The concept of establishing goals and flowing them throughout an organization isn’t new in business or in quality management system standards. In ISO 9001:1994, the establishment of goals was done via the quality policy, following a review of effectiveness in meeting these management goals. QS-9000 took the concept further in defining the need for goals, which are driven from the business planning process and tied into the analysis and use of company level data along with the basic requirement. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/TS 16949:2002, however, have taken the concept to a whole new level in terms of the definition, monitoring and communication of requirements throughout all relevant levels of the organization. Any discussion on ISO/TS 16949 should begin with a quick evaluation of the applicable requirements.

Requirements: The major applicable requirements related to goals and objectives are found in the following sub-elements of ISO/TS 16949.

• 5.4.1 and 5.4.1.1. Quality objectives—Require the establishment of quality objectives at relevant functions and levels within the organization and require that the objectives and measuresbe included in the business plan

• 5.1.1 Process efficiency—Requires management to review product realization and support processes for efficiency and effectiveness

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