ELECTRIC MOTOR and inverter manufacturer Helix has received leading industry certification for its motor and inverter automotive production programmes at its Milton Keynes Technical Centre and Flexible Manufacturing Facility at Shenley Wood.
The certification, which has taken two years to achieve, is key to Helix’s substantial growth in higher-volume programmes enabled by the launch last year of its Scaleable Core Technology platform architecture.
International Automotive Task Force 16949:2016 is a global quality standard for automotive manufacturers and their supply chains. It sets out how businesses should ensure the quality of their output and their ability to supply original equipment manufacturers.
With IATF 16949:2016, Helix is now looking forward to bringing its electric motor and inverter technologies to larger volume customers.
Chief manufacturing officer Richard Smith said: “Helix already operated to the required standard and now that standard is influencing our future planning. As it becomes more embedded in what we do, we are building the requirements of the standard into our thinking for the future while we continue expanding our volume production capability.”
IATF 16949:2016 certification is valid for three years, after which certificate holders are subject to a BSI recertification audit. An internal audit process and annual BSI surveillance audit take place during the certification period. The standard also requires Helix to run a level of validation with its supply chain.
Fulvia Levino, Helix’s quality systems manager, said: “Work on the two-stage IATF certification process began in 2020 and involved complying with BSI certification planning as well as creating a ‘roadmap’ for IATF compliance. BSI issued the IATF 16949 certificate in June 2023 and it means that every Helix automotive production programme will now be completed to the global industry standard.”
