I have a client that is looking for a TS Registrar and has asked me to provide a list of the top 10 TS2 Registrars and their Market Share. They want to be sure to pick a Registrar that is a player in the TS2 Registration business. Any ideas where to get this information??
Thanks

I have a client that is looking for a TS Registrar and has asked me to provide a list of the top 10 TS2 Registrars and their Market Share. They want to be sure to pick a Registrar that is a player in the TS2 Registration business. Any ideas where to get this information??
Thanks

Size and market share does not necessarily equate quality service.....
In the end, you're directly depending on the competency of the person who performs the actual (stage 1 and 2) audit.

BTW, how does your Client define "a player in the ISO/TS 16949:2002 registrar business?"

Begin here: CB's Contracted by IATF (http://www.iaob.org/showPage.php?title=Certification%20Bodies&underContract=TRUE).

Stijloor.

Here's a link from the IATF website showing organizations who are authorized to do TS audits.

http://www.iatfglobaloversight.org/content.aspx?page=IATFCertificationBodies

Any ideas where to get this information??
ThanksDifferently from the Aerospace OASIS database, the IATF does not maintain any publicly available database you could go to in order to get this broken down data. Attached you will find a page from the ISO Survey 2006, which focuses on the TS certificate numbers.

Size and market share does not necessarily equate quality service..... That is very true.
In the end, you're directly depending on the competency of the person who performs the actual (stage 1 and 2) audit.While, there is a strong correlation between the actual auditor(s) and the "quality" of an audit, to ignore the difference between CB's business models and the impact of their administrative processes onto client and stakeholder satisfaction is to dismiss some very important aspects during a CB selection process. BTW, how does your Client define "a player in the ISO/TS 16949:2002 registrar business?"Probably they are thinking about a CB that has a position large enough, which signifies that automotive QMS certification is something that is part of their core service offerings. You don't want to engage with a CB, just to find out that they are in the verge of divesting their operation a little later...

TQSRocky - you couldn't have asked a better question of a better qualified group of people. I fully endorse the comments already made. Selection of a registrar is a very important part of the organization's success and in improving the perception of the customer etc. There are many considerations to make in the selection process.

Just like any 'real' supplier, they are providing you with something you cannot get by yourself, and as a result, you are - in effect - entering into a partnership. So making a selection based on 'biggest' or 'most registrations' or a similar criterion is (IMHO) not a great place to start - as it would be with any supplier of a material or commodity used in your products. Isn't it often the case the bigger ones become difficult to deal with?

There are many posts here dealing with selection of a registrar. Can I suggest a quick 'search' and then come back to this thread for more, focused advice?:agree1:

There's some good advice above. There are also a couple of respected, well-known registrars represented in the posts above.

Years ago Quality Digest used to conduct customer satisfaction surveys to rate the registrars. Although the results may be dated now, you can still look at the criteria they were using in the last published results here (http://www.qualitydigest.com/july01/html/regsurvey.html). Take a look at the criteria and see if they make sense as you help your client evaluate various registrars.

Years ago Quality Digest used to conduct customer satisfaction surveys to rate the registrars. Although the results may be dated now, you can still look at the criteria they were using in the last published results here (http://www.qualitydigest.com/july01/html/regsurvey.html). Take a look at the criteria and see if they make sense as you help your client evaluate various registrars.Not sure how the criteria used for that survey would be useful for someone selecting a registrar. That survey focuses on the experience between a certified organization and their CB. Things that an applicant would not be able to gage.

For example, some of the questions listed are

1) If we had questions or concerns, the auditors helped us to resolve the issue.
2) There was a difference in standards interpretation between the auditor and us.
3) The auditors/registrar were hard to pin down to schedule appointments.
4) The auditors had the ability to clearly articulate the standard's requirements into lay terms.
5) The auditors were fair.How can an applicant use this criteria?:confused:

I find amusing that some CB's still steer people to that flawed survey, which has been discontinued, in part due to unethical behavior by some of the CB's, twisting their client's arms to give only positive feedback.

How can an applicant use this criteria?:confused:
I believe the criteria show a little more about what's important in the registrar/client relationship than registrar size or number of certifications.

When hiring, what information does a company have about a potential employee before the interview? A resume, cover letter, maybe some references. Is that always enough information to make an informed decision? :nope:

Before hiring an employee, generally companies will narrow the field down to a select few, and then perform interviews. They ask a lot of questions including how the candidate has or would handle certain situations. In general, they not only try to determine technical competence, but also try to gage how well the person would "fit" with their organization. Is this a perfect indicator of how well the employee will perform? No, but it's a lot better than skipping it. :yes:

Now, let's apply the analogy to selecting a registrar.

What information does a company have about a potential registrar? A website, a quote, and maybe a recommendation. Is that always enough information to make an informed decision? :nope:

Before selecting a registrar, some companies will narrow the field down to a select few, and then perform interviews. They ask a lot of questions including how the registrar has or would handle certain situations. They are trying to not only determine technical competence, but also trying to gage how well the registrar would "fit" with their organization. Is this a perfect indicator of how well the registrar will perform? No. Is it a good idea? I believe so. :yes:

:topic:
I find amusing that some CB's still steer people to that flawed survey, which has been discontinued, in part due to unethical behavior by some of the CB's, twisting their client's arms to give only positive feedback.
My intent wasn't to steer anyone to the results of the survey, but since you bring it up, I'll comment.

I respect you a lot Sidney, but I feel that your comments are biased in this case. Can you show evidence (other than rumors) that the survey itself was flawed, or that any unethical behavior took place? I do work with one of the registrars that I think you're referring to. I know first-hand that they take customer satisfaction very seriously, and are genuinely interested in getting honest feedback for the intent of improving their processes.

I've seen just as much evidence (rumors only) that the survey was discontinued because large registrars spending advertising http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/icons/money.gif with the magazine weren't happy with the way the results portrayed them...

I believe the criteria show a little more about what's important in the registrar/client relationship than registrar size or number of certifications.

When hiring, what information does a company have about a potential employee before the interview? A resume, cover letter, maybe some references. Is that always enough information to make an informed decision? :nope:

Before hiring an employee, generally companies will narrow the field down to a select few, and then perform interviews. They ask a lot of questions including how the candidate has or would handle certain situations. In general, they not only try to determine technical competence, but also try to gage how well the person would "fit" with their organization. Is this a perfect indicator of how well the employee will perform? No, but it's a lot better than skipping it. :yes:

Now, let's apply the analogy to selecting a registrar.

What information does a company have about a potential registrar? A website, a quote, and maybe a recommendation. Is that always enough information to make an informed decision? :nope:

Before selecting a registrar, some companies will narrow the field down to a select few, and then perform interviews. They ask a lot of questions including how the registrar has or would handle certain situations. They are trying to not only determine technical competence, but also trying to gage how well the registrar would "fit" with their organization. Is this a perfect indicator of how well the registrar will perform? No. Is it a good idea? I believe so. :yes:

:topic:

My intent wasn't to steer anyone to the results of the survey, but since you bring it up, I'll comment.

I respect you a lot Sidney, but I feel that your comments are biased in this case. Can you show evidence (other than rumors) that the survey itself was flawed, or that any unethical behavior took place? I do work with one of the registrars that I think you're referring to. I know first-hand that they take customer satisfaction very seriously, and are genuinely interested in getting honest feedback for the intent of improving their processes.

I've seen just as much evidence (rumors only) that the survey was discontinued because large registrars spending advertising http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/icons/money.gif with the magazine weren't happy with the way the results portrayed them...

Howste, you, Sidney and a few others here at The Cove Forums work for a Registrar/CB. Could you guys come up with a method/process on how to identify, evaluate and select a Registrar/CB, including some measure of customer satisfaction that is unbiased?

There is a tremendous need for this type of information.

The information that is currently available is (according to some) biased and outdated.

The quality community would be extremely grateful for this type of information.

Stijloor.

I've seen just as much evidence (rumors only) that the survey was discontinued because large registrars spending advertising http://elsmar.com/Forums/images/icons/money.gif with the magazine weren't happy with the way the results portrayed them...We had a brief exchange concerning that on the No More Yearly Quality Digest Registrar Rating? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6831&highlight=Quality+Digest) thread. I mentioned both rumors there. If I had more than "off the record" comments by people who were DIRECTLY involved with the survey, I would tell you, but I don't.

Me too have great respect for you and your contributions at the Cove. I am glad to see that you became much more active again, for the last several weeks. Your knowledge and wisdom are great additions to this virtual community.

Howste, you, Sidney and a few others here at The Cove Forums work for a Registrar/CB. Could you guys come up with a method/process on how to identify, evaluate and select a Registrar/CB, including some measure of customer satisfaction that is unbiased?Craig Cochran has an excellent article on that. Check the What is the Best Way to Select a Registrar? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=14412&highlight=Registrar) thread.

Concerning customer satisfaction: Most CB's perform customer satisfaction monitoring. Some even outsource the monitoring to a third-party and they get their results and can compare it against (sanitized) competitor data.

In my opinion, the big missing piece of the puzzle is to gage other stakeholder satisfaction. A misguided CB can do unethical things, in order to please their direct, paying customer, but such things could go against the registrant's customer expectations.

I would love to see a Quality Digest Survey on confidence levels over ISO 9001 certificates, ranking the CB's. Obviously, the confidence level should be reported NOT by the certified organizations, but their customers.

thanks for the feedback!

I agree that largest and most widely used aren't the only statistics for selecting a registrar/CB. We were looking for a CB large enough to be recognized world-wide and with enough experience to narrow down our search.
I also agree that the old survey was not as objective as it could have been.
Selection of a registrar/CB should be more than a quote and maybe a visit from Sales.

Thanks again

Selection of a registrar/CB should be more than a quote and maybe a visit from Sales.

How else will I get to visit other parts of the State of Michigan????/;):notme: