Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • ITEC
    • International Elastomer Show
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Public, private sector engagement key to smart cities, experts say
      Continental, Amazon Web Services launch automotive software platform
      EV adoption may fall short of industry expectations, experts warn
      USTMA study uncovers post-pandemic trends
    • Commercial tire, retreading sectors on solid footing
      Vipal targets North America for machinery sales growth
      Pirelli adds bicycle tire distributor in North America
      Rubber industry associations optimistic about Biden's infrastructure plan
    • Rubber industry associations optimistic about Biden's infrastructure plan
      Nike to step up rubber sustainability efforts
      OUR VIEW: Big ideas power big technological leaps
      Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
    • Polyurethane sector hit by shortages, higher material costs
      SI to begin antioxidant production in China
      ‘China-only Chinaplas' opens as first major industry show in the pandemic
      Farrel updates continuous mixer technology
    • Smithers ramps up with Suzhou testing facility
      5 for 50: Bruce Meyer's five most memorable work trips
      AirBoss unveiling high heat-resistant EPDM
      Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
    • ‘China-only Chinaplas' opens as first major industry show in the pandemic
      Latin America faces tough recovery from COVID-19, KraussMaffei executive says
      Titan Tire to offer free COVID-19 vaccines at Iowa facility
      Bridgestone hosts vaccination events for plant employees
    • Detroit 3 execs join voting rights debate in Michigan
      Harwick Standard hires Marc Pignataro to executive role
      Motion Industries promotes industry veteran Jim May
      Hutchinson names new chairman, CEO
    • Former Saint-Gobain lawyer alleges PFOA wrongdoing
      Rubber industry associations optimistic about Biden's infrastructure plan
      Experts seek to address connected-, autonomous-vehicle energy consumption
      Detroit 3 execs join voting rights debate in Michigan
    • Meyer: Sunflowers seek their due
      OUR VIEW: Big ideas power big technological leaps
      Column: Ramping up to an RPN milestone
      Our view: It may be time to rethink, rebuild supply chains
    • Correlating cure kinetics and physical properties with accelerator variations in a model SBR compound
      Material to give tire compounds lower density, lower hysteresis and improved wear
      Technical notebook: How to control porosity in extruded EPDM dense profile
      Part 2: Studying RPA ASTM methods for detecting compound quality differences
    • WORD Conversations: Charles Goodyear Medalist Puskas says academia needs to ease time commitments
      Women find success, opportunity in petrochemicals
      Rubber Division to host WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Rubber Division preparing for Spring Technical Meeting
      Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: MonTech adds to LP 3000 lab press lineup with custom options
      New Products: 3M rolls out new silicone adhesive for medical use
      GRI gains OE fitment for KION Group forklifts
      New Products: Hexpol develops new salt-water hydrophilic waterstops
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Public, private sector engagement key to smart cities, experts say
      Continental, Amazon Web Services launch automotive software platform
      EV adoption may fall short of industry expectations, experts warn
      USTMA study uncovers post-pandemic trends
    • Smithers ramps up with Suzhou testing facility
      5 for 50: Bruce Meyer's five most memorable work trips
      AirBoss unveiling high heat-resistant EPDM
      Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
    • Meyer: Sunflowers seek their due
      World Rubber Summit to be virtual this year
      Synthomer launches Asia innovation center in Malaysia
      Sunflower rubber research expands with new funding
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The HB Chemical and Ravago Partnership: Taking Customer Service to a New Level
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      Above and Beyond with HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By AirBoss
      AirBoss introduces next-gen EPDM compound: HeatBoss EPDM
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Labs of the Future: How to Choose a Laboratory Information Management System in 2021
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Selectâ„¢: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2021 International Latex Conference Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 03, 2004 02:00 AM

New standard can spur operations upgrades

Brad Dawson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    The transition to the newest and most stringent automotive standard to date-ISO/TS 16949:2002-can mean more to a company than going through yet another compliance process.

    Instead, it can be an opportunity for an automotive supplier to make significant improvements to its quality management system and organizational performance in general, if the changes are understood and handled correctly, according to a tire and rubber industry quality consultant.

    The ISO/TS 16949 standard is intended to be a global automotive technical specification and expected to be an ISO international standard by March 2005, said Debra Detwiler, senior manager of quality consulting for Smithers Management Consulting Group in Akron.

    The ISO/TS certification will serve as an upgrade to QS 9000 certification, which is being phased out but will remain in effect until December 2006, Detwiler said. She discussed the ISO/TS program as part of a presentation during the 2004 International Rubber Molding Conference held April 27-28 in Cleveland.

    The QS 9000 standard will be around for two more years to avoid panic and aid in an orderly transition, as well as because the number of registrars for the ISO/TS standard has been reduced to less than 50 from 200, she said.

    ISO/TS 16949-which originated in 1999 and was updated in 2002-should raise the bar in standard-setting, Detwiler said. It will be more difficult to attain, but also more encompassing and meaningful. Compliance with ISO/TS 16949 will satisfy all current requirement documents issued by Italian, French and German original equipment manufacturers, as well as U.S manufacturers which have demanded QS 9000 certification, she said.

    The new specification was prepared by the International Automotive Task Force, made up of some of the world's biggest auto makers-including the U.S.'s Big Three, Detwiler said. DaimlerChrysler A.G., Renault S.A. and PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A. publicly have mandated certification for their suppliers by July, she said.

    Many of the requirements of QS 9000 are carried over into the ISO/TS 16949 program, but there are some major changes. Instead of QS' 20-element structure, the newer certification is based on five quality system requirements, with a focus on processes-chains of value-added activities-and how they interact, Detwiler said.

    The ISO/TS standard calls for more ``user-friendly,'' flexible documentation, increased emphasis on top management involvement, an increased emphasis on meeting performance and effectiveness objectives at various levels and functions within an organization, and a more business-focused QMS, she said.

    The ``process approach'' calls for identification of a process; its sequence and interaction with other processes; control over a process, including methods and criteria; resources available within a process, including equipment and training; monitoring and analyzing a process; and continual improvement of a process, Detwiler said.

    Because there is importance placed on how processes interact, the approach eliminates organizational ``chimneys'' or ``silos,'' provides control over the links between processes and stresses the elimination of gaps and good communication between them.

    ``There's more emphasis on everything working,'' Detwiler said. ``(The ISO/TS standard) tells us to manage our business as a series of processes that are linked together. Good organizations are the ones where the various processes work well together.''

    The five quality system requirements outlined by ISO/TS 16949 are a QMS, which includes measures of process effectiveness and document and records control; management responsibility; resource management; product realization; and measurement, analysis and improvement, she said.

    There are many implementation strategies for the ISO/TS standard, but Detwiler recommends a four-phase plan: assessment and training, planning and documentation, education and implementation, and registration and audit support.

    The improvement opportunities are vast as well. They include a new emphasis on process performance, the setting of meaningful goals and objectives, a concentration on interaction and linkages, streamlining of documentation, electronic control of documents vs. the use of manuals and reliance on data analysis to make decisions, she said.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • ITEC
      • International Elastomer Show
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION