Have you completed your Materials Management Operations Guideline/Logistics Evaluation (MMOG/LE) assessment?

Many automotive suppliers are required by customers to complete the MMOG/LE self-assessment. Some companies are using the MMOG/LE because it is an effective tool for identifying weaknesses in plant operations and an excellent method for continual improvement.

Some of the benefits of MMOG/LE include reduced costs associated with premium freight, obsolescence, inventory carrying costs and administrative costs.

OEM Requirements:
Chrysler Group LLC – All suppliers must complete the MMOG/LE assessment by December 31, 2010

Ford Motor Company – All suppliers are required to submit their completed MMOG/LE between May 1 and July 31 annually

General Motors Company – All tier 1 direct material suppliers will be required to complete version 3 of MMOG/LE by the end of February, 2011

Renault – All suppliers must complete a Global MMOG/LE assessment annually

Volvo – All suppliers must complete a Global MMOG/LE assessment annually

According to the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), The new Measurement Systems Analysis Reference Manual (MSA), Fourth Edition is now available!

Developed jointly by Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Company, the MSA reference manual provides guidance to automotive suppliers. The manual does not define requirements; it is a recommended guidance document and provides reference for selecting procedures to assess the quality of a measurement system.

The AIAG says that companies can begin using the MSA 4th Edition immediately. Due to the release of the MSA 4th Edition, the MSA 3rd Edition is now obsolete and no longer available through AIAG. However, it is recommended that you keep a copy of the MSA 3rd Edition for reference purposes.

The manual can be purchased through the AIAG. For additional help with MSA, contact G3 Solutions today!

A recent update from AIAG has announced that the new (CQI-15) Special Process: Welding System Assessment and (CQI-17) Special Process: Soldering System Assessment are now available in both hard copy and electronically as e-documents.

According to the AIAG update, “CQI-15 and CQI-17 focus on continual improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. The Soldering System Assessment helps frame a common approach to a soldering management system for automotive production and service part organizations, while the Welding System Assessment does the same for welding management systems. In addition, both assessments support the automotive process approach in ISO/TS 16949.”

These documents join the family of other CQI assessment documents that include automotive supplier self-assessments CQI-9, CQI-11 & CQI-12 for heat treating, plating, and coatings. The assessments are part of the customer specific requirements for ISO/TS 16949. Chrysler will require CQI-14 self-certification from suppliers in 2011.

For more info on these assessments, contact G3 Solutions today!

ISO/TS 16949:2009, Quality management systems – Particular requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2008 for automotive production and relevant service part organizations, replaces the 2002 edition which has been used by the major automotive manufacturers to provide a baseline quality system for over 35,000 organizations worldwide that produce and supply parts for the automotive industry.

The 2009 edition was initiated to ensure its compatibility with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, Quality management systems – Requirements. There are no essential changes to the technical requirements. The modifications are mainly clarifications of certain requirements and do not add any additional requirements.

According to the IOS, up to the end of December 2008, at least 39,300 ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificates had been issued in 81 countries and economies. This represents a 12 % increase over 2007.

The IATF has set a transition period of 120 days from date of publication of the new edition – 15 June – for organizations to comply with the standard’s requirements. The details of the plan are given in a communiqué by the IATF Oversight Certification Body.

ISO/TS 16949:2009 was prepared by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), with the support of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, which is responsible for the ISO 9000 family of quality management standards. Copies of the standard can be ordered through iso.org or other groups such as aiag.org – be sure to upgrade your copy today!

For more information on ISO/TS 16949, contact G3 Solutions today!

You can’t avoid news about the current economic climate, whether it relates to here in the states or abroad. Despite all the reports of banks and financial institutions facing hardship, no other industry has been hit as hard as manufacturing, especially automotive.

As a result, have quality and enviromnmental efforts at your facility improved or have they been put on the back burner?

How has your company dealt with maintaining its quality and environmental goals and objectives?

Are your company’s ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949 or ISO 14001 systems losing steam or are they becoming stronger as a means to be more competitive?

Log in and let us know what your company is doing. We want to hear your story.

Visit our full website at www.g3iso.com today!