QS-9000, VDA 6.1, AVSQ, EAQF, ISO/TS 16949. Though these abbreviations are incomprehensible to the uninitiated, they are extremely important for the quality of the global automotive industry. They are all quality standards issued by the national car-manufacturer organisations – with one exception, the ISO standard ISO/TS 16949. More and more players in the automotive industry now seek harmonisation and just one standard – the ISO/TS 16949.

The automotive industry is becoming more international. This Swiss-registered Smart, built in Germany by DaimlerChrysler, and with a Norwegian driver, was photographed in France.

We have worked since 1996 to achieve harmonisation of our supplier quality system requirements for the benefit of the automotive industry, reads a communiqué from the International Automotive Task Force (IATF). We have previously agreed to a common supplier automotive-quality requirements document, ISO/TS 16949, which, with its customer-specific attachments, satisfies our respective current requirements documents: AVSQ, EAQF, QS-9000 and VDA6.1.

Improved quality worldwide
The IATF is an ad hoc group of vehicle manufacturers and their respective trade associations, formed to provide improved quality products to customers worldwide. Specifically, the purposes for which the IATF was established are:

1. To develop a consensus around fundamental quality system requirements, primarily for the participating companies direct suppliers of production materials, product or service parts or finishing services (e.g. heat treating, painting and plating). These requirements shall also be available for other interested parties in the automotive industry.
2. To develop policies and procedures for a common IATF third-party registration scheme to ensure consistency world wide.
3. To provide appropriate training to support the ISO/TS 16949 requirements and the IATF registration scheme.
4. To establish formal liaisons with appropriate bodies to support IATF objectives.

IATF members include the following vehicle manufacturers: BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors (including Opel Vauxhall), PSA Peugot-Citroen, Renault , Volkswagen and their respective trade associations AIAG (U.S.A.), ANFIA (Italy), FIEV (France), SMMT (U.K.) and VDA (Germany).

ISO/TS 16949 jointly developed
The ISO/TS 16949 technical specification was jointly developed by the IATF members and submitted to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for approval and publication. The document is a common automotive quality system requirements catalogue based on ISO 9001:1994, AVSQ (Italian), EAQF (French), QS-9000 (U.S.) AND VDA6.1 (German) automotive catalogues. This document, coupled with customer-specific requirements, defines quality system requirements for use in the automotive supply chain.

The IATF is also developing a common registration scheme for supplier third-party registration to the ISO/TS 16949. The registration scheme will include third-party auditor qualifications and training and common rules for consistent global registration. Some of the benefits of the IATF registration scheme include:

• improved product and process quality
• confidence in global sourcing
• reassignment of supplier resources to quality improvement
• a common quality system approach in the supply chain for supplier/subcontractor development and consistency
• a reduction in multiple third-party registrations.

An option for suppliers
The ISO/TS 16949 does not replace AVSQ, EAQF, QS-9000 or VDA6.1. The document represents an option for suppliers. In the future, IATF plans to revise the ISO/TS 16949 to align with the ISO 9001:2001 text.

With ongoing support from the executive managements of the IATF participating organisations, IATF will provide the opportunity for other automotive manufacturers utilising the ISO 9001-based quality system requirements to participate in this alignment effort and continue to work towards management of the global third-party automotive registration scheme by a common international automotive organisation. The IATF is convinced that ISO/TS 16949 and the common global registration scheme, implemented in the spirit of continuous improvement, will enhance quality systems while eliminating redundant requirements and thus reducing costs.

Emphasis on self-assessment
China, Iran, Russia, Poland and Hungary are important new areas for those of us with the German standard, says Jürgen Schulz, the head of the German Verbandes der Deutschen Automobilindustrie (VDA). Indonesia also came on the map recently, when the DNV-certified Epcos one of the worlds largest suppliers of thermistors, multi-layer ceramic condensers and varistors was certified in accordance with VDA 6.1.

Jürgen Schulz believes it will take a few years before the automotive industry agrees on one standard. Weve managed to combine VDA6.1 and QS9000 very successfully. This standard has, in my opinion, been better and cheaper to relate to than the new ISO standard, he says. I think well have more self-assessment in the future. Self-assessment started with VDA 6.4. Companies like these certificates. They show that the company is qualified. VDA wants to make rules that ensure independence in internal self-assessment. For certification bodies such as DNV, there is almost certainly a future in certifying self-assessments. I also believe there will be fewer system audits, and more process audits. VDA 6.3 is made for this. In future we must optimise the process, save and be cost-conscious.

One common standard makes sense
It would make sense if we one day had one common automotive standard for suppliers all over the world, states Harold Hodder of the Americas Division of the International Automotive Oversight Bureau ( IAOB ). Oversight activities with the five countries involved are up and running. We have started the process of witnessing the auditors and registrars. So far the results are encouraging. We regularly meet to calibrate activities and to compare results. This is one of the objectives of having a global certification scheme. There is more activity in Europe than in the U.S.A. It is a logical move for all these countries to have one common standard. There have been more audits and more certificates are issued in Europe, but American suppliers are increasing.

Roger Howe, General Manager of DNV Certification Inc, based in Houston and responsible for coordinating DNVs TS 16949 activities with the American IAOB, concurs with Harold Hodders view. He also adds The success of TS 16949 as a third party registration tool will depend very much on the automotive industrys willingness to work with the registrars to maintain overall quality of the audits and give direct feedback on problems encountered with registered companies. This feedback should be to both the registrar community and the individual registrar. Only in this way will registrars be able, individually and collectively, to modify their audits to help locate and remove programme and process problems.