We are a QS9000TE registered company supplying to semiconductor companies who supply chips directly or indirectly to the motor industry.

QS9000 and TE expires end 2006
We have ISO9001:2000 certification and we wish to be TS16949 certified.

Our auditor has informed us we cannot be TS certified as it breaks one of the current rules. i.e. TE companies cannot be TS certified

When QS dies we are left only with ISO9001:2000

What about all the TE stuff not covered in ISO ?
For example, ISO9001 does not cover the specific quality plan and control plan requirements as in TE. I fear this will all be washed away or watered down at least which cannot be in the interests of the motor industry supply chain.

We are continuing to work towards TS anyway in the hope of some change in this direction in the near future.

What about all the existing companies with TS certification and are not direct suppliers to the motor industry(another rule)?
If this breaks the rules will the certificates be withdrawn ?

Welcome to the Cove cuthbertw.

I addressed this question in the other thread you posted in.

Dave

My real concern is the apparent downgrading of current suppliers who (like us) have invested a lot of effort over the last 5 years to achieve QS9000(TE) status.
Major customers in the semiconductor business demand TS16949 as a replacement to QS and now we have to explain to them we cannot achieve this certification.
No one has explained why TE suppliers are excluded. Is it because we are tooling suppliers and therefore not tier 1 suppliers ?
If this is the case, why do many QS9000 (not TE) suppliers now have TS16949 and are not tier 1 suppliers ?

Meanwhile, we have requested our external auditor to continue to assess us against the TS standard and to add a note to this effect in his report and on the ISO certificate.

Note:
I do not have any concern over our own quality system which has developed over the years to suit our business and it will evolve into the future in this way also. We drive the quality system and the affect of quality standards has been minimal. For example, our integrated database and intranet system produces huge benefits to us - this was not driven by any quality standard. However, the system is adaptable and flexible to continuous improvements allowing us to offer customers improved quality of service e.g. electronic CofA, web based SQC reports etc.

"No one has explained why TE suppliers are excluded. Is it because we are tooling suppliers and therefore not tier 1 suppliers ?"

The reasoning is simply this - 16949 can be applied to all levels of the automotive supply chain to "suppliers of product and/or services". I understand your dilema with your customers however they will have to accept that you are not eligible for certification if that's the ruling.

There are other possibilities -

You could have your system audited to 16949 compliance by a third party. This is similar to the registration audit but no official registration could be made. You could provide your customers with a certificate of compliance from the auditor.

Although the TE suppliment is going away, you could have your system audited to that standard and although you could not have a registration to it, you could have a certificate of compliance.

One question for you - Do your customers require registration/certification to TS16949 or are they requiring compliance? Remember, you can be compliant without being certified. Most customers I have seen are asking for compliance. Certification to TS16949 is not a requirement (other than direct suppliers/tier 1).

Dave