| Quality Management in the Automotive Industry
|  | | In order to follow the latest developments in the automotive industry, a certifier will have to shift its focus away from the standards themselves. According to the VDA-QMC, it will no longer suffice to fulfil stipulated demands word for word. |
| New subjects
such as transparency throughout all means of communication, trust in the capability of partners and employees and the consistent pursuit of goals are only three key phrases outlining the new route to be taken. In order to be able to align all resources and activities, including the interplay between manufacturers and suppliers, in a way
consistent with the goals of the company, it needs a kind of business management
which follows the approach of Total Quality Management. “Automotive Excellence” is, as the VDA is convinced, the most suitable management system for the German automotive industry to continue to assume a position of success in the coming years
in spite of global competition. |
| DQS, with its technically experienced assessors and pioneering services, emphasises its position as a competent and innovative partner to the automobile
and automotive supply industry. Benchmarks of the new strategic approach have been set by the first IBEC – IQNet Business Excellence Class assessment procedures. Some first companies have made use of the support of DQS for their IBEC assessments. In addition to a confirmation of their conformity with the requirements of the respective standards and specifications, they are also verified as
implementing the principles of Business Excellence and applying them in practice. And there are many other renowned companies in the automotive industry planning to employ IBEC as a management tool. |
Combination - Integration
The trend towards using one certification procedure to assess fulfilment of the requirements of several management systems at one time continues to increase. In the last few years, DQS has started to appoint and qualify suitable auditors already., The development of ISO/TS 16949 is particularly interesting: Almost 25% of all companies also have an environmental management systems, while in the case of VDA 6.1 and QS-9000 (now expired), it is only 10%. What’s more, there is a growing tendency among Global Players to also include the subject of Occupational Health and Safety on the basis of OHSAS 18001, an area where DQS has already been able to gain much experience during international certification processes. |
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