David - you pose two different issues.
TS is very clear with regard to the automotive customer applications. You must do measurement system analysis (MSA) on ALL "types" (families?) of measurement systems referenced in the control plan. If your control plan only considers significant characteristics, then you're OK on that. The usual form of an MSA is a gage R & R but there are exceptions- e.g. for destructive testing.
This requirement is not any different from the old QS9000 requirement. (TS 7.6.1).
With regard to your non-auto customers. ISO 9001:2000 requires 7.6, paragraph 2 that ",measurement ... are carried out in a manner that is consistent with the monitoring and measurement requirements".
I would argue that some form of measurement system analysis is required to demonstrate that the method of measurement is consistent with the requirements. Gage R & R studies are one method of doing this. Some evaluation of measurement capability is called for in ISO 9001 - it's just much more flexible how you determine that the method is appropriate. You might just say that this depends on the professional judgement of the QA person designing the system. Or you could rely on a rule of thumb. In the "old days", many people used the old 10% rule-- that
the measurement device have at least 10% of the precision of the tolerances
to be measured.
I used to think that R & R was unnecessary paperwork, but have since been amazed how often people are inspecting product using a method that doesn't
pass an R & R. Why not save the trouble and just flip a coin?
So, if you're in a situation where you have some good reason to be confident that your measurement system is effective, then this won't be a big deal. However, if variation in your measurement process is a big part of your overall product variation, then you need to study it and make sure that you know what's going on.
Regards,
Brad
PS-- in a recent article, I understand that the IATF has written new rules
regarding "non-automotive" products in a TS system. I don't recall the
details, but you might want to check this out. Apparently the rules
were changed in mid 2004.
b.