What You Need To Know About ISO/TS 16949 - 3rd Addition

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SQA believes that part of our responsibility as a certification body is to keep our clients and friends updated on changes to the requirements that impact either their business or their certification status.  In that a sizable percentage of you are affected by the ISO/TS 16949 requirements, the recently completed 3rd Edition revisions are likely to be of some interest.  The new edition became effective January 1, 2009 and we have attempted to summarize the significant changes for you in this overview document.

First, however, a bit of background.  Why did the powers-that-be decide to develop a 3rd Edition?  Well, it had been a while since the requirements were given a tune-up; the most recent edition was introduced in 2002.  Six to seven years is a typical time frame for such standards to be reviewed and updated.  Beyond that, other goals included the following:  

  • To maintain consistency with ISO 17021:2006, the standard which defines requirements  for management system certification bodies.
  • To incorporate IATF FAQ’s and Sanctioned Interpretations.
  • To clarify areas of concern and address implementation problems with the current rules. 
  • To make the document more user-friendly. 

Building upon this last point, the 3rd Edition has incorporated several format changes designed to improve its clarity and usability compared with Rules 2nd Edition.  Among these are the following:  

  • It includes an enhanced Table of Contents 
  • Glossary definitions have been added 
  • It aligns with the audit and certification process 
  • Requirements are consolidated into sections dealing with steps in the overall process 
  • Annex 6 was eliminated 
  • Other  annexes are incorporated within various sections of the 3rd Edition

So, beyond effecting some usability enhancements, were there any truly significant changes made to the requirements?  Bottom line, there were not a large number of such changes, but those that were made will impact organizations that are certified. 

The balance of this document will cover the revisions that we consider most important.  We will highlight the specific sections involved, offer clarification as appropriate, and stress those areas which may impact your organization.  Terminology used is consistent with that of the requirements.  It is technical in nature and thus unavoidably a bit dry.

3.1 CERTIFICATION BODY AGREEMENT WITH CLIENT
  • The client cannot refuse the presence of a CB internal witness auditor.

5.1     AUDIT CYCLE
The audit program consists of a three (3) year audit cycle and a three (3) certificate cycle
  • The first three year audit cycle starts from the last day of the initial stage 2 audit.
  • Each subsequent audit cycle starts from the last day of the recertification audit.
  • Surveillance audits shall be scheduled from the last day of the initial stage 2 audit or the last day of a recertification audit In accordance with the following table:
  6 Months Survey 12 Months Survey
# of audits/3 year cycle 5 2
Allowable timing -1 month/+1 month -3 months/+1 month

  • The date of the first recertification audit shall not exceed three years -3 months/+ 0 months from the last day of the initial stage 2 audit.
  • The scheduling of the recertification audit shall provide sufficient time to close or completely resolve any nonconformity that may be raised at the recertification audit and the certification decision made prior to the expiration of the existing ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificate.
  • The time between two recertification audits shall not exceed three years -3 months/+ 0 months from the last day of the previous recertification audit.
  • Once established, the surveillance interval outlined in the table above shall be maintained for the three year audit cycle.  NEW

5.1 CERTIFICATE CYCLE
  • The three (3) year certification cycle begins with the date of the certification decision.  This date shall be the issue date of the certificate.
  • A new three (3) year certification cycle begins with the date of the recertification decision.  This date shall be the issue date of the certificate.  The existing certificate is therefore superseded on this date.
  • The expiration date of the certificate shall be a maximum of three (3) years minus one (1) day from the certification and/or recertification decision date. A certificate once issued remains valid until it expires or is superseded, canceled or withdrawn.

5.2 AUDIT DAYS DETERMINATION
  • There are no changes from the previous Rules 2nd Annex 2 minimum audit days requirements, however, further considerations should be given for such items as complexity of product, shifts, and outsourced activities. For a complete listing, see 5.2 of the Rules 3rd Edition.  NEW /CLARIFICATION

5.6 ESTABLISHING THE AUDIT TEAM
  • For each subsequent recertification and surveillance audit, different auditors shall be used.  Note that “SHOULD” has now been replaced with “SHALL”.

5.7 AUDIT PLANNING – ALL AUDITS (Initial, Surveillance, Recertification, and Special)

  • Audit planning activity shall be undertaken prior to arrival on site and shall include as inputs the following information supplied by the client: 
    • All requirements of the client's quality management system implemented to meet the automotive requirements of those customers requiring ISO/TS 16949:2002 certification of their supplier, even when these requirements go beyond ISO/TS 16949:2002 (i.e. customer specific requirements).
    • The client’s processes, taking into account their sequence and interactions, including remote support functions. 
    • Current customer and internal performance data, internal audit and management review results, and the same information pertinent to any new customers since the previous audit. 
    • Customer satisfaction and complaint summary, including verification of customer reports, scorecards and special status.
    • Follow-up on issues from previous audits..

5.11 NONCONFORMITY MANAGEMENT
  • The certification body shall require the client to determine the root cause and describe the specific correction and systemic corrective actions implemented to eliminate the reported nonconformity.
Correction
  • Is the action taken to eliminate a detected nonconformity.

6.8 SURVEILLANCE AUDIT
  • Surveillance audits: when a nonconformity is identified by the certification body, then the decertification process shall be initiated.  
  • For a major nonconformity the certification body shall require the client to determine root cause and implement correction within twenty (20) days from the end of the site audit. 
  • The certification body shall review the correction and determine if the certificate shall be suspended.

8.3 CERTIFICATE SUSPENSION DECISION
  • Based on the situation analysis, the certification body shall make the decision to suspend or not suspend the certificate within twenty (20) calendar days of the start of the decertification process. 
  • Certificate suspension is a temporary status not to exceed 120 calendar days. 
  • In the case of a suspension within a corporate audit scheme the suspension shall only apply to the affected site(s).

8.7 CERTIFICATE WITHDRAWAL
  • In the case of withdrawal within a corporate audit scheme the withdrawal shall only apply to the affected site(s).

The preceding summarizes the aspects of Rules 3rd Edition that we consider most significant to registered organizations. There is one additional related question that we have been asked recently – Will ISO/TS 16949:2002 itself be changing? To that we offer the following perspective: 

  • There will be no new additional requirements.
  • ISO/TS16949:2009 will be amended to reflect the changes in ISO 9001:2008 only and will be published 1st quarter of 2009. 
  • Application of the clarifications related to ISO 9001:2008 requirements (boxed text of ISO/TS16949:2009) is effective no later than 120 days after the release of ISO/TS16949:2002.
  • The certification status to ISO/TS16949:2002 remains in effect for the certification life.
  • Certification to ISO/TS16949:2002 is recognized with the effective date of the release of ISO/TS16949:2009. The certification to ISO/TS16949:2009 is not an upgrade and its term is the same as the current ISO/TS16949:2002 certificate. 
  • IATF will recognize certificates issued to ISO/TS16949:2009 after the official publication and after a regularly scheduled surveillance audit, but are not required until the next recertification audit. 

SQA would be happy to discuss with you any questions or concerns related to the ISO/TS 16949 requirements, or to any other quality and environmental management systems standards that are of potential interest.

Choose SQA for your ISO/TS 16949 Registration

The decision to pursue ISO/TS 16949 certification involves a substantial commitment of time and resources. Smithers Quality Assessments recognizes that this is a very personal decision requiring a solution tailored to your needs. To arrange for a SQA representative to review your certification needs, contact us at 330-762-4231 today.