Peregrine Semiconductor Achieves ISO/TS 16949 Quality System Certification

“We have worked diligently to reach this milestone and are very proud of this achievement,” said Gene Lyons, the company’s vice-president of Quality Assurance. “Our global customers already know that we provide high-performance, high-quality RF components. This certification to the ISO/TS 16949 standard validates our commitment to excellence from development through production.”

The ISO/TS 16949:2009 Quality Standard was developed by IATF (International Automotive Task Force) members and approved by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for publication. It is an industry-specific Quality Management System (QMS) catering to automotive markets with the following objectives: to promote continuous improvement; to emphasize defect prevention; and reduce waste and variation.

Peregrine’s UltraCMOS® RFICs are already used in remote keyless entry applications found in vehicle systems worldwide. According to Lyons, the quality demands apply not only to automotive customers but also to those in the telecommunications, aerospace, test and measurement, medical and general industrial markets.

“Our goal is to ensure we have robust, repeatable and documented methodologies and systems to consistently produce products at a quality level required not only by the automotive industry, but also by leading OEMs in the high-volume wireless market,” Lyons added.

In order to maintain the ISO/TS 16949 certification, Peregrine will be required to participate in annual follow-up audits. Lyons said these audits will help the company “improve against established performance benchmarks, and ensure customer satisfaction.”