IATF 16949 - Focus on key instruments

60% of the Top 10 nonconformity´s identified by the auditors of certification bodies in organizations applying the automotive standard IATF 16949: 2016 at the end of 2019 concerned the application of key tools, the so-called Core Tools, which are:

• Advanced Product and Quality Planning (APQP)
• Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), 
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA),
• Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA).

The most common problems were:

• insufficient links between the control plan and the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis,
• inconsistent transfer of special characteristics to the process documentation,
• insufficient control of all processes,
• the control and management plan does not reflect the observed process or does not exist,
• changes have been made to the procedure that are not recorded in the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis or in the control and management plan.

IATF16949:2016 in Annex A imposes requirements on the type and content of the control and management plan, which include general data, product and process control data, methods used and reaction plan. In addition, IATF 16949:2016 contains twenty additional inspection and management plan requirements, for example in the areas of product and process development, special characteristics, series production approval, change management, documentation control, operation management and troubleshooting.

It is similar to the application of key tools, for which IAT F16949: 2016 contains another sixty requirements. They cover, for example, risk analysis, monitoring and measurement of production processes, statistical studies of measurement systems and continuous improvement.

Automotive key tools have been developed by automotive associations such as AIAG and VDA to help automotive organizations achieve the goal of the IATF16949 standard, which is to build a quality management system:

• enabling continuous improvement,
• aimed at preventing failures
• reducing variation in supply chain processes and losses.

Their effective implementation can be of immense benefit to organizations.
 

In March of this year, the IATF Supervisory Authority ordered IATF16949, the certifying body's auditors, to undergo a revised training in effective auditing of the application of key instruments by 17 September 2020.
 

The auditors are ready. And what about you? If you need help, contact us. CeMS will help you with each of these important tools.