Smithers - TS 16949 Registrar

[Marc]

2/16/2000

Smithers' Registrar Recognized Worldwide for ISO/TS 16949

Smithers Quality Assessments Inc., a leading quality systems registrar, has been recognized worldwide by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) to conduct ISO/TS 16949 registration services.

ISO/TS 16949 was jointly developed by members of the IATF, a worldwide group of manufacturers and trade associations, formed to achieve global harmonization in producing quality products to automotive customers.

``For many automotive suppliers, ISO/TS 16949 may be a desirable alternative to QS-9000 requirements,'' said J. Michael Hochschwender, president of Smithers Quality Assessments.

Of the 113 certification bodies performing QS-9000 registration services, the IATF has selected 30 worldwide to conduct ISO/TS 16949 registrations. Of these, 10 are headquartered in the U.S. and Smithers Quality Assessments is included in that group.

ISO/TS (Technical Specification) 16949 is a document that defines worldwide quality system requirements for use in the automotive supply chain. Published and approved last year, it has been submitted to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval as an international standard.

``It (ISO/TS 16949) is the culmination of efforts to achieve global consistency in quality system requirements,'' he said, noting that the document is based on ISO 9001:1994 and QS-9000 (U.S.), AVSQ (Italian), EAQF (French) and VDA6.1 (German). ``It represents a suggested option for suppliers to vehicle manufacturers.''

The IATF has also developed a common registration scheme for supplier third-party registration that includes auditor qualifications, training and rules for consistent registration.

IATF members include BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault SA, Volkswagen, and these trade associations: AIAG (U.S.), ANFIA (Italy), FIEV (France), SMMT (UK) and VDA (Germany).

``We at Smithers are proud to be among the certification bodies recognized worldwide by the IATF to perform ISO/TS 16949 registration services, and to be one of only 10 headquartered in the United States,'' Mr. Hochschwender said.

SOURCE: Smithers Scientific Services, Inc.