The ISO/IATF 16949 is an ISO technical specification aiming to the development of a quality management system that provides for continual improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. It is based on the ISO 9001 and the first edition was published in March 2002 as ISO/TS 16949:2002.

It was prepared by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the "Technical Committee" of ISO. It harmonizes the country-specific regulations of Quality-Management-Systems.

About 30 percent of the more than 100 existing automobile manufacturers affiliate the requirements of the norm but especially the large Asian manufacturers have differentiated, own requirements for the quality management systems of their corporate group and their suppliers.

IATF16949 applies to the design/development, production and, when relevant, installation and servicing of automotive-related products.

The requirements are intended to be applied throughout the supply chain. For the first time vehicle assembly plants will be encouraged to seek ISO/IATF16949 certification.

Aim of the standard is to improve the system and process quality to increase customer satisfaction, to identify problems and risks in production process and supply chain, to eliminate its causes and to examine taken corrections and preventive measures for their effectiveness. The focus is not on the discovery, but on the avoidance of errors.

The process-oriented approach to business processes that is addressed in the ISO 9001:2015 is the base of the standard. It looks at the business processes in a process environment in which there are interactions and interfaces that need to be recognized, mapped and controlled by the quality management system. Additionally the gateways to the exterior (to sub-suppliers, customers and to remote locations) are defined. The Standard distinguishes between customer-oriented processes, supporting processes and management processes. This process-oriented approach is intended to improve the overview of the whole process. This is not an isolated process, but a combination of all interacting business processes which affect the quality performance of a firm.

A key requirement of ISO / IATF 16949:2016 is the fulfillment of customer-specific requirements, set up by the automotive manufacturer in addition to the quality management system of their suppliers. This may have decisively contributed to the worldwide recognition of the TS by many manufacturers.

ISO/IATF 16949:2016, in conjunction with ISO 9001:2015, defines the quality management system requirements for the design and development, production and, when relevant, installation and service of automotive-related products.

ISO/IATF 16949:2016 is applicable to sites of the organization where customer-specified parts, for production and/or service, are manufactured.

Supporting functions, whether on-site or remote (such as design centres, corporate headquarters and distribution centres), form part of the site audit as they support the site, but cannot obtain stand-alone certification to ISO/IATF 16949:2016.

ISO/IATF 16949:2016 can be applied throughout the automotive supply chain.