QS 9000 - QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN AUTOMOBILE SECTORS

INTRODUCTION

QS-9000 is the industry specific adaptation of the ISO-9000 standards for the North American auto industry. It applies to all first-tier suppliers, i.e. companies selling components to be used or installed directly in the products of the Big Three automakers. It is a QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENT STANDARD developed by three U.S.automobile giants:

* CHRYSLER: Supplier quality assurance manual.
* FORD: Q-101 quality system standard.
* GENERAL MOTOR: NAO targets for excellence.

The first edition was issued in August 1994 and the second edition in February 1995.The Automotive Industry Action Group in U.S.A.are authorized for distribution of the document and training co-ordination. The Truck Manufacturers who have participated in the development of this standard and adopted it as their basic quality system are Freightliner Corporation, Mack Trucks, Navistar, PACCR and Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corporation.

GOAL

The goal for Quality System Requirements QS-9000 is the development of fundamental quality system that provides for continuous improvement,emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain.

PURPOSE

QS-9000 defines the fundamental quality system expectation of Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Truck Manufacturers and other subscribing companies for internal and external suppliers of production and service parts and materials. These companies are committed to working with suppliers to ensure customer satisfaction beginning with conformance to quality requirements,and continuing with reduction of variation and waste to benefit the final customer, the supply base, and themselves.

APPROACH

QS-9000 is a harmonization of Chrysler's Supplier Quality Assurance Manual, Ford's Q-101 Quality System Standard and GM's Targets For Excellence, with input from The Truck Manufacturers. ISO-9001:1994 Section 4 has been adopted as the foundation for this standard. Interpretations and supplemental quality system requirements have been added. While other companies may adopt this document, Chrysler, Ford and GM retain full control over the content except for ISO-9001:1994. The mandatory requirements are indicated by use of "shall" and the word "should" indicates a preferred approach. Suppliers using other approaches must be able to show that their approach meets the intent of QS-9000. Paragraphs marked "Note" are for guidance and the words, "Typical" and "examples" are used to indicate that the appropriate alternative for the particular commodity or process should be chosen.

APPLICABILITY

QS-9000 applies to all internal and external suppliers of:
1) Production Materials.
2) Production or Service Parts, or
3) Heat Treating, Painting, Plating or other finishing services directly to Chrysler, Ford, GM or other OEM customers subscribing to this document.

REQUIREMENTS

The requirements in the standard are contained in three sections:
SECTION 1: ISO-9000 Based Requirements & Supplements.
SECTION 2: Sector-Specific Requirements: This section contains Sector-specific requirements on topics like
1)Production Part Approval Process,
2)Continuous Improvement, and
3)Manufacturing Capabilities.
SECTION 3: Customer-Specific Requirements.

IMPLEMENTATION

Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, The Truck Manufacturers and other subscribing companies require that suppliers establish document and implement an effective quality system based on QS-9000 in accordance with timing requirements established by their customers. All requirements of QS-9000 are to be incorporated in the supplier's quality system and described in the Quality Manual.

CONCLUSION

It has been well recognised that development, implementation and maintainance of Quality System to generic standards like ISO-9001/2 is immensely beneficial to every business. While implementing quality management system with such generic standards, many suppliers have felt the need for more specific elaboration and guidance of customer requirements. There is no doubt that QS-9000 Quality System Requirements which is sector based for the automotive industry can not only meet customer requirements but at the same time add value to suppliers business by its focus on defect prevention and continuous improvement in all areas of their business.

The proper understanding of the challenge of QS-9000 by top management of suppliers in qualifying for it will maximize the results obtained.Each step of the qualification process can immediately improve quality and productivity for the suppliers who implement the requirements with proper understanding. It is hoped that automotive suppliers in India would welcome QS-9000 and meet the challenge successfully.

It would be appropriate to conclude with a quote of the remarks made by Daniel Brennan, Partner-in-Charge of KPMG Quality Registrar in a recent interview to Quality Focus:
"During my 30 years of third-party auditing experience, I have never witnessed such positive impact on organizations as I have watching them implement ISO/QS-9000. Over the last two years, I have seen companies improve efficiency and customer service, reduce scrap, eliminate redundancies and most of all-increase profit. It is only after they have that they can reap the benefits. We believe that as registrar it is our obligation to help companies focus on continuous improvement and not simply registration."