TPM, tooling management & scheduling (IATF only)
Plain-language summary
Maintain production capability as a system: documented TPM with objectives and improvement, full lifecycle management of production tooling (in-house and at suppliers), and order-driven production scheduling fed by key planning information.
What the clause is really asking
TPM: identified process equipment, defined maintenance objectives/KPIs, planned maintenance, packaged spare parts availability, documented improvement of maintenance effectiveness (predictive elements expected). Tooling: resources for design/fabrication/verification, storage/repair, setup, change programmes for perishables, identification and status marking — including customer-owned tools and tooling at suppliers. Scheduling: to meet customer orders/demand (e.g. JIT) with information access for planning.
What auditors look for
Auditors check maintenance KPIs (MTBF/uptime/schedule adherence) and improvement evidence, sample a tool for its lifecycle records (status tag, repair history, customer marking where owned), and verify scheduling is genuinely order-driven with the planning data visible.
Typical evidence
TPM plan with KPIs and improvement records; spares strategy for key equipment; tool register with status/repairs/ownership marks; supplier tooling records; scheduling system extracts.
How to comply — recommendations
Start TPM on the constraint machines only — honest depth beats shallow breadth. Tag every tool with ID, status and owner (mark customer-owned clearly; it is their property and their auditors look). Review tool condition at every PM, not just at failure.
Common nonconformities
Maintenance purely reactive with no KPIs; tooling unidentified, history unknown; customer-owned tools unmarked; scheduling by tribal knowledge with no demand link.
Related clauses
Builds on ISO 9001 8.5.1 / 7.1.3
In the book
Chapter 8 — Operation — Where the Product Is Won or Lost treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble. This IATF requirement is covered in the Automotive Edition, in the same six blocks as the ISO clause around it.
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