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A: QS-9000 is a set of Quality System requirements recently adopted by members of the automotive industry. In September 1994 Ford Chrysler and General Motors announced that QS-9000 would immediately replace all previous supplier quality programs. Several heavy truck manufacturer's also adopted the QS-9000 standard.
A: The QS-9000 Quality System requirements are divided into three sections. Section 1: Common requirements, includes the exact text of ISO 9001 with the addition of automotive / heavy trucking requirements. Section 2: Additional Requirements, includes requirements beyond the scope of ISO 9001, common to all three manufacturers. Section 3: Customer Specific Sections, contains requirements unique to either Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler.
A: Each of "The Big Three" US automobile manufacturers requirements for QS-9000 requires that:
"Suppliers registered to an ISO 9000 standard without consideration of QS-9000 requirements shall contact their registrar and indicate that their customer(s) require(s) inclusion of QS-9000 in the registration process. The supplier shall update the quality system... to meet QS-9000. When conformance with QS-9000 has been verified, the registrar will issue a certificate citing conformance with QS-9000. Only registration certificates citing conformance to QS-9000 will be acceptable to the companies using this [QS-9000] document."
The minimum seven documents one will need for the QS-9000 program are:
A: For those who are interested in QS-9000 information/training, please contact the International Automotive Sector Group