Quality

Quality in the automotive industry
Quality objectives and their importance
Supplier approval
Cooperation for improved quality

Quality in the automotive industry
In the past few years, requirements and expectations in the automotive industry have greatly increased. At the same time, there is intense competition between market participants in terms of quality, costs, and customer satisfaction. Today, all of the major automotive manufacturers expect perfect quality and low prices from their suppliers; this is not considered a contradiction.

To fulfil these requirements, we have systematically developed our quality management system for suppliers in our Behr Quality Drive (BQD). Our quality requirements for suppliers are globally defined and applicable at all locations. When selecting our suppliers, we look for the highest quality standards, using established methods such as certifications and our own audits of production methods, materials, and test procedures. These stipulations for supplier quality apply to all locations and affiliated companies.

Quality objectives and their importance
By continually developing our supplier quality objectives, we have now reached the step of stipulating a general quality objective of 0 ppm. Today, most of our customers, the international automobile manufacturers, stipulate 0 ppm as the mandatory quality objective. We can only satisfy our customers if we also expect this objective from our suppliers.

We expect our suppliers to implement and maintain a functional quality management system so that they can meet our quality demands. Proof is provided through certification according to ISO/TS 16949: 2002 by an accredited certification company, which guarantees an independent assessment and ensures comparability of the audit results. A quality management system ensures that the supplier's processes are systematic and state of the art.

Supplier approval
All suppliers of production material must be explicitly approved by Behr. This helps make sure that our own requirements, as well as those of our customers and the ISO TS 16949:2002 regarding quality, technology, purchasing, are met. Approval is granted specifically for one of the supplier’s production locations and one material group at a time and is accepted at all Behr locations worldwide. The approved suppliers are added to our Global Supplier List (GSL).

Behr expects the supplier to use state-of-the-art quality tools common to the industry. We place special importance on the quality tools and methods, which are mandatory, for example:

• Entering and working with key figures
• Subcontractor management
• Knowledge database
• Continuous improvement process

Cooperation for improved quality
We support our suppliers in developing their quality management further if they are not directly approved after an initial audit. Together with our suppliers, we also assess deviations from our requirements and develop a concept for the required improvements, if necessary. This type of process can be started with a new supplier as well as with an existing supplier who supplies us from a new location or with new material groups. The developmental goal is to improve the suppliers in the necessary areas and qualify them for our quality requirements.