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7.5.1.1IATF 16949 ONLYIATF 16949:2016

QMS documentation (IATF only)

Plain-language summary

Your QMS must be documented as a quality manual (one document or a set) including scope, documented processes, their sequence and interactions, and a matrix showing where customer-specific requirements are addressed.

What the clause is really asking

ISO 9001 dropped the compulsory manual; IATF kept it. Format is free (document, set, electronic) but it must show the system's structure and — the part most miss — include or reference a CSR matrix mapping each customer requirement to where your system handles it.

What auditors look for

Auditors ask for the manual and check the four contents, then spend their time on the CSR matrix: pick a customer requirement, find it in the matrix, follow it to the process that implements it.

Typical evidence

Quality manual (any format); process interaction map; CSR-to-process matrix per automotive customer.

How to comply — recommendations

Keep the manual thin: scope, the process map, one page per process, and the CSR matrix as a living appendix updated with every CSR revision (link this to your 4.3.2 register — same data, one maintenance effort).

Common nonconformities

No CSR matrix at all (very common); manual describing a system that no longer matches reality; interactions shown nowhere.

Related clauses

Builds on ISO 9001 7.5 / links to IATF 4.3.2

Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of ISO 9001 / IATF 16949 for the authoritative text.