As a Certified Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA) participant, you will have the first awareness of quality tools and their uses and will be included in quality improvement projects, but you will not necessarily come from the traditional quality area. Those new to quality, process leader practitioners, and those who support the practice of business excellence will benefit from formal recognition of competence in the fundamentals of quality and process improvement.

What are the core competencies of a CQIA?

• Explain the main events in the development of quality.
• Identify and describe the basic elements of Total Quality Management (TQM) and understand how organizations manage the implementation of TQM.
• Distinguish between the Total Quality Management opinions of six quality experts and two Six Sigma quality approaches and the Baldrige Program.
• Understand the role of process management in total quality management and the interconnection between processes and systems.
• Learn to use the quality tools necessary to help improve operations.
• Define the various quality concepts related to quality development, total quality management, operations management, and the necessary quality tools.
• Know the importance of the relationship between the client and the supplier and the roles and responsibilities of the team.
  

Add value to your organization

Employees with a basic understanding of quality tools and their use will be better prepared to lead and participate in improvement initiatives.

• Reducing costs:
  When applied consistently over time, quality can lower costs across the business, especially in the areas of scrap, rework, field service, and warranty cost.
  
• Team-based results development:
  Over time, a greater focus on team roles and types can lead to higher quality and efficiency in team projects.
  
• Better relationships between suppliers and customers:
  Understanding the tools necessary to obtain and implement customer feedback can improve product/service quality and help develop a long-term relationship between customer and supplier.
  

What is important for you?

• An enhanced skill set prepares you for more jobs in modern work environments.
• CQIA certification can be considered as the first step towards qualification for other ASQ Certifications.
• An excellent foundational understanding of quality concepts for recent college graduates or people changing industries or joining the quality workforce for the first time.

Qualifications and requirements for CQIA certification:
CQIA candidates require two years of work experience, an associate's degree, or two years of equivalent higher education.

Is recertification required?
No, the CQIA is a lifetime certification.

CQIA Learning Resources and Certificate Preparation
Quality 101 (online learning)
Certified Quality Improvement Associate's Manual, Third Edition

Common job functions:
Administrative coordinator
Analyst
Assistant
Advisor
Improvement specialist
Director of the Inspector
The operator or worker
Project manager
Supervisor
Technical

Joint Industries:
Education
Energy
Government
Health care
Information technology
Manufacturing
Army
Medicines
Retail
Services
Transportation

Main market trends
Certified Quality Improvement Partners Always Wanted - Companies want to cut their budgets while delivering a satisfying product on time. Job prospects are best for those with relevant degrees and work experience.

Specialists have estimated that the cost of poor quality (COPQ) generally equates to 5-30 percent of total sales to manufacturing and service companies. Independent studies reveal that COPQ costs companies millions of dollars each year and reducing it could turn marginally successful companies into profitable ones.