ISO/TS 16949:2009 - Why is it titled as such?

[dksfwmcc]

Hi,

I have been doing TS audits for several years with no issues, but have been asked a question regarding the name that has stumped me.

Why is it a 'Technical Standard' (TS) opposed to ISOxxxx (e.g. ISO 9001 or ISO14001)?

Below is the 'wordy' text I could find on the matter, but wondered if anyone could give a shorter reasoning knowing the background specific to TS16949?

1.1 Technical Specifications
1.1.1  Technical Specifications may be prepared and published under the following circumstances and conditions.
3.1.1.1 When the subject in question is still under development or where for any other reason there is the future but not immediate possibility of an agreement to publish an International Standard, the technical committee or subcommittee may decide, by following the procedure set out in 2.3, that the publication of a Technical Specification would be appropriate. The procedure for preparation of such a Technical Specification shall be as set out in 2.4 and 2.5. The decision to publish the resulting document as a Technical Specification shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the P-members voting of the technical committee or subcommittee. The reasons for publishing the Technical Specification, and an explanation of its relationship to the expected future International Standard, shall be given in the foreword.
When a Technical Specification is used for “pre-standardization purposes”, the following text, completed as appropriate, shall be included in the Foreword:
“This document is being issued in the Technical Specification series of publications (according to the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, 3.1.1.1) as a “prospective standard for provisional application” in the field of ... because there is an urgent need for guidance on how standards in this field should be used to meet an identified need.
This document is not to be regarded as an “International Standard”. It is proposed for provisional application so that information and experience of its use in practice may be gathered. Comments on the content of this document should be sent to the ...[ISO Central Secretariat or IEC Central Office]...
A review of this Technical Specification will be carried out not later than 3 years after its publication with the options of: extension for another 3 years; conversion into an International Standard; or withdrawal.”
In IEC, Technical Specifications are subject to the same maintenance procedure as IEC Standards. The final paragraph of the above text will therefore need to be replaced by the relevant information on maintenance review dates (see also IEC Supplement to the ISO/IEC Directives, 2009 and Annex A).
3.1.1.2 When the required support cannot be obtained for a final draft International Standard to pass the approval stage (see 2.7), or in case of doubt concerning consensus, the technical committee or subcommittee may decide, by a two-thirds majority vote of P-members voting, that the document should be published in the form of a Technical Specification. The reasons why the required support could not be obtained shall be given in the foreword to the Technical Specification.
1.1.2  When the P-members of a technical committee or subcommittee have agreed upon the publication of a Technical Specification, the draft specification shall be submitted in machine-readable form by the secretariat of the technical committee or subcommittee to the office of the Chief Executive Officer within 4 months for publication.
1.1.3  Technical Specifications shall be subject to review by the technical committee or subcommittee not later than 3 years after their publication. The aim of such review shall be to re-examine the situation which resulted in the publication of a Technical Specification and if possible to achieve the agreement necessary for the publication of an International Standard to replace the Technical Specification. In IEC, the date for this review shall be agreed in advance of the publication of the Technical Specification (maintenance review date).

 

[qusys]

Re: TS16949 - Why is is titled as such

I guess it is a technical specification because it concerns only a particular industrial sector ( i.e. automotive) and ahoc scope, that takes move from ISO 9001, adding new requirements and clauses as per technical contribution of the major car makers organization

 

[howste]

The short answer is that it didn't get enough votes for it to become an International Standard. To be an International Standard, a document must be approved by at least 75% of the member bodies. TS 16949 received between 67% and 75%. Here's what it says right in the foreword of TS 16949 itself:

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.

In other circumstances, particularly when there is an urgent market requirement for such documents, a technical committee may decide to publish other types of normative document:
- an ISO Publicly Available Specification (ISO/PAS) represents an agreement between technical experts in an ISO working group and is accepted for publication if it is approved by more than 50 % of the members of the parent committee casting a vote;
- an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS) represents an agreement between the members of a technical committee and is accepted for publication if it is approved by 2/3 of the members of the committee casting a vote.

 

[Jim Wynne]

The short answer is that it didn't get enough votes for it to become an International Standard. To be an International Standard, a document must be approved by at least 75% of the member bodies. TS 16949 received between 67% and 75%. Here's what it says right in the foreword of TS 16949 itself:

IIRC, the rules also state that a TS gets an initial 3-year tryout period, then if not adopted as a standard it can get a 3-year extension, after which it must be adopted or withdrawn. The first edition of 16949 appeared in 1999, so it appears that it should have been withdrawn in 2005.

 

[Boingo-boingo]

IIRC, the rules also state that a TS gets an initial 3-year tryout period, then if not adopted as a standard it can get a 3-year extension, after which it must be adopted or withdrawn. The first edition of 16949 appeared in 1999, so it appears that it should have been withdrawn in 2005.

When the revenue stream justifies, rules can be broken...adjusted...disregarded...disrespected...ignored flexible.

 

[Raffy]

Hi Howste?
Just a follow-up question, is there a possibility in the future that TS16949 can be approved by 75% and eventually become an ISO Standard? Who will approve? Please advise.
Thank you very much in advance for the usual kind attention you will give this matter.
Best regards,
Raffy

 

[howste]

Your guess is as good as mine. When the time comes to change the standard, there will need to be a vote again. Until then, it seems ISO will continue to deviate from it's published process and maintain it as a Technical Specification.

 

[Howard Atkins]

As I understand it will always stay a TS as the industry does not want to lose control of the standard.
At the moment the copyright for the automotive part belongs to the industry

The text outside the boxes has been originated by the International Automotive Task Force. Copyright for this text is held by ANFIA, FIEV, SMMT, VDA (see below) and the car manufacturers Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corp, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault.

If it were to become a "standard" then they would release the copyright.
Note that AS 9101 and its other standards is NOT an ISO standard