Borough Chrome recently achieved its re-certification for IATF 16949:2016, which is recognised as the global technical specification and quality management standard for the automotive industry. It contains requirements supplemental to ISO 9001:2015, which Borough also achieved re-certification for, at the same time.
All of the certificates can be accessed and downloaded from the website
The IATF 16949:2016 combines standards from Europe and the U.S., outlining everything an organisation working within the automotive sector supply chain needs to know about achieving best practice when designing, developing, manufacturing, installing, or servicing automotive products.
It is designed for use by organisations of every size and complexity, to create systems that ensure customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, which is why so many companies within the automotive sector demand this as a minimum requirement for suppliers such as Borough Chrome.
The process to certification involves us first auditing our own processes, before we engage an independent certification body to audit them too. This ensures our customers do not need to audit us themselves and can rely upon the certificate as proof of our commitment to quality.
What does IATF 16949 certification cover?
The main aspects of the Quality Management System [QMS] put in place here at Borough Chrome and audited by the independent certification body, include:
Context – the organisation must determine its context in terms of the Quality Management System, including interested parties, along with their needs and expectations. It also defines the requirements for determining the scope of the QMS, as well as general QMS requirements.
Leadership – senior management must demonstrate leadership and commitment to the QMS, whilst defining corporate responsibility and the quality policy. They must also assign process owners along with other roles and responsibilities.
Planning – defines the requirements for addressing risks and opportunities, and the requirements for risk analysis. This clause also includes requirements for preventive actions, contingency plans, along with quality objectives and plans to achieve them.
Support – an effective QMS requires the documentation of the people, infrastructure, work environment, monitoring and measuring resources, organisational knowledge, competence, awareness, communication, and information involved in the processes.
Operation – deals with all aspects of the planning and creation of the product or service, including planning, product requirements review, design, purchasing, creating the product or service, and controlling the equipment used to monitor and measure the product or service.
Performance – includes the requirements needed to make sure we monitor whether our QMS is functioning well. It includes assessing customer satisfaction, internal audits, monitoring products and processes, and review by senior management.
Improvement – defines the requirements for continual improvement of the QMS, including requirements for non-conformities and corrective actions, problem solving, and developing error-proofing processes.
Why Borough Chrome is IATF 16949:2016 certified
As the UK’s leading specialist in injection moulding and chrome plating of plastic components, we recognise the benefit this certification brings to our credibility. It is not an easy process to achieve certification and it demonstrates we have implemented a system that is focused on not only meeting the needs of our customers, but on continuous improvement.
We produce high-quality injection moulded components for a variety of sectors, from sign-making and point-of-sale to packaging and hygiene products, utilising a range of different surface finishes, including bright chrome, satin chrome, nickel, copper and colour washes.
However, we supply a lot of components to global businesses of the automotive sector supply chain and most require IATF 16949:2016 certification as a minimum requirement to be a supplier, as it demonstrates we provide high-quality products with minimal defects, all of which we detect.
We also recognise that by working tirelessly to improve our offering, our service and our quality, we have more chance of winning more work from existing clients. We can also secure new contracts with new clients, who understand that one of the key principles of the IATF 16949:2016 QMS is the focus on improving customer satisfaction.
By using the process approach of IATF 16949, we not only look at the individual processes in our organisation, but also how they interact with each other, which ensures we can find areas for improvement and identify ways to save resources.
Key to the success of an IATF 16949 QMS is making decisions based on good evidence, which allows us to better target resources to the best effect to correct problems, whilst improving our organisational efficiency and effectiveness.
Continual improvement is a main output of the QMS, which drives us to attain ever-increasing gains in savings of time, money and resources. By making this the culture of our business, we can ensure everyone who works for Borough Chrome understands the need to improve the processes for which they are directly responsible.
If you are seeking an injection moulding and chrome plating specialist, that works hard to meet and then exceed your needs, please get in touch and we’ll explain the Borough Chrome difference.
