ABSTRACT
QS-9000 is a harmonization of DaimlerChrysler’s Supplier Quality Assurance Manual, Ford’s Q-101 Quality System Standard, and General Motors’ NAO Targets for Excellence, with input from the following truck manufacturers: Freightliner Mack Trucks, Navistar International, PACCAR, and Volvo GM Heavy Truck. QS-9000 was created to improve product quality and company productivity by effectively reducing waste, variation, and defects in the automotive industry’s products, just as the ISO 9000 series of standards did for general industrial operations. In fact, QS-9000 is based upon the 1994 revision of ISO 9001 and includes the text of the ISO 9001 standard. Over 100 additional auditable requirements were added to make the types of applications required by the Big Three more specific. The goal of QS-9000, as stated in its introduction, is “the development of fundamental quality systems that provide for continuous improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain.”
