Automobile standards
The Automobile having become a world product: the parts are manufactured in many countries, and the sale is not limited any more to only one country and thus only a Réglementation, it was necessary to determine continental or international Norme S, in order to unify the regulations, and to standardize certain parts. One can separate the standards in two categories which are the standards in connection with Sécurité and the standards Technique S.
Quality assurance
The standard ISO TS 16949 is relating to the quality assurance in the car (derivative of the standard ISO 9001), This standard is today necessary to be able to work with a car manufacturer as an equipment supplier.
Security standards
Most of the standards in the car aims to make the car surest possible. In this case the respect of the standards is necessary to the Homologation vehicle. These standards are enacted either on the level Internationale (standards ISO), or continental (Europe…), or in certain countries on the level main road (Japan…)In Europe the application of these standards becomes obligatory after a decision of the European commission via a Community Directive.
Example of standards
- Standard relating to the Combustibility of materials in order to make sure that the car does not ignite too quickly
- Norme relating to the use of dangerous materials
- Norme relating to the contactability (not of projecting parts in the cockpit of a car.
- etc
Technical standards
The automobile world, thanks to its enormous production capacity, publishes in certain fields its technical own standards. Let us quote for example the Engrenage S of the Gear box S, whose properties (dimensions of teeth) are given by the manufacturers. Another examples, the bearings, which are normally standard elements, created by the manufacturer of bearing, and not-modifiable, are elaborate compared to the requests of the manufacturers, and thus designed to measure.
Compatibility of the standards
However in addition to the international standards or European, the manufacturers impose their technical specifications on their subcontractor, or must face, still with national standards. These standards (and the way of controlling their respect by testing methods) vary according to the manufacturers and the countries what present compatibility issues of the standards for the equipment suppliers and under treating. That makes difficult the adaptation of a car to a country.An important challenge for the future is not thus to continue with Harmoniser all the standards in order to not have any more but international standards. That will increase competition between the manufacturers in the whole world.
Evolution of the standards
There is a work very important to realize to make sure of the respect of all the standards necessary to the homologation of the vehicle. It is necessary to take account of the evolution of the standards of it (and thus to create a day before), throughout the process of Conception and Fabrication. That proves sometimes complicated: because a standard can return to another standard which evolved/moved and which returns again towards another standard… It is sometimes difficult to know which standards really apply.
Limits of the standards
Sometimes, the manufacturers may find it beneficial not to respect certain standards. It perhaps interesting to create specific tools to replace a part in order to oblige the owners of a car to going in the garages of the mark. Moreover certain countries balk to make evolve their standards to the international standards in the aim of protection their auto industry of the Concurrence of the foreign marks.