One of the key changes to the IATF 16949:2016 Automotive QMS standard is the requirement for the inclusion of a customer-specific requirements document (matrix) as a part of various aspects of your QMS. A new requirement found in 7.5.1.1 QMS documentation states “The quality manual shall include, at a minimum (d) a document (i.e. matrix) indicating where within the organization’s quality management system their customer-specific requirements are met.” The Applicability Matrix vs. CSRs (customer-specific requirements) provides you with a massive head start at satisfying this new requirement.
This tool can (and should) also be used to satisfy new requirements for internal (7.2.3) and second-party auditor competency (7.2.4). As a part of the audit planning work, auditors can use this tool to ensure they are properly aware of, and sampling, customer-specific requirements during the process(es) they’re scheduled to audit.