Continental Sime Achieves Quality Management Certification

Malaysia’s Continental Sime Tyre PJ Sdn. Bhd has recently been granted ISO/TS 16949 certification. The international quality management system for the automotive industry is primarily applicable for dealings with OE customers, however the company adds it is also important for future business opportunities, as the fulfilment of ISO/TS 16949 requirements confirms that the certified company delivers a high level of quality and that the quality control system in place is working effectively.

The certification process, performed by SIRIM QAS International, was carried out in two stages – a readiness audit, followed by a recertification audit. The first stage was conducted over two days in April 2008, the purpose being to verify that the company was ready for certification. The second and more demanding stage was performed over a three-day period in June, observed by four external auditors. The Continental Sime reports that its team receive constructive suggestions for the implementation of further improvements.

“The whole CST PJ team worked very hard for this achievement, and was rewarded with the confirmation that we passed, but this is not the time to rest on our laurels and say ‘job done’”, said plant quality manager Mark Scott. “We will carry on improving day by day to become what we in our company call: Q-BIC (Quality Best In Class).”

ISO/TS 16949 certification was jointly developed by members of the International Automotive Oversight Bureau (BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault SA, Volkswagen, along with their respective trade associations, and submitted to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval and publication. The document is a common automotive quality system requirements catalogue based on ISO 9001:2000 and specific requirements from the automotive sector. This document, coupled with customer-specific requirements, defines quality system requirements for use in the automotive supply chain.