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QS-9000:1998, ISO/TS 16949:2002

What is QS-9000?
During the 1980's,the three giants of motor manufacturing, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, known as the Big Three, came under increasing pressure from their suppliers to look at ways to reduce costs throughout the supply chain. In 1988 responding to this mounting pressure, the Big Three formed a Task Force to find ways in which their quality assurance requirements could be standardized. The result was QS-9000. QS-9000 is an essential quality management system for suppliers of production parts, materials and services to the automotive industry.

How can QS-9000 benefit me?
When the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) published their Fourth Annual QS-9000 Survey in March 1999, they reported that:

an average of more than 6% cost savings,
8 million dollars per company in the first year,
48% improvement in parts per million defect rates,
38% percent improvement in on-time shipping performance,
23% percent increase in OEM market share,
Increased customer satisfaction,
Reduction in customer audits

What is ISO/TS 16949?
ISO/TS 16949 is an ISO Technical Specification. The International Automotive Task Force (IATF), which consists of an international group of vehicle manufacturers, plus national trade associations, wrote ISO/TS 16949 in conjunction with the International Organization for Standards (ISO). This specification aligns existing American (QS-9000), German (VDA6.1), French (EAQF) and Italian (AVSQ) automotive quality systems standards within the global automotive industry.