Powering Performance

On March 4, 2019, AIAG and the Alabama Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (AAMA) cohosted the 2019 Southern Automotive Quality Summit in Birmingham, Alabama. Attended by nearly 150 people, this year’s event featured a strong lineup of speakers from Toyota, Honda, DENSO, the University of Alabama in Hunstville, and AIAG, discussing topics pertaining to the summit’s theme, “Engaging Your Workforce in Quality.”

The co-hosted AIAG/AAMA Southern Automotive Quality Summit (SAQS) is fast approaching! In anticipation of the event, we connected with our opening OEM speaker, Emily Lauder – vice president of administration, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi – for industry insights, informed advice and more.

We’re down to the wire! In the final weeks before the AIAG/AAMA Southern Automotive Quality Summit on March 5^th in beautiful Birmingham, Alabama, we’re looking forward to hearing from our incredible speaker lineup. You won’t want to miss out on sessions like these!

As chair of AIAG’s Quality Steering Committee, there’s no doubt that Harald Wilhelm – head of Quality Processes and Standards, North America at Continental – brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Sitting down for an interview just days after celebrating his 30th anniversary with Continental, Harald shared his thoughts on the importance of getting involved, staying informed and keeping up with industry news. 

Traceability provides product visibility throughout the automotive supply chain, helping organizations identify products by location and product/process characteristic while assisting in streamlining product callbacks, containment, and inventory management. OEMs and suppliers have implemented numerous product traceability solutions – but until now, there hasn’t been a guideline that outlines the standardized best practices endorsed by the automotive industry. That’s where AIAG’s new Traceability Guideline comes in.

In 2012, AIAG introduced the Core Tools Self-Assessment (CTSA) as a means to measure an individual’s Core Tools proficiency and identify areas for improvement. The CTSA is a timed, open book self-assessment that covers APQP/PPAP, FMEA, MSA and SPC and is offered in eight different languages.  Exam questions are tied to the proctored Core Tools certification exams offered by AIAG.

In a ground-breaking automotive quality survey conducted by AIAG in collaboration with Deloitte Consulting, problem solving was identified as one of the most critical issues impacting quality for the global automotive industry.

AIAG’s Traceability Guideline draft, identified as CQI-28, is currently available for stakeholder review through October 17, 2018.

AIAG’s Traceability Workgroup is proud to announce that its new Traceability Guideline, identified as CQI-28, is now available for stakeholder review. Created by a cross-functional and multi-organizational workgroup, the document contains guidance to meeting IATF 16949 traceability requirements, presents a basis for traceability methods and technologies relevant to the automotive industry and concludes with a self-assessment and fire drill forms. Additionally, best practices – and in some cases “bad practices” – are presented to guide and inspire thought for organizations that are creating or evaluating their traceability systems.

Does your organization need help eliminating repeat problems and implementing sustainable improvements in your products or processes?