DETROIT-AIAG announces the launch of its Supply Chain Institute, which will offer aptitude certification to validate and verify the effectiveness of Quality Core Tools training received from any organization.

Every year the automotive industry invests millions of dollars in training for automotive quality, but new product launches are still being delayed or compromised because of quality performance shortfalls.

The goal of AIAG's Supply Chain Institute is to reduce the incidents and unplanned costs associated with new-product launch delays because of quality issues and to measure investment return on quality training dollars for suppliers.

Certificate holders will belong to a group of quality professionals that can demonstrate Quality Core Tool proficiency to their employers, while the organizations that employ them can demonstrate these same qualifications to their customers.

Each Quality Core Tool five-year certification will verify that the individual has the foundation to meet the competency requirements as defined in ISO/TS 16949: 2002 clauses and the applicable Quality Core Tool reference manual. Certification to each specific Quality Core Tool requires successful completion of both a knowledge and application exam.

Certification will be conducted at AIAG's Supply Chain Institute, headquartered in Southfield, MI, or can be held at a company's own facility. AIAG plans to extend the Supply Chain Institute into other countries, including China and India.

For more information, visit www.aiag.org.