As ISO/TS 16949 moves toward becoming the newest standard in the automotive arena, Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Parts Approval Process (PPAP) and their applications--which were born out of U.S. initiatives--will undoubtedly reflect the changes brought by the new international standard. The impact of ISO/TS 16949 on the U.S. automotive industry will be felt all the way from the supply chain to the automotive assembly lines.
Historically, the automotive industry has asked suppliers to plan for the design, development and manufacture of products to be used in producing cars and trucks and, at the same time, to meet any number of quality-related issues. Between 1964 and 1994, each of the four U.S. OEMs--American Motors, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors--required unique processes for suppliers to plan production and submit samples of future parts prior to the start of a new assembly process.