Any other service providers out there, specifically heat treaters - that are looking into TS 16949. We are currently QS-9000 and I have started to look into "upgrading" to TS. Any thoughts from anyone on this topic would be helpful. Is it really going to give us a competitive advantage to be the first heat treater on our block to be TS?

Are customers that require QS going to accept TS instead of QS. Is this really an upgrade?

Tom:

I work for a tier 1 supplier that utilizes heat treat from my suppliers. TS is an upgrade from QS. We will/would accept a TS certification where we require QS. I don't know about how helpful it would be for you, but it is being accepted by customers.

If you supply the big 3 go for TS, it is easier than QS. Personally, I don't think of TS as an upgrade, if anything it relaxes some of the elements that were constantly being given non-conformances under QS.

I guess it all boils down to who your customers are and what they require!:)

Do you see any potential conflict of being TS certified and some of our customers that are suppliers to the big three requireing QS? Would they see TS as an equivelant? What have you heard?

I would consider TS to be an upgrade for the very reason you give, it takes out some of the Big 3 traps they they put in for the supply chain.