DQS Inc. IATF 16949 Transition Planning Client Update from: Mike Brannock Director Automotive SBU January 3, 2017
DQS IATF 16949 Certified Client Transition Plan As most of you are aware, the IATF 16969 standard was issued on Oct. 3. The IATF 16949 Rules 5 th edition was issued on Nov. 1. The IATF also has posted a Transition document on their website, which has gone through a couple of revisions, so check it frequently (www.iatfglobaloversight.org). The current revision is Nov. 21, 2016. Significant changes to the IATF standard include: The IATF standard is no longer a standalone standard. It is an add-on to the ISO 9001: 2015 standard; so the ISO 9001:2015 is integral to the IATF upgrade audit. Risk based thinking is a core concept in the ISO 9001 standard. Automotive companies are used to this thinking for production processes, but now they must extend this thinking to all processes. Understanding the context of the organization and its interested parties is another core change to the ISO 9001 standard and must be understood and managed within the automotive QMS. There is a higher focus on sub-suppliers, as the OEM s have seen many issues over the years where the tier one would explain that a sub-tier had caused the issue and they failed to catch it. The focus includes 2 nd party audits depending on what level of certification the supplier has, along with the subsupplier s performance. Another significant addition relates to embedded software. There are millions of lines of code in vehicles today, and the OEM s have seen problems in this area, so they have addressed this topic in the new standard.
Product Safety has also become a focal point. This was driven by the recent quantity and severity of safety related recalls which have hit the automotive industry. There are several other less critical items related to TPM, capacity checks, contingency plans, etc., so it is critical to read through the standard and identify those items. The Rules were also updated and the previous Sanctioned Interpretations and FAQ s were incorporated. Significant changes to the IATF Rules include: Accessory part suppliers are now eligible for certification, as long as the parts are procured or released by the OEM. Manufactured parts must meet OEM specs. Some clarifications were made regarding the transfer process and when the old CB is notified and what their responsibilities are. Transition process to the IATF standard: We have all been anxiously awaiting the release of the IATF standard, knowing that we were up against a certificate expiration date that wasn t moving (9/14/18). Once the release date was communicated, the IATF published the Transition guidelines, which have already been revised twice. The basic rules are: The certified organization needs to upgrade to the new IATF standard in their normal audit timing. On the initial release of the transition plan, the IATF was allowing clients to upgrade whenever they wanted, but then they realized that too many organizations would wait until the last minute and there wouldn t be enough auditors available to do the audits. As a result of the first bullet item, DQS is planning all audits happening past 6/15/2017 will be upgrade audits. This allows DQS and the client to close all
non-conformances, do a technical review, and issue the new certificate before the current ISO/TS 16949certificate expires. DQS auditors will start the training / requalification process in mid-december (when made available by the IATF) and they must all complete the requalification by 6/30/2017. We will plan for the auditors to complete the training sooner rather than later and will be ready to upgrade whenever you need your audit. Clients are expected to perform an internal audit to all requirements of the IATF standard (including ISO 9001:2015) and perform a management review of the results prior to the upgrade audit. Regarding Remote Locations, if the RL has not had their upgrade audit, the CB can still issue the new certificate as long as the client provides the internal audit / gap assessment results and any action plans (with timelines and responsibilities assigned) at the remote location. Clients may not transfer to a new CB and upgrade at the same audit. If clients are interested to transfer, they would first have to transfer to the current 2009 standard and then do an upgrade audit later. The IATF did this to provide some stability and to make sure that auditors were available to do all of the upgrades at the designated CB. The IATF certificate will be issued and have a 3 year validity from the date of issuance. As part of audit planning, the organizations will be required to submit their updated quality manual, updated/new procedures and evidence about conformity to IATF 16949 to the certification body prior to the start of the transition audit for an off-site documentation review. To enable lead auditors to complete these additional reviews, an additional half day will be added to
the planning activity and billed accordingly. There is the option to perform this activity on-site, so just let the lead auditor know how you want to do it. Once you know when you want to complete the upgrade audit, please contact your customer service professional to confirm your audit dates. What should / certified organizations do now? Get copies of ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949, and IATF Rules 5 and familiarize yourselves thoroughly with the requirements. Perform internal audits / gap assessments to the new standard(s). Develop action plans with timing and responsibilities to close the gaps. Schedule your upgrade assessment. Monitor the DQS web site and communications for training events and webinars.