National Semiconductor (www.national.com) received ISO/TS16949 certification from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Certification. The certification includes requirements of the ISO9001:2000 as well as the ISO/TS16949:2002 standard. The TS16949 standard meets the stringent quality requirements of automotive customers.
Members of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) developed the TS16949 quality management standard for the design, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products. The IATF mandates that suppliers meet these quality-standard requirements in order to supply parts to its members, an ad-hoc, worldwide group of automotive manufacturers and trade associations whose common goal is to improve the quality of products to automotive customers.
Structured around the "plan, do, check, act" quality improvement model, the TS16949 requires that companies implement a continual improvement process that emphasizes process definition, management oversight and customer satisfaction.
"This certification is another step in National’s ongoing quality improvement program, which we started with our initial certification to the ISO9000 standards family in 1991,” said Gerry Fields, vice president of National’s worldwide quality network. “Although driven by the automotive industry, the TS16949 standard benefits all of our customers by focusing on customer satisfaction and the superior quality of our products."