INTRODUCTION

The Phoenix Group was contacted by a major midwestern automotive supplier to assist with IATF16949 compliance issues at two facilities.

Challenges

Client’s IATF Certification had been suspended at Facility 1 due to 9 major non-conformances. This facility faced the risk of losing IATF certification if the issues were not resolved before an upcoming verification audit. Facility 2 faced an upcoming surveillance audit with a risk of suspension/loss of certification for similar issues. These challenges were exacerbated by staffing shortages, recent turnover having left both facilities understaffed in the Quality department. Senior management was undergoing reorganization, which meant that there was no clear ownership of many critical roles and tasks.

The Phoenix Difference

Because of the short time frame to address the outstanding issues, TPG committed to providing an experienced team to work the problem from several directions simultaneously. The TPG team worked “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the client’s personnel, accompanying the Gemba team on walks, attending production mtgs, conducting process audits, and interviewing personnel in all departments at all levels. This organic approach allowed the TPG team to not only address the immediate problem (correcting the outstanding non-conformances) but also to address the fundamental weaknesses that led to the issues. The TPG team program managed the entire process – set schedules, prioritized actions, ran meetings. The client only had to provide required outcomes – TPG did the rest. After the initial evaluation and interviews had been conducted, the TPG team got to work developing solutions to get the client’s Quality System back on track, writing new procedures/policies and improving existing ones and developing new Quality System tools (e.g., calibration program, work instructions, CAR process). TPG’s “shoulder-to-shoulder” philosophy effectively provided OJT for customer personnel – TPG not only developed solutions but also educated customer personnel on the “How and Why” behind those solutions, giving them the tools needed to better understand and maintain the QMS.

Results

Client’s Facility 1 closed out all pending Corrective Actions and passed the verification audit, resulting in the restoration of their IATF certification. Client Facility 2 facility passed surveillance audit with no major non-conformances. Post audit, the client requested additional TPG assistance in developing procedures for their transformation team.