TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

1 WHAT TYPE OF SITES CAN OR CANNOT

BE CERTIFIED? 4

2 WHAT PARTS OF THE PLANT CAN BE EXCLUDED

AND WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON THE AUDIT
DURATION? 5

3 THE AUDIT PREPARATION 5

4 THE ON-SITE AUDIT DURATION 6

5 THE TIMING BETWEEN AUDITS 6

6 THE MANAGEMENT AND TIMELINE OF

NON-CONFORMITIES 7

7 THE DECERTIFICATION PROCESS:

SUSPENSION OF THE CERTIFICATION 8

8 THE CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS 8

9 WHERE WILL THE AUDITOR FOCUS DURING

THE AUDIT? 9

TO SUM-UP: MAIN CHANGES FOR

THE 4TH EDITION RULES 10
 INTRODUCTION
On October 1st, 2013, the IATF published the 4th edition rules of ISO/TS 16949: the international
rules for automotive quality management.

These new rules will come into force April 1st, 2014.

This new version has been published with the aim to further enhance the quality in the
automotive industry and to increase the value of the ISO/TS certification and audit process for
all stakeholders.

HOW ARE YOU IMPACTED AS AN AUTOMOTIVE ISO/TS CERTIFIED COMPANY?

In the following pages, we have summarized the key changes that impact organizations like
yours. This document does not intend to present all changes introduced by the 4th edition of the
rules, only a selection of those that may impact the largest population of certified organizations.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.3 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
1 WHAT TYPE OF SITES CAN OR CANNOT BE CERTIFIED?
CLARIFICATION: Fabless sites are not eligible for certification.
The new rules clearly define a Fabless site and clearly specify that a Fabless site is not eligible
for certification. A Fabless manufacturing site is the design and distribution of production
parts where the fabrication or fab of the production part is outsourced to a specialized
manufacturer. Fabless companies separate the design from the manufacturing to concentrate
on research, design, development and testing.

CHANGE: Manufacturing Site Extensions (also known as manufacturing

satellites) do not exist anymore, and must be treated as Manufacturing Sites.
Starting April 1st 2014 and to be implemented on a one-year timeline until April 1st 2015:

A main Manufacturing Site will continue with the current cycle but with a new
calculation of days according to a separate headcount of only the Manufacturing Site
(all site extensions removed). Certificates for the Manufacturing Site will be revised
with removal of site extensions from the certificate appendix.

The current site extensions will become new Manufacturing Sites as either stand-alone
or within a corporate scheme with the main Manufacturing Site. A previous site extension
will start with an initial audit scheduled according to audit cycle rules, however, no Stage
1 is required and the duration of Stage 2 can be reduced to the equivalent duration of a
recertification audit. A new certificate for a previous site extension shall be issued after
a positive certification decision following the initial audit.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.4 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
2 WHAT PARTS OF THE PLANT CAN BE EXCLUDED AND WHAT IS
THE IMPACT ON THE AUDIT DURATION?
CHANGE: Under strict conditions, part of a site can now be excluded from
the audit.
On a site where all manufacturing processes related to the automotive production are
performed in a dedicated portion of the site (the processes are physically separated from the
non-automotive production), and all employees working on the automotive processes are
completely dedicated to the automotive processes, then it may be possible to raise a request to
exclude the non-automotive manufacturing processes from the audit. Acceptance, if granted,
can lead to a reduction of the audit duration.

The Certification Body will relay the request to the Oversight Body (IATF), which is the only
entity empowered to approve such a request. If the approval is granted, the Certification Body
is then requested to verify the situation on-site during the regular audits.

Note: This portion of site possibility existed previously and was removed by IATF due to repeated abuse. This
option has been reinstated in the 4th edition of the rules, but it is likely that IATF will be strict in the decision
and follow-up of the application. If your organization wants to apply for this option, please consider that detailed
supporting documentation will be requested and that the timeframe to achieve a decision will generally take several weeks.

3 THE AUDIT PREPARATION

CHANGE: The audit preparation is extended: more documents are to be
provided by the certified client, to be reviewed and used by the lead auditor
to prepare the audit plan.
The new rules require the certified clients or the organization seeking certification, prior to
any on-site audit, to provide a list of documents and information for the preparation of the
audit plan. These include records such as (but not only) QMS including evidence of conformity
to ISO/TS 16949 requirements and showing the linkages or interfaces to any remote support
functions and/or outsourcing processes.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.5 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
 These documents are analyzed by the audit team to determine the critical areas to be prioritized
during the audit.

In cases where the client fails to deliver all of the required information prior to the issuance
of the audit plan, the rules specify that: the Certification Body must include additional time
prior to the start of the opening meeting to collect and review the missing information, or the
Certification Body shall initiate the decertification process (risk of suspension/withdrawal of
the certificate).

4 THE ON-SITE AUDIT DURATION

CHANGE: Before each audit, an additional on-site time is added to review
the latest data and update the audit plan accordingly.
The new rules require including in the usual audit plan a minimum of one additional hour on-
site prior to the opening meeting for the verification of the changes to the current customer
and internal performance data, including a review of the current online customer reports and
customer scorecards.

The new rules specify again how the Certification Body shall act upon new information:
adjustments may be made to the audit plan, which could lead to an increase of the duration in
order to comply with the requirements. This extra hour is in addition to the 8-hour audit day.

5 THE TIMING BETWEEN AUDITS

CHANGE: Recertification audit window timeframe is slightly modified.
The closing meeting of the recertification audit must now take place 3 years (-3 months, +0 days)
from the closing meeting date of the previous certification audit (Stage 2 or Recertification audit).

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.6 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
6 THE MANAGEMENT AND TIMELINE OF NON-CONFORMITIES
CHANGE: Non-conformity management: response time is reduced to 60 days.
The client shall now respond and submit within a maximum of 60 days all documentation needed
to be reviewed in order to close a non-conformity (the evidence of the implemented correction,
the root cause analysis and its results, the evidence of the implementation of the systemic corrective
actions, etc.).

The Certification Body shall proceed with the review of the response from the client and any
outstanding issue shall be resolved within 90 days from the closing meeting. If no resolution is
achieved, the rules require the Certification Body to withdraw the certificate.

CHANGE: When answering a non-conformity, the client must provide new

additional information.
The client must now additionally provide within the 60-day period:

Evidence that the systemic corrective action includes consideration of the impact on
their similar processes and products.

Verification of the effectiveness of the implemented corrective actions.

CHANGE: Only limited exceptional reasons can justify a non-conformity

not being closed within 90 days. In such cases an on-site special audit is
required.
It may occur that, in exceptional cases, a corrective action cannot be implemented within 90 days
(i.e. new piece of equipment machinery, testing is required and the lead time for installation is
more than 90 days, etc.). In this case, the 4th edition of the rules requires the Certification Body
to perform an additional special on-site audit to verify the effectiveness of the implemented
corrective actions. This audit should be performed as soon as possible and before the following
audit in the cycle.

CLARIFICATION: An on-site follow-up audit is mandatory in the case of

a major non-conformity.
The 3rd edition of the rules specifies that a major non-conformity should require an on-site
verification.

The 4th edition clarifies the situation and makes the on-site follow-up audit mandatory in the
case of a major non-conformity.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.7 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
7 THE DECERTIFICATION PROCESS:
SUSPENSION OF THE CERTIFICATION
CHANGE: In the case a surveillance audit is not conducted on time,
the certificate will be suspended.
As soon as the surveillance cycle is no longer respected, the decertification process must be
initiated by the Certification Body. The rules for the 4th edition clearly specify that if the cycle
deadline is surpassed by more than 20 days, the certificate will be suspended, even if, in the
interim, the late audit has been performed. If the late surveillance audit is not performed
within 90 days of the cycle deadline, then the certificate must be withdrawn.

CHANGE: In the case of a major non-conformity, the certificate will be

suspended.
As soon as a major non-conformity is raised during a closing meeting of a surveillance or
recertification audit, the decertification process must be initiated by the Certification Body and
the certificate will be suspended within 20 days (the Certification Body is required to suspend
the certificate in all cases).

8 THE CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

CHANGE: Additional contractual elements are required between the client
and the Certification Body with a possible impact on the existing contractual
Terms and Conditions.
The 4th edition of the rules mentions specific requirements that must be included in the contract
binding the certified client and its Certification Body. The contracts must be reviewed to ensure
the requirements are included in a compliant way. For instance, one of the requirements
mandates that the contract mention that a consultant to the client cannot attend the audit.

If the current contract is not compliant with the 4th edition rules, it will need to be updated
and signed again. Since there is still some uncertainty about IATFs deadline for certified
organizations to achieve compliance to the 4th edition (either before the next audit or before
application of the new edition), we strongly recommend that you have your contract updated
and signed before April 1st, 2014.

Certification Bodies will also now be obligated to keep certification records such as receipts
from travel expenses, regardless of who made payments.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.8 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
9 WHERE WILL THE AUDITOR FOCUS DURING THE AUDIT?
Many changes of the rules do not apply to the certified client but rather to the Certification
Bodies. These changes give insight regarding the IATFs current and most prominent topics.
These topics include customer-specific requirement management and the new rules outline
strict guidance for auditors on what data to assess during the audit.

This document has been elaborated with great care: from a gap analysis of the rules evolution performed by experienced
experts, to a 3-day seminar held by IATF and finally by direct discussions with IATF members and IATF oversight
organizations. However, it is only a partial summary and cannot replace your own full review of the 4th edition of the rules
or ensure to provide the relevant correct answers to all specific situations. Note also that at the time of the release of this
document, some clarifications and interpretations are still being awaited from IATF that may specify or amend the content
provided hereafter. We encourage you to look for updates of this document on our website at www.bureauveritas.com/scs
and to reach out to your main contact at Bureau Veritas Certification.

To purchase the full version in your local language of the IATF 4th Edition Rules, Rules for Achieving IATF Recognition
4th Edition, October 1, 2013, please visit the IATF website: www.iatfglobaloversight.org/publications.aspx

MORE QUESTIONS? JOIN US FOR OUR WEBINAR!

To provide more insight, we will hold webinars on January 14th, 2014 on the 4th edition of the
rules and on the transition period. These webinars are free, public and are open to everyone. We
encourage you to invite your relevant contacts involved in ISO/TS: your quality team members,
your quality contacts within your suppliers and anyone else who may be impacted.
Find more details and to register online, visit: http://isots16949.bureauveritas.com/webinar/

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.9 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
 TO SUM-UP:
MAIN CHANGES FOR THE 4TH EDITION RULES.

Are you ready for the 4th Edition? Below is a handy

checklist of the major changes to ISO/TS 16949.

Fabless sites are not eligible for certification.

Manufacturing Site Extensions (also known as manufacturing

satellites) do not exist anymore, and must be treated as
Manufacturing Sites.

Under strict conditions, part of a site can now be excluded

from the audit.

The audit preparation is extended: more documents are to

be provided by the certified client, to be reviewed and used
by the lead auditor to prepare the audit plan.

Before each audit, an additional on-site time is added to

review the latest data and update the audit plan accordingly.

Recertification audit window timeframe is slightly modified.

Non-conformity management: response time is reduced to

60 days.

When answering a non-conformity, the client must provide

new additional information.

Only limited exceptional reasons can justify a non-conformity not

being closed within 90 days. In such cases an on-site special
audit is required.

An on-site follow-up audit is mandatory in the case of a

major non-conformity.

In the case a surveillance audit is not conducted on time, the

certificate will be suspended.

In the case of a major non-conformity, the certificate will be

suspended.

Additional contractual elements are required between the

client and the Certification Body with a possible impact on
the existing contractual Terms and Conditions.

ISO/TS 16949 4th Edition Rules:

Bureau Veritas Certification p.10 A Heads Up on Key Impacts
December 2013 for Certified Companies
 ISO/TS 16949 Rules 4th Edition:
A Heads Up on Key Impacts
for Certified Companies

Credits :
Graphic design : www.distillateurgrahik.com
Photos : Cover Jenny Wymore - SunKissed Photography / Cover algre-fotolia.com / Cover loraks - fotolia.com /
p.3 Kovalenko Inna / p.5 artstudio_pro - Nataliya Hora/ p.6 LVDESIGN-fotolia.com / p.4-p.7-p.9 Monty Rakusen

Bureau Veritas Certification

67-71 Boulevard du Chteau 92571 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex - France
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 55 24 70 00
certification.contact@bureauveritas.com
www.bureauveritas.com/scs