IATF 16949
Explanation of why WACKER has had part of its silicone production certified to the IATF 16949 standard
Oct 05, 2022 Read time: approx. MinutesMinute
Zero Errors: the New Norm
WACKER has had part of its silicone production certified to the IATF 16949 standard – thus opening the door to new automotive-sector markets. After all, today’s cars wouldn’t work without silicone rubber – regardless of whether they have a conventional or electric drive.
Thermally conductive silicone-based gap fillers optimize heat transfer between an electronic circuit that heats up during operation and the heat sink.
In 2016, the International Automotive Task Force – a group of major automotive manufacturers and international automotive associations – published the IATF 16949 automotive standard. The automotive industry uses this standard to summarize the requirements that have to be met by suppliers’ organizational structures and quality management systems. WACKER, too, has now had part of its silicone business at its sites in Burghausen (Germany) and Zhangjiagang (China) certified to IATF 16949. Two-component silicone rubber formulations that are cured at room temperature by an addition reaction to form silicone elastomers are produced in the certified plants. Under the brand names SEMICOSIL®, ELASTOSIL® and WACKER SilGel®, they are used as thermally conductive gap fillers, silicone adhesives, potting compounds, and more.
Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper, head of Global Customer Service, and Dr. Sebastian Rommel, Global Segment Manager – Automotive, who jointly promoted the certification, discuss their project.
Dr. Sebastian Rommel is Global Segment Manager – Automotive at WACKER SILICONES.
WACKER Magazine: What are the automotive industry’s goals with IATF 16949?
Dr. Sebastian Rommel: With this standard, the automotive industry wants to minimize all risks that might threaten production, and to ensure that suppliers operate reliably. The industry is aiming for continuous, absolutely smooth automotive production. To achieve these goals, the automotive industry uses the IATF standard to impose strict requirements on the organizational structures and the quality and risk management of its suppliers.
Customers know WACKER for the consistently high quality of its products. Why does the automotive industry have to get this specially certified?
Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper: The automotive industry has exceptionally high requirements that relate to the sector’s typical supply chain. Suppliers are responsible for at least three-quarters of the entire value creation inherent in the production of a vehicle. Carmakers process the supplied parts and materials using fast and highly automated manufacturing processes. Assembly lines standing idle because of faulty components or materials, or a delivery delay, would result in high costs. If you consider the costs in the event of a product recall, not to mention the damage to a company’s image, it is understandable that a special standard for a highly engineered and complex entity like a car was implemented. To ensure value creation, automotive manufacturers expect a zero-error strategy from their suppliers. The IATF 16949 standard is intended to ensure zero errors throughout the entire value creation chain. A supplier not certified to this standard has almost no chance of working directly with the car industry.
“The electromobility revolution is proceeding apace, so that demand for silicone specialties is growing rapidly.”
Dr. Sebastian Rommel
What are the main requirements of IATF 16949?
Schneppensieper: Error avoidance, risk management and reliability are at the core of IATF 16949. The notion of error avoidance is particularly important: instead of reacting to malfunctions and correcting errors, such errors should not even arise. This minimizes the failure risk for automotive manufacturers and the liability risk for suppliers. The standard not only states what needs to be done, but also specifies how this should be achieved, i.e. which specific quality-assurance measures need to be taken. It also entails meeting every single customer-specific requirement in full. In addition, IATF 16949 requires suppliers to continually improve their processes. The automotive standard formulates requirements regarding processes, workflows and management methods for those parts of the company that develop and manufacture products for the automotive industry.
WACKER SILICONES has allowed itself several years for the certification. Why is the business division performing the certification just now?
Rommel: Until recently, material manufacturers hardly ever supplied the automotive producers directly. In the past, our silicone products for automotive applications were supplied almost exclusively to part and component manufacturers, and thereby to companies operating in upstream stages of the value creation pyramid. However, with the transformation to electromobility, the supply chain has changed: some automotive manufacturers now manufacture key systems for electric vehicles – such as drive batteries or on-board charging units – themselves or in joint ventures with suppliers. Suitable materials – including silicone products from our portfolio – are increasingly needed directly at the automotive manufacturers’ production lines. The electromobility revolution is proceeding apace, so that demand for silicone specialties is growing rapidly. We – WACKER – want to participate in this growth market. That’s why this was the perfect time for us to obtain certification.
Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper is in charge of Global Customer Service at WACKER SILICONES’ Regulatory Affairs and Quality Performance unit.
Are there silicone products that have become indispensable for electric vehicles?
Rommel: We are seeing extraordinarily high demand for silicone-based thermally conductive materials from the automotive manufacturers – for example for our thermally conductive gap fillers and thermally conductive potting compounds. Such materials are used in electric vehicles, for example for thermal management of the drive batteries and the charging unit. Both components get very hot during use, particularly during fast charging, which can lead to severe damage unless adequate cooling is provided. Thermally conductive materials help to effectively dissipate the generated heat to the heat sinks or the cooling system and thereby ensure reliable operation and a long lifetime. Thermally conductive potting compounds can additionally perform yet another function: they protect the surface of the power control units against environmental effects. Both types of silicone-based thermally conductive materials have become indispensable in the manufacture of electric vehicles, because silicones are not only electrically insulating but also heat and aging resistant, and therefore have superior properties to other classes of materials.
Which parts of the company has WACKER had certified according to IATF 16949?
Schneppensieper: Of course, it primarily involved the manufacture of thermally conductive silicone products. They include addition-curing RTV-2 compounds. These are two-component silicone-rubber formulations that are cured by an addition reaction to form a silicone elastomer. We have therefore certified those parts of the company that manufacture these RTV-2 silicones – specifically, certain areas of the silicone plants at our sites in Burghausen (Germany) and Zhangjiagang (China) – together with all the supporting functions such as product development, strategic planning, HR, procurement, marketing and sales.
“To achieve value creation, automotive manufacturers expect a zero-error strategy from their suppliers.”
Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper
What test organization conducted the certification and what was the procedure like?
Schneppensieper: We commissioned TÜV Nord to do the certification. As specified in the standard, we first had to submit a detailed plan for the quality management system of the company part to the test organization, and show with suitable documentation that we had already been working for a year according to the stipulations of IATF 16949. We had already identified and eliminated weaknesses, adapted our workflows and processes to the requirements of the standard and installed additional systems for error avoidance. For example, as part of our continuous improvement efforts, we pursued the long-term goal of building up our automation to almost entirely eliminate manual errors by our operators. After examining the submitted documents, TÜV Nord conducted an initial audit with us, the so-called phase 1 audit, and assessed us as ready for certification. Some weeks later, two auditors then spent several days with us to put our quality management system through its paces in the phase 2 audit. Having passed the audit, we received the certificates in January 2022.
Does that mean that WACKER now offers its entire portfolio of addition-curing RTV-2 silicones with IATF certification?
Rommel: No, not at all. An IATF-compliant quality management system and production setup involves far too much work – and is just not needed in many cases. Although we manufacture all our addition-curing RTV-2 silicones in the plants with certified parts of the company, we only selectively offer certain silicone compounds to the automotive industry within the scope of the certification. We signal this selection to our business partners with the name “WACKER SILICONES Automotive Solutions” – WACKER SAS for short – which we use in our sales brochures and other documentation. Besides the silicone-based thermally conductive materials, this portfolio includes special automotive silicone adhesives, as well as a steadily growing number of other, non-thermally conductive RTV-2 compounds.
How does WACKER benefit from the certification?
Rommel: “By fulfilling the IATF standard, we have created robust – i.e. failure-proof – transparent and traceable processes and workflows for our RTV-2 silicone plants.” Certification allows us to prove to the automotive industry that we are a reliable business partner. This opens doors for us to new markets in the world of the automotive manufacturers.
Contact
For more information on this topic, please contact:
Mr. Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper
Global Customer Service
WACKER SILICONES
+49 8677 83-86345
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