Re-certification to QS9000/TE9001

M

mibusha

Just received a call from our registrar. They want to replace our ISO9001:1994/QS9000:1998 certificate with an ISO 9001 only certificate (and a TE compliance). It seems that since my company is TE (no PPAPs, no production parts), they are not able to certify us to QS 9000 with compliance to TE Supplement (of course, they already did). Now that they are "TE certificate capable" they want us to wait until January 2000 (skip our surveillance audit this month) and re-certify to QS9000/TE9001. All the documentation, i.e.final certificate, assessment worksheets, contracts with the registrar (which also states the use of the QSA-TE)call for ISO 9001:1994, QS 9000:1998 and TE Supplement compliance.

Another problem is that we have already been using the QS9000 logo on our stationery, business cards, etc. I've written a letter (to be sent from them to me) which states that this is an administration error on their part and that as a corrective action we have both agreed to re-certify in January to QS9000/TE9001. This should help keep me out of trouble with those who would scream foul at our claims to certification.

Has anyone ever heard of this kind of faux pas? Stay tuned.

Michael Busha
 
B

barb butrym

Quite Involved in Discussions
seems to me that your registrar is out over their head, and you should be careful, as I am sure you are not the only one......What a lousy reputation that will give them, personally, I wouldn't want to even be associated with them and would investigate a switch..what does that say for the confidence your cert has?
 
W

waberens

Dare I ask who the registrar is? We are currently in the selection process and would not want to stumble on this.

Bill
 
T

Tom Goetzinger

It seems to me that this supports the point I was trying to make in an earlier discussion topic regarding the fact that certification to TE does not include certification to QS, while it does include certification to ISO.
We chose NSF as our registrar, partly based on the fact that they had the largest group of certified TE auditors available at the time we committed several months ago.
 
L

Laura M

quote:
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It seems to me that this supports the point I was trying to make in an earlier discussion topic regarding the fact that certification to TE does not include certification to QS, while it does include certification to ISO.
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So....
to meet the ISO requirements for non-automotive and the QS-T/E requirements for automotive should be acceptable, and documented in the Quality Manual as such...customer dependent type language?

...Register to ISO, but T/E compliant for automotive customer jobs?

Laura M.
 
T

Tom Goetzinger

I would be hesitant to even try to apply TE additions only to automotive customers. The practices that TE adds to the business make good business sense and are things most companies should do anyways. Seems to make sense to me to meet the requrements and apply the same system to all customers.
 
L

Laura M

Yes, many make good business sense and it is almost impossible to do for some and not for others. The one that is most troubling to a current client is the machine qualification requirements. There is alot of "customer responsibility/cooperation" in that one, especially providing enough parts to perform the run. Automotive customers typically provide the necessary parts and gaging. The other clients, that don't require that level of machine qualification wouldn't recognize it as a "cost" of doing business, provide necessary parts and/or product specific gaging - so in a sense, they are limited by the customer in their ability to meet the requirements. They want to get "compliant" per a current automotive customer's request- certification is still a question mark to them, and don't want to go out of business in the process.
I know it sound like a cop out approach, but the realities of doing business are hard to argue. It kind of goes back to an earlier Forum discussion on getting a "waiver" for customers that don't require PPAP.
 
T

Tom Goetzinger

We are in the process of getting TE certification. In our procedures, we specify that we test the equipment per our customer's requirements. That seems to be an acceptable statement. There is no way you can run in equipment unless your customer wants it done.
 
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