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AIAG Year 2000 Task Force Implements Common Assessment Program For Automotive Suppliers

14 October 1997

AIAG Year 2000 Task Force Implements Common Assessment Program For Automotive Suppliers

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 14 -_ With only 808 days remaining
before the end of the century, the Big Three automakers and the Automotive
Industry Action Group (AIAG) Year 2000 Task Force have implemented an
aggressive assessment program and support mechanism intended to aid in a
smooth automotive industry transition into the next millennium.
    The Task Force has selected 50,000 Tier One supplier sites, on a global
basis, for participation in the Year 2000 assessment program.  Earlier this
month, supplier CEOs were mailed a Year 2000 self-assessment packet along with
a letter from the Big Three purchasing executives, which requested companies
return completed surveys to the AIAG by Oct. 31.  The surveys will be updated
on an on-going basis and used by Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General
Motors Corp. for tracking Year 2000 readiness throughout the supply chain.
    Suppliers completing the survey will be given on-line access to a Year
2000 Tool Kit which includes a Year 2000 tips and techniques database, a plant
floor equipment knowledge database and their self-assessment survey.  AIAG has
already opened a Year 2000 Information Center in Southfield, Mich. and created
a help line staffed by industry professionals supplied by Deloitte & Touche
Consulting Group and Coopers & Lybrand Consulting.
    "The interactive survey database will provide suppliers the ability to
update their surveys as their readiness status changes," said Don Blair,
associate director on loan from Dana Corporation.  "AIAG will monitor supplier
progress toward readiness on behalf of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors."
    According to Blair, the AIAG Year 2000 Task Force is continuing to work on
ways to help suppliers with their Year 2000 efforts and is targeting the end
of 1998 for industry-wide readiness, allowing for testing throughout 1999.
The AIAG Year 2000 Task Force also is working with other automakers for
possible inclusion in the program.
    Founded in 1982, AIAG is a not-for-profit trade association of more than
1,300 North American auto and truck manufacturers and their suppliers.
Originally recognized for its efforts to standardize electronic data
interchange (EDI) and bar code standards to assist Tier One suppliers, AIAG's
mission has expanded to cover all levels of the OEM supply chain, as well as
to include numerous programs and initiatives aimed at improving its members'
productivity and quality.
    More information about the Year 2000 problem, AIAG and its annual
 AUTO-TECH Conference & Exposition can be found at http://www.aiag.org.

SOURCE  Automotive Industry Action Group