IATF 16949: What Is It And Who Is Behind It?
The International Automotive Task Force
The International Automotive Task Force or IATF is a group of automotive manufacturers and their respective trade associations. It aims to provide improved quality products to automotive customers around the world. You can see all the registered organizations on the IATF website of recognized organizations. You can also see a copy of their certificate information, and you can verify it at any stage.
It develops a consensus on international fundamental quality system requirements. The agreement is for the direct suppliers of participating companies. They supply production materials, product or service parts, and finishing services. It also develops policies and procedures for the standard IATF third-party registration scheme. The goal is to ensure consistency worldwide. Appropriate training is also provided by the IATF to support ISO/TS 16949 requirements and the IATF registration scheme. IATF also establishes formal liaisons with proper bodies to support its objectives.
IATF 16949 explained
A lot uses IATF 16949:2016 as the International Standard for Automotive Quality Management Systems, such as the IATF16949 wire harness. You can check this out at https://www.bma-tech.com/product_detail/index/8648/199. IATF 16949 creates benefits across your organization and is evolving with the publication of a new global industry standard by the IATF.
ISO/TS 16949 is a technical specification for automotive sector quality management systems. From 2009, it has become one of the most widely-used international standards. It harmonizes the different assessment and certification systems in the global automotive supply chain.
IATF published the IATf 16949:2016 on October 3, 2016. It incorporates the structure and requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard with more automotive customer-specific needs. It supersedes and replaces the ISO/TS 16949:2009. Because of that, it defined the requirements of a Quality Management System for organizations in the automotive industry. AIAG supported the IATF in the development of IATF 16949.
Areas of focus include:
- continuous improvement
- waste reduction
- defect prevention
- product safety
- contingency planning
- requirements for embedded software
- risk management
- change and warranty management
- management of sub-tier suppliers
Why not ISO 16949? Why IATF 16949?
IATF developed the IATF 16949 and IATF 16949:2016 is an innovative document designed by IATF. It provides a strong preference for the customer. The IATF includes consolidated previous customer-specific requirements. It also continues liaison committee status to ensure continued alignment with ISO 9001. The IATF maintains strong cooperation with ISO this way.
What is a Quality Management System?
Quality Management System or QMS is a collection of policies, processes, records, and documented procedures. This collection defines the set of internal rules that governs how a company creates and delivers product or service to customers. It is crucial to tailor the QMS according to the company’s needs and the provided product or service. The IATF 16949 standard provides a set of guidelines to help make sure you do not miss any essential elements.
