The ISO/TS 16949 standard defines the quality system requirements for the design, development, production, installation, and servicing of automotive-related products.

ISO/TS 16949 is an ISO Technical Specification that harmonizes and surpasses existing quality system standards from the automotive industries of the United States, Germany, France, and Italy, aligning them with the global automotive sector. It sets out the quality management system requirements for the design, development, production, installation, and maintenance of products relevant to the automotive industry.

The global automotive industry demands world-class levels of product quality, productivity, and competitiveness—as well as continuous improvement. To meet these expectations, many vehicle manufacturers require their suppliers to comply with strict technical specifications, such as those defined in the ISO/TS 16949 Quality Management Standard for automotive suppliers.

ISO/TS 16949 was developed by the automotive industry and the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) to emphasize both improvement and certification. In fact, certification is a prerequisite for most vehicle manufacturers in order to do business with any supplier. The standard was first published in March 1999 and revised in 2002, and most recently in 2009. To date, over 35,000 certificates have been issued across 80 countries.

ISO/TS 16949 is vital for all automotive industry suppliers, from small-scale companies to large manufacturers with multiple sites worldwide. However, it is applicable only to facilities where production or part manufacturing takes place.

• The specification is based on ISO 9001 and encourages a process approach. Understanding the inter-relationship of processes through the use of the standard can enable improved product and process quality and ultimately avoids variation in the supply chain thus reducing waste and preventing defects.
• ISO/TS 16949 is based on ISO 9001, making the process approach easy to adopt and integrate with other key management systems including ISO 14001 Environmental and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety. It also complements many existing business improvement tools such as FMEA, PPAP and Six Sigma making flexible and easy to adopt.
• For suppliers to a number of different vehicle manufacturers certification to TS 16949 avoids the need for multiple certificates to VDA6.1 (German), EAQF (French), QS-9000 (US) and AVSQ (Italian) thereby eliminating duplication in preparation, documentation as well as second and third party audits.

What are the benefits of ISO/TS 16949?

• This specification is based on ISO 9001 and promotes a process-oriented approach. Understanding the interrelationship of processes through use of the standard can help improve product and process quality, reduce variation, and ultimately lower the cost of defective production.
• Because ISO/TS 16949 builds on ISO 9001, it facilitates the adoption of the process approach and the integration of other key management systems, including ISO 14001 for Environmental Management and OHSAS 18001 for Occupational Health and Safety. It also complements existing improvement tools such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), PPAP (Production Part Approval Process), and Six Sigma.
• For suppliers serving multiple and diverse vehicle manufacturers, certification to TS 16949 eliminates the need for separate certifications to VDA 6.1 (Germany), and/or EAQF (France), and/or QS-9000 (USA), and/or AVSQ (Italy). A single system meets the requirements of all manufacturers, reducing the need for multiple internal and external audits, documentation requirements, and the associated costs.