Customer-designated special characteristics (IATF only)
Plain-language summary
Whatever the customer marks as special — safety, fit, function, regulatory — must be identified, documented and controlled exactly as they require, with their symbols and approval rules followed.
What the clause is really asking
Conform to customer requirements for designation, approval documentation and control of special characteristics: their symbols on your documents, their definitions, their rules.
What auditors look for
Auditors take a customer drawing with special characteristic symbols and trace each one: PFMEA? Control plan? Work instruction? Operator aware? Customer-required approvals in place? A symbol on the drawing missing from the control plan is the textbook finding.
Typical evidence
Special characteristics matrix; drawings/PFMEA/control plan correlation; customer symbol conversion table; operator instructions showing the marks.
How to comply — recommendations
Keep one special characteristics master list per part with the customer symbol, your symbol and where it is controlled. Audit the drawing-to-control-plan thread yourself before every customer audit — it is their favourite trail too.
Common nonconformities
Special characteristic on the drawing absent from PFMEA/control plan; customer symbols 'translated' inconsistently; operators unaware a characteristic is special.
Related clauses
Builds on ISO 9001 8.2.3; links IATF 8.3.3.3
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.