ISO/TS 16949 Automotive

ISO/TS16949 is an ISO technical specification which aligns existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards within the global automotive industry. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products.

The global automotive industry demands world class levels of product quality, productivity and competitiveness as well as continual improvement. To achieve this goal many vehicle manufacturers insist that suppliers adhere to strict technical specifications laid out in a quality management standard for suppliers to the automotive sector, known as ISO /TS 16949.

ISO/TS 16949 has been developed by the industry, the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), to encourage improvement in both the supply chain and the certification process. In fact, for the majority of leading vehicle manufacturers, certification to this specification is a mandatory requirement for doing business.

This specification aligns and supersedes existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards, including QS-9000, VDA6.1, EAQF and ASQ. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of all automotive-related products. First published in March 1999 and revised in 2002, there are now over 25,000 certificates issued in 80 countries and economies.

Who is it relevant to?

ISO/TS16949is relevant to all types of automotive supply companies, from small manufacturers to multi-site multinational organizations located anywhere in the world. However, it is only applicable to sites where production or service parts are manufactured.

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 certification to this specification.

Why choose us?

As the global market leader for automotive management system certification to ISO/TS 16949 we employ a large number of automotive experienced assessors that meet the standards set by the IATF.

Our experienced Client Managers are the most experienced automotive assessors in the industry and can enable you to achieve continual improvements.

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• Licence to trade
  For most vehicle manufacturers, certification is a mandatory requirement that is internationally recognized – helping you to do business worldwide.
• Reduces waste and prevents defects
  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.
• Flexible and easy to adopt
  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 Environment and BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety. It also complements many existing business improvement tools, such as FMEA, PPAP and Six Sigma.
• Brand reputation
  Certification can provide additional confidence and consistency to all interested parties in global sourcing, enabling greater business opportunities and attracting more investment prospects.
• Saves money by avoiding duplication
  For suppliers to a number of different vehicle manufacturers, certification to ISO/TS 16949 avoids the need for multiple certificates to VDA6.1, EAQF, QS-9000 and AVSF, thereby eliminating duplication in preparation and documentation as well as second- and third-party audits.

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We are experts in training as well as assessment and have a network of public and in-house courses dedicated to teaching you the skills you need before, during and after certification to the standard.

Our courses include:

• Understanding and implementing ISO/TS 16949
• Implementing ISO/TS 16949
• Auditing to ISO/TS 16949 (internal and lead auditor courses are available)

We also offer a number of e-learning workshops on this quality management specification for automotive suppliers.

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If you’re already one of our clients and have various standards in place, your Client Manager can help you assess where you are now, and guide you through to the certification process. 

If you’re new to BSI, don’t worry - certification is still a simple process.

1. Buy and read a copy of ISO/TS 16949

Before you can begin preparing for your application, you'll need a copy of the technical specification. You should read this and make yourself familiar with it. You can buy a copy of ISO/TS 16949 online from us.

2. Make contact

Get in touch and tell us what you need, so we can sort out the best services for you. We’ll then give you a proposal detailing the cost and time involved in a formal assessment.

3. Meet your assessment team

We’ll assign you a Client Manager, who will be your main point of contact through the process – and beyond. They’ll have a good understanding of your business area and support you as you move forward to assessment and registration of your integrated management systems.

4. Consider training

Whether you’re seeking to implement a management system or would like to increase your general awareness of ISO/TS 16949, there are a range of workshops, seminars and training courses available.

5. Review and assessment

We’ll do a desktop review of your integrated management system against the standard, and identify any omissions or weaknesses that need resolving before formal assessment. An optional pre-assessment can be undertaken to review existing ISO/TS 16949 systems to establish your readiness for assessment. Once these have been addressed, we’ll conduct a full on-site assessment.

6. Certification and beyond

Once the assessment has been successfully completed, we’ll issue a certificate of registration, clearly explaining the scope of your automotive management system. The certificate is valid for three years, and your assessor will visit you regularly to help you make sure you remain compliant, and support you in the continual improvement of your systems.

Complete our Enquiry form, know more about training course or contact us for more details.