ISO/TS 16949:2002 five years on

When it was launched in 2002, this automotive standard was feted as a step forward for auditing in the sector. Paul Hardiman summarizes the progress made since then.

Since the issue of the automotive industry quality management specification ISO/TS 16949 second edition in 2002 over 38,000 organizations have been certified. Of the certificates, 45 per cent have been issued in Asia, 29 per cent in Europe, 18 per cent in North America, with the rest being distributed in South America, the Middle East and Africa.

What about auditors?

Globally over 2400 auditors have been approved to undertake TS audits. To become a qualified TS auditor, once they have met the eligibility criteria, including demonstrating related automotive industry experience, auditors have to participate in three days training focused on the ‘automotive process approach to auditing’ followed by a one-day evaluation to verify competence, including a comprehensive written and application exam/interview.

Less than 50 per cent of auditors pass first time, with many demonstrating a basic lack of understanding/application of effective auditing techniques; this is worrying as part of the entry criteria is that they should be competent ISO 9001 auditors!

Following qualification auditors are issued a certificate with a validity of three years, after which they have to pass a stringent re-qualification course to verify on-going competence.

The International Automotive Task Force (IATF) training commission, facilitated by SMMT in the UK are currently working on developing the next recertification programme.

To improve efficiency of the programme, IATF have agreed to move to a 'continued professional development' approach. Currently an e-platform is being developed to provide a source of information and training material to auditors, and also will be used for testing auditors through on-line written and application exams.

Has the approach to qualifying auditors worked?

IATF approved certification bodies, currently numbering 55, are subject to an ongoing programme of office and auditor witness audits. In 2007 witness audits identified over 200 non-conformances, mainly related to lack of effective application of the automotive process approach and non-conformance writing. However, over 80 per cent of the audits observed identified good auditor performance.

While IATF are still driving further improvement in the scheme, data is showing that effective application and auditing of a process based management system can contribute towards significant business improvement.

About the author
Paul Hardiman is manager of Global Systems, SMMT Industry Forum. Paul is qualified to deliver IATF training to certification body auditors, and also delivers a wide range of ISO/TS 16949 training to suppliers. He is an active member of the IATF training commission.