AIAG Automotive News – by Deanne Sparr

AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group), along with AAMA (Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association) recently held the first inaugural Southern Automotive Quality Summit in Birmingham, AL.  The purpose of the Summit was to bring OEMs, suppliers and other interested parties together to provide strength to the growing automotive industry located in the South, comprised of 13 OEMs located in Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. 

Quality and safety improvements to eliminate the lingering reminder of the 51 million vehicle recalls over 9 campaigns in the automotive industry in 2015 was a major component of the conference.  Other topics and discussions revolved around employee workforce development, supply chain support, quality system improvement and failure management.

A common theme to many of the presentations was legacy loss – the loss of critical human skills – and the impact on organizational culture related to safety and quality efforts.  A solution to this problem is employee development.  Although this can be difficult to support for many companies, training and understanding of workplace and industry standards needs to be a high priority and an ongoing process.     

At simpleQuE, one of our Core Values is eliminating waste and activities not contributing to the customer’s objectives.  Our training improves employee understanding of the quality management system and customer specific requirements through the many courses designed specific to the automotive industry.  Due to heavy scrutiny by certification bodies during IATF 16949 audits, there’s been significant interest in our hands-on, customized workshops to develop effective PFMEA’s and control plans.

Visit our website for public Automotive Training or call us today at 740-305-0868 ext. 204 to discuss customized on-site training for your team.