QS-9000 Registration - Logistics and sales for automotive parts

Hi folks,

I need your help. Just a moment ago I heard about a small company (6 persons) which is doing logistics and sales for automotive parts. As far as I remember this company can not get registered towards QS-9000 for not having a production activity.
Can somebody tell my where this is rules is documented.

Thanks.

It dosent sound right but I would need more details. I Certified a company of 3 people, but they did manufacture a part.

What do they do?
Who do they do it for?

[Tom Goetzinger]

Who can be registered to QS-9000 is documented under "Applicability" on page 2 of the current edition of the standard. It states, in part, that "Any "site" may elect to pursue third party registration; however, such "sites" shall have demonstrated capability to comply with all QS-9000 requirements as evidenced by records (see 4.16) except for customer approval of the PPAP Part Submission Warrent. Only 4.19: Servicing (and 4.4: Design Control) may be determined as not applicable by the certification body/registrar."
I would suggest that you contact a registrar qualified to do QS-9000 audits and discuss the situation with them. They would be in the best position to determine if they would be willing to certify the company.

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Tom Goetzinger

What's wrong with you folks! I can't believe the lack of problems!

I have had auditors that:

Thought a SPC chart with all readings below the centerline was OK. They just didn't know.

Had a major finding on internal auditing cuz the registration auditor was able to find more things (don't they always?)

told the president of the company they will have problems till they fire the current quality manager

sent in auditors that were not the right sic code so the company had to go thru two registration audits.

advised companies on how to be registered as well as do registrations (as a registrar). This is against RAB's UNIFORCED rules. This is part of the reason AIAG wants to take over the certification of audtors (the other is there is lots, I mean LOTS and LOTS of money) in certifying Registrars.

These are unethical actions on the part of auditors that happened to ME! There must be more!

Dave

[Marc]

No - you do not need to have production to register to QS-9000. I have seen distributors registered.

The auditors I run into are getting dumber and dumber. But the reason is clear - this has become a big business and finding auditors has been difficult. The whole nature of the game has changed. Even implementations have become a "...3 month..." game. The seriousness and significance of ISO9000 and QS9000 is slowly eroding away.

[Roger Eastin]

You know, Marc, having been on the auditor and auditee side of things, it is easy to see why auditors are getting harder to find. You're right when you say the fact that 3rd party auditing has become "big business" is destroying the standards game (my paraphrase of what you said). As an auditor, I can see why auditing is such a skill. You have to balance what the standard says with what it "means". This takes experience both in auditing and in the business that you are auditing (in a general sense). When 3rd party auditing comes back to this philosophy, then it may have a chance of doing the customer some good.