Our sincerest thanks to the people and organizations who have contributed their insights, suggestions, and encouragement, or who gave us permission to use and adapt their tips, charts, tables, and other illustrative information.
When we question our role in the grand scheme of things, we often ask ourselves “how much of our environment did we shape, and how much did our environment shape us?”. We believe that much like every other area of life the answer doesn’t lie in a binary response, but in a variable answer where each of us contributes to the world around us, and the world around us contributes to who we are. Sometimes the contribution is skewed, but over the entire span of time it equals and balances out. The same is true of humans and ideas, do we have the ideas that influence the world, or do ideas influence us in our perception of the world? The creation of the IATF 16949 standard is a subtle blend of this concept. It is created out of an industry and shaping an entire world movement, but all the while being subtly interpreted and refined through its contact with individual people and companies.
The IATF 16949 standard takes the broad application of ISO 9001:2015 and refines it based on the experiences unique to the automotive world. That definition is then refined within the mind of the individual practitioner, the guiding oversight bodies, and the groups tasked with evaluation and updating the “shalls”. It is this continuing dance between legalism and the intent that over the last decade has shaped ISO/TS 16949 into the new and evolved IATF 16949, a perpetual beacon for companies looking toward the future in the automotive world. As we embark on this evolution that raises the collective bar, it may seem that the environment is the majority of the weight shaping us…but this book, written for the implementer and the practitioner, hopefully gives you the tools to shape the environment around you in a way that will contribute to the next evolution. So in parting here is your chisel, and your hammer…carve out your niche within the environment and let it know that you were here.
Since 1991, Plexus International has been a global leader in providing training, assessment, and consulting services for organizations to attain quality management systems excellence. Plexus designs, develops, and delivers globally-accredited, industry-recognized certificate and certification training programs for various industries including: Aerospace, Automotive, Environmental Management, Healthcare, Higher Education, and Laboratory Management.
As a result of years of experiences working with OEMs, suppliers, and industry associations such as the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), International Automotive Task Force (IATF), Plexus has gained unique insight into industry-wide performance expectations, leveraging that insight to maximize the value proposition to their customers.