RLS obtained IATF 16949 Letter of Approval – what does it mean?
In November 2018, our Quality Management System (QMS) has been audited and we received IATF 16949 Letter of Approval.
But what does this mean?
IATF 16949 is an industrial quality standard that requires from a company to manage and record its business and production processes in order to fulfill customer demands and to ensure continuous improvement. Whereas ISO 9001 requires from a company to describe its business processes, IATF 16949 goes a lot further. The main difference to ISO is while using the same structure as ISO, and along with the WHAT we should do, IATF specifically requires HOW this should be done. It also suggest using core tools, such as APQP, FMEA, SPC, MSA and PPAP. Annual certification audits are conducted by authorized agents to ensure the high quality standards for products and operational processes.
We applied for IATF 16949 in order to support customers from automotive industry in the future. Currently we received the Letter of approval but this does not mean our products are IATF 16949 certified. Receiving IATF Letter of approval does not mean we follow AEC-Q100 and perform reliability tests for automotive ICs or have any Functional safety standards implemented.
Existing RLS products have not been developed in accordance with IATF requirements or using its core tools (APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC and MSA) in its entirety therefore are NOT automotive certified. Current and future development will follow the IATF standard but the products will still NOT be automotive certified since we do not utilize automotive certified components.