actionline July/August 2004 27

ISO/TS16949:2002
Strategic Planning
In this case study, Lear Corp. shares the companys
key priorities to achieve ISO/TS 16949:2002 implementation.
Lear Corp. focuses on integrating com-
plete automotive interiors, including
seat systems, interior trim and electrical
systems. Its products are designed,
engineered and manufactured by more
than 110,000 employees at 280 facili-
ties in 33 countries. Because of several
acquisitions, variances in quality
systems created opportunities for Lear
to achieve its goal of global registration
to ISO/TS 16949:2002.
With our successful 2003 certifica-
tion audits, we are able to share
lessons learned and provide several
key points to organizations considering
implementation of ISO/TS 16949:
2002, said Bill Cooper, Lear senior
quality manager of global quality
systems.
Lears key points are:
I Top managements commitment
I Accredited training
I Common global policy and
procedures
I Transition to the process
approach
I Training planning and
effectiveness
I Cost of poor quality tracking
Top Managements Published and
Visual Commitment
ISO/TS 16949:2002 implementation
requires top managements direct
involvement. Lears CEO and NAO vice
president of quality recognized its
advantages as it allowed the company
to evolve its quality system into a
process driven-approach to continu-
ous improvement. Lears CEO commu-
nicated this support in a globally
broadcasted e-mail, which became the
catalyst for implementation. Meetings
were held with customer focus groups
and product focus groups, and divi-
sional presidents committed to provide
training to their associates.
Lear recommends publicizing top
managements commitment to get
implementation off to a strong start.
The entire organization shares respon-
sibility for the implementation of
ISO/TS 16949:2002. Responsibility
does not rest solely with the quality
department.
Accredited Training
Several associates attended AIAGs
RAB-Accredited ISO 9001:2000 Lead
Auditor Training with AIAG ISO/TS
16949:2002 Supplier Auditor
Certification. The training enabled the
company to present documented
overviews to employees at its support
sites. Manufacturing sites of the com-
panys divisions participated via tele-
conference and received DVDs of the
presentation. Most NAO plants sent
their auditors and management repre-
sentatives through certification cours-
es, and are using the DVDs for addi-
tional training. Posters at support sites
and brochures issued to attendees
reinforced the initiative.
Lear believes its critical for organiza-
tions to prepare auditors and manage-
ment representatives through AIAGs
ISO/TS 16949:2002 Supplier Auditor
Certification class or AIAGs RAB-
Accredited ISO 9001:2000 Lead
Auditor Training with AIAG ISO/TS
16949:2002 Supplier Auditor Certi-
fication. This training will enable them
to plan and supervise internal audits.
Common Global Policy
and Procedures
To have common quality management
systems within Lears integrated acqui-
sitions, approximately six months in
2002 were dedicated to writing a new
By Karen Whitmore
Continued on page 28
28 July/August 2004 actionline
ISO/TS16949:2002 Strategic Planning
ning and effectiveness. With input
from cross-divisional human resource
groups, the company linked training
needs with annual evaluations.
Lear suggests that organizations
involve and challenge their human
resource associates in the early stages
of implementation. This will aid in the
development of a process that will
document the planning and effective-
ness of their companys training.
Continued from page 27
ISO/TS 16949:1999 Policy Manual and
global procedures that would accom-
modate each of the OEM customers
and the companys many different inte-
rior components. While writing a new
policy was not difficult, developing
approximately 23 global procedures to
comply with ISO/TS 16949:1999 was a
challenge. Each procedure needed to
meet the new requirements and use
lessons learned to ensure prevention
of known systemic issues.
Although fewer procedures were
required for ISO/TS 16949:2002,
because of their automotive environ-
ment importance, Lear chose to keep
existing procedures in place. The next
step was developing the ISO/TS
16949:2002 processes and defining
their interactions to work to the com-
panys advantage.
Transition to the
Process Approach
The process approach, which alleviat-
ed the need for multiple procedures,
provided a fully integrated continuous
improvement approach to build upon
Lears Management Operating System
(MOS) and help further ensure cus-
tomer satisfaction.
ISO/TS 16949:2002 requires func-
tions within the organization to work
together to define processes applicable
to business activities. Lear held numer-
ous cross-divisional department meet-
ings to determine process interactions
and agree on their actual process and
applicable metrics. Synergy generated
from these meetings fueled the genesis
of Lears quality management systems.
Lear believes that organizations
should appreciate the incorporation of
the ISO/TS 16949:2002 process
approach into their business. The use
of this methodology will provide a
solid basis for continuous improve-
ment in quality and all other depart-
ments.
Training Planning and Effectiveness
Another opportunity for improvement
was to develop a common process to
document training that included plan-
The Lear Process Model is based on four direct interactions with customers: the sale
of product, development of product, the production of product and delivery of product.
The focus of the Customer-Oriented Processes is to drive customer satisfaction.
Figure 1. Lear Process Model
Customer-Oriented
Processes
Sales
LPMP
Production
Delivery
Support Processes
Key processes in place within Lear that provide working
structure for the Customer-Oriented Process.
Management Processes
Assess the performance of Customer-Oriented and Support Processes and
produce organization-wide decisions, objectives and/or changes.
Employee Motivation
& Empowerment
Customer Negotiation
Contract Review
Planning
Prototype
Pilot
Launch
Post Launch
Purchasing
Mfg/Assy
Packaging
Design & Development
DVP&R
Supplier Development
Service Parts
DFMEA
MOS
Management
Review
Continual
Improvement
Customer
Satisfaction
Internal Audits
Corrective Action
Education &
Development
Information
Technology
Contingency
Planning
Cost of Poor Quality Tracking
Since tracking and continuous
improvement of the cost of poor qual-
ity (COPQ) is an ISO/TS 16949:2002
requirement (and the cost of quality
(COQ) includes COPQ), Lear was for-
tunate to have begun its COQ program
in 2001. Challenged by NAOs vice
president of quality to develop a COQ
program, the accounting department
was subsequently consulted. It was
actionline July/August 2004 29
discovered that the current database incorporated more than 300
different account labels, with each of the global facilities adding
information every month.
To comply with Jurans Quality Control Handbook COQ defini-
tion, approximately 130 COQ account labels were chosen. Each was
associated with its COQ category (e.g., prevention, appraisal, inter-
nal or external failures), and extensive sampling determined
assumptions for the percentage of each label to apply to the appro-
priate category. After devoting 400 hours over the last three years,
Lears COQ program has evolved to where data is now extracted
from its financial database into a database for charting purposes.
This intranet database enables global facilities to track specific COQ
and COPQ to their locale for continuous improvement purposes.
Many organizations may not have resources to develop a similar
COQ database. However, since tracking COPQ is a requirement, a
system is necessary. Lear suggests that an organization develop a
skeleton-like COPQ spreadsheet to satisfy requirements.
These key prioritiestop managements commitment, training,
common global policy and procedures, transition to the process
approach, training planning and effectiveness, and cost of poor
quality trackingprovided a strong foundation to Lears successful
ISO/TS 16949:2002 implementation.
Lear headquarters, as well as the NAO and European division
offices, passed their support sites portion of the ISO/TS 16949:2002
audit. All plants worldwide are on track to become registered
by OEM customers deadlines. More than 20 NAO manufacturing
facilities are registered, and the other NAO production sites are
maintaining QS-9000 certifications until ISO/TS 16949:2002 certifica-
tion is achieved. The majority of Lears European plants are already
registered to ISO/TS 16949:1999 and working in parallel with NAO
to be registered to ISO/TS 16949:2002.
Being able to work with an excellent global quality systems
group, and having support from Lear associates is a great advantage
when implementing changes, said Cooper. This is often an
arduous task!
Making ISO/TS 16949:2002 Work to Your Benefit
Cooper indicated that implementing new procedures and processes
only to obtain certification is not enough. Utilize ISO/TS 16949:2002
to provide your associates with a continuous improvement environ-
ment that stimulates their desire to meet and go beyond current
customers expectations, said Cooper. For as we all know, the best
strategic marketing plan for increased market share is a great
quality performance record.
Karen Whitmore is product manager of AIAGs quality initiatives.
Being able to work with an excellent global
quality systems group, and having support
from Lear associates is a great advantage
when implementing changes