“You should prioritize agility, but find ways to take risks without sacrificing sound execution that can jeopardize both customer satisfaction and, more importantly, safety.”

—PWC “2016 Auto Industry Trends”

Perhaps no sector is so thoroughly driven to balance innovation and safety as is the global automotive industry. With annual unit sales in excess of 70 million vehicles, the world’s automakers—and the vast supply chain that supports them—cannot afford to rely on guesses or good intent. That is why so many of these organizations embrace the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems, as well as its industry-specific sibling, ISO/TS 16949. These standards help ensure consistent business operations and product quality.

Both of these standards have recently received significant updates by their respective technical stewards. The core ISO 9001 standard moves from its 2008 version to the 2015 version, and the automotive standard of ISO/TS 16949 has now evolved into IATF 16949. These standards share interdependencies, and each also contains significant updates in its compliance requirements.

 …