manufactures will accept ISO/TS 16949 ?

Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault, Fiat, BMW, Daimler Benz and Volkswagen all support ISO/TS 16949. DaimlerChrysler. Japanese and Korean manufacturers may also recognise ISO/TS 16949:2002 as a valid supplier approval mechanism in future.

Formal communications by Big 3 regarding their particular requirements have been made. Read our Vehicle Manufacturer Requirements section for more information.

Customer Specific Requirements: For subscribing members, these are to be made available via the IAOB website (Big 3 specifics are already referenced on this site) at www.iaob.org Note that some customer specifics may be incorporated into Purchasing agreements

6. Can BSI perform assessments to ISO/TS 16949?

Yes. BSI has been appointed as a Recognized Certification Body by IATF. Only recognized certification bodies can issue certificates, which satisfies the supporting vehicle manufacturers.

7. Will BSI be accredited by UKAS or ANAB for ISO/TS 16949 ?

ISO/TS 16949 will not be accredited by UKAS or ANAB. Witness Audits of office activities and field assessments will be performed by IATF, to verify a certification body's competence and compliance with requirements. The UKAS symbol will not be displayed on ISO/TS 16949 certificates; instead the IATF logo will be displayed.

8. What are the benefits of Certification to ISO/TS 16949 with BSI?

Organizations can be certified against one international automotive management system standard instead of having to meet requirements from multiple standards. This may mean:

Reduction in multiple 3rd party registrations freeing up time and supplier resources for other quality activities and improvement opportunities that can enhance business.
A reduction in 2nd party audits again freeing up time
Common quality system approach in the supply chain for development and consistency, allowing organizations within the supply chain to work more effectively together.
Common language, which will improve understanding of quality requirements, making implementation and maintenance of the system easier.

ISO/TS 16949 certification with BSI is accepted and recognized globally. BSI is one of the leading Certification bodies in the world for automotive management system certification. Recognition of the international standard and the integrity of the BSI Certification can provide additional confidence in Global sourcing enabling greater business opportunities.

ISO 9001:2000, upon which ISO/TS 16949 is based encourages the use of a process approach. Understanding the interrelationship of processes within the organization through the use and application of the standard could enable improved product and process quality.

9. Who can I contact for further information?

BSI Client Services, Tel: +44 (0)20 8996 6325, are able to answer general enquiries and provide quotation information.