- Auditing
- Cost of Quality
- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Data Quality
- Design of Experiments
- Engineering
- Environmental Manag. and Sustainability
- Global Quality
- Human Resources
- Innovation
- Inspection
- ISO 14000
- ISO 9000
- Leadership
- Lean
- Metrology
- Problem Solving
- Process Capability
- Process Management
- Product Development and Recall
- Project Management
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Safety
- Six Sigma
- Social Responsibility
- Software Quality
- Standards
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Statistics
- Supplier Quality
- Teams
- Total Quality Management
- TL 9000
- ISO/TS 16949
- ISO 26000
- Certification/Registration (management system Standards)
- Risk Management
- Software and Technology (for statistics, measurement, analysis)
- Customer Requirements
- Economic Case for Quality
Expert Answers: November 2009
The TOPS way of getting to the root cause ... Repair vs. rework...
Danger Zones
I’ve often been asked to identify the toughest questions in the Baldrige criteria. Which questions make or break an assessment? What answers does an examiner seek that aren’t explicitly asked for in the criteria? What questions are the hidden jewels?...
Expert Answers: June 2009
Auditing management systems ... ISO 9001 trouble ... Crunching the numbers for product specifications....
The Right Mix
Six Sigma offers a framework for process improvement based on objective data. W. Edwards Deming once said, “In God we trust: All others bring data.” For many Six Sigma practitioners, that’s become their undying motto....
FMEA Minus the Pain
Failure mode effects analysis has stood the test of time as a powerful risk assessment tool for products, processes and systems....
A Simple Plan
For more than 100 years, U.S. manufacturers have advanced equipment and manufacturing technologies to constantly monitor progress and drive process improvement....
Expert Answers: January 2009
Indirect measures of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction can include the number of referrals and recommendations made by customers, market share, sales, repeat sales and customer retention. Some companies can make use of customer satisfaction data p...
Salary Survey 2008: Part 1, Section 13: Salary by Geographic Location
In all, 99% of the people who participated in this year’s salary survey work in the United States (including the territories of Puerto Rico and Guam) or Canada....
Salary Survey 2008: Part 2, Section 24: Base Earnings and Rates by Age, Gender and Geographic Location
The profiles of self-employed consultants in the United States and Canada are pretty similar. The U.S. consultants are mostly men who are 46 to 55 years old, whereas the Canadian consultants are mostly men who are 36 to 55 years old....
Expert Answers: December 2008
Get your boss to pay for training ... Three or six-sigma process?
Q: I’d like to know which process is better controlled: a three-sigma process or a six-sigma process. If the context of your question relates to statistical process control (SPC), then a six-sigma process is better controlled. Q: Will the new ISO 26000 st...
Salary Survey 2008: The Complete Report
51 Section 6 Salary by Number of Work Hours Online Section 7 Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status Online Section 8 Salary by Number of Years in Current Position Online Section 9 Salary by Number of Years in Current Position and in the Quality Field Onli...
Expert Answers: November 2008
Workplace recognition ... Choosing the right chart.
In your particular case, your production run rate is 30 pieces per hour, so you have a variety of charts available to you, including attribute charts. PPAP provides flexibility in how much documentation must be submitted to the customer as evidence the PP...
What's Up?
Study participants outlined the forces, four scenarios in which they might play out, and the implications to quality, organizations and the profession. Study participants were asked to envision the implications of the key forces and scenarios for quality ...
Expert Answers: October 2008
Sample size of 30 ... DFMEA dilemma....
Futures Study
Forces of Change From All ASQ Futures Studies Table 1 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 Changing values Partnering Quality must deliver bottom- line results Globalization Globalization Globalization Learning systems Management systems will increasingly absorb the...
A Dose of DMAIC
Ruby hospital, a multispecialty for-profit facility in Calcutta, India, was the first in Eastern India to embrace ISO 9001 and is the only one in the country to have successfully deployed a Six Sigma improvement program....
Expert Answers: August 2008
Flushing out flatness ... Corrective vs. preventive actions....
In the Know
More and more organizations are choosing outsourcing as a necessary means of remaining competitive in the global economy. Quality professionals must consider building a body of knowledge completely dedicated to the subject of quality in outsourcing....
Expert Answers: July 2008
The sigma 1.5 shift ... ISO's origins....
Better Safe Than Sorry
Last year’s record number of product recalls, especially recalls of children’s toys, drew worldwide attention to product safety and defective products. The recall stories topped newscasts and made headlines in newspapers coast to coast....
Expert Answers: March 2008
Outlook on outsourcing ... When does Six Sigma suffice?...
Efficiency Gets a New Identity
This article demonstrates the impact RFID will have on existing supply chain processes and the improvements RFID implementation will bring by comparing the benefits of RFID with those of barcode for various supply chain entities. The increases in data cap...
Good Vibrations
Modern quality management principles define quality as customer satisfaction with product and service. SCGC has a web page where guitar owners can have questions about their guitars answered by Hoover or Roberts. With employee empowerment accompanying goo...
A Less Costly Billing Process
Applying lean Six Sigma techniques can identify root causes, streamline the billing process and reduce errors. After describing the concepts of lean and Six Sigma, this article illustrates how companies can apply lean Six Sigma techniques to identify root...
QMS Certification: Down With Disillusionment
Conformity assessment and international standards that cover products and quality and environmental management systems provide mechanisms to ensure the quality of goods and services, but a recent survey reveals that the various certification bodies...
Living Inside China's Quality Revolution
Quality processes in China today continue to be influenced by remnants of ancient policies and practices. When Huawei Technologies, one of China’s largest telecommunications manufacturers, recently declared its intention to become the Toyota of the...
Using FMEA to Assess Outsourcing Risk
Although outsourcing is a growing trend among U.S. businesses, there are risks involved and not everyone benefits from such arrangements. The advantages of outsourcing must be weighed against risks and go beyond cost savings. Without a systematic...
Retrospective Analysis of a Designed Experiment
Design of experiment (DOE) techniques have been successfully used by India’s Department of Defense Production to optimize the process parameters for a plastic injection-molded part used in the manufacture of tank deterrents. The goal was to get...
The Innovation Process and Quality Tools
Cost control and product quality are only capable of sustaining competitive advantage. It takes product or service innovation to create competitive advantage in a global marketplace. Innovation consists of a series of steps like any other business or...
Conformity or Sustainability? That Is the Question
Sustainability is an enterprise’s ability to survive and prosper in a rapidly evolving environment, and the essence of sustainability is performance results. Any expenditure of resources that does not generate value produces a net loss and impaired...
Salary Survey – 2006
Full Survey
44 Section 6. Salary by Number of Work Hours Online Section 7. Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status Online Section 8. Salary by Number of Years' Quality Experience and Highest Level of Education Online Section 9. Salary by Number of Years in Current Pos...
Salary Survey – 2006
Regular Employee - Section 13. Salary by Geographic Location
1 68,000 68,000 Coordinator 45,000 60,000 7,523 3 52,843 53,529 Director 36,000 86,000 21,691 5 66,500 75,000 Educator/ instructor 35,000 119,000 42,568 3 73,000 65,000 Inspector 37,000 50,000 7,055 3 41,917 38,750 Manager 50,000 106,000 13,961 31 76,702...
Lean Lessons: Moving and Controlling the Flow of Quality
Batch size reduction and rigorous inventory management are important in controlling costs and improving throughput. This can be achieved readily by converting a traditional manufacturing layout to a lean cellular/flow configuration....
Don't Forget the People
Standard practice in quality management has been focused on establishing good systems for quality, but many organizations see these efforts fall short of objectives. The problem is the lack of linkage between the way the workforce perceives and...
Career Corner: Career Management for Engineers
Engineers - particularly electrical and electronic engineers - were once insulated from outsourcing. In fact, it could almost be said electrical engineers were recession and outsourcing proof. That's no longer true....
International Outsourcing: Value vs. Economics
International outsourcing has become the easy way out for many organizations seeking to stay competitive in a global economy, whereas establishing a lean Six Sigma organization requires sustained and consistent hard work. Proponents say outsourcing is...
Career Corner: Worldwide Demographic Crossroad Nears
In the hopeful days following the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, a colleague of mine, who is an expert in community development and school design, was invited to tour a Moscow library dedicated to books about the future....
One Good Idea: 'QP' Goes to School
The Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Brampton, Ontario, offers an introductory fundamentals of quality course as part of its postgraduate degree in manufacturing quality....
Promoting Quality In Your Organization
A 2004 survey of industry executives showed that while nearly all agreed that quality favorably influences profits, few had actually used quality methods. Quality professionals can play a significant role in supporting performance management initiatives...
Good News - If You're Ready
Futuring is a structured look ahead aimed at enhancing anticipatory skills. ASQ's most recent futures study, conducted in 2005, identified six key forces of change: globalization, innovation, outsourcing, consumer sophistication, value creation, and...
Salary Survey – 2005
Regular Employee - Section 13. Salary by Geographic Location
Count Percentage United States 4,014 91.52% Canada 301 6.86 Puerto Rico 36 0.82 Mexico 21 0.48 Australia 2 0.05 China 1 0.02 Denmark 1 0.02 Falkland Islands 1 0.02 Germany 1 0.02 India 1 0.02 Iraq 1 0.02 Ireland 1 0.02 Netherlands 1 0.02 Oman 1 0.02 Saud...
Salary Survey – 2005
Full Survey
45 Section 6. Salary by Number of Work Hours Online Section 7. Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status Online Section 8. Salary by Number of Years' Quality Experience and Highest Level of Education Online Section 9. Salary by Number of Years in Current Pos...
Salary Survey – 2005
Self-consultant - Section 4. Gross Revenues and Rates by Age, Gender And Geographic Location
Home Country 33,164 142,000 $ 0 Average gross revenue ( Canadian dollars) $ 160,000 $ 120,000 $ 80,000 $ 40,000 Gender 10,100 46,000 Full- time Part- time Men Women FIGURE D Gross Revenue by Gender For Canadian Self- Employed Consultants 29,125 145,573 $...
As the World Flattens
We are struggling with the uncomfortable results of the world's having been very rapidly "flattened" by technology harnessed to eliminate barriers of space and time. This technology revolution has converged with other forces of change....
Quality Management's Role in Global Sourcing
Globalization and the evolution of quality management systems from a focus on controlling product conformity to a much broader focus on overall enterprise capability have resulted in the need to redefine the role of quality management in dealing with...
Opportunities Are Everywhere
As the distinction between quality management and business management fades, an unprecedented confluence of trends and forces offers unique opportunities for quality professionals. Sporadic cost cutting campaigns are being replaced by business...
Quality Attitudes Start in Childhood
My beliefs and behavior have had four major influences: my parents' teachings, stringent requirements during elementary and middle school years, the basic principles of my religion and IBM's corporate culture....
E-Learning: The Future of Quality Training
E-learning, an extension of multimedia technology, provides quality managers with an effective means of gaining the commitment and involvement of employees. Unlike other media forms, e-learning offers interactivity that transforms passive audiences into...
Unsung Heroes of Quality
Not many dedicated quality professionals attain the media-bestowed title of guru. Quality Progress readers respond to a call for examples of outstanding, but frequently overlooked, quality leaders. The eleven persons described represent diverse fields...
Statistical Leadership
Statisticians, as we have known them for almost half a century, may become an endangered species....
The Growth of Risk Management
The quality profession and ASQ were very successful during the l980s and '90s. ASQ surged ahead in membership, national prominence and public policy influence....
From Conflict to Collaboration
The relationship between a customer and supplier helps determine a product or service’s quality. The stronger the relationship, the more value it can offer....
Column: Standards Outlook: Test ISO 9000:2000 Understanding
Your ISO 9001:2000 certificate is only as good as the people helping to manage, review, evaluate and update the quality management system (QMS) behind...
Column: One Good Idea: The Traveling Card Box
You are probably accustomed to using some type of planning method, including the popular plan, do, check, act (PDCA) cycle, popularized by W. Edwards Deming. Unfortunately, most people plan only the major activities and their expected time of completion....
Trazo De Proceso Simple
Este acercamiento le ayudará fácilmente a identificar las áreas para la mejora
Las organizaciones tradicionales construidas en líneas funcionales sufren de un síndrome del silo. Cada función o departamento actúa como un silo en donde sus resultados se botan por encima de la pared a la siguiente función....
A Simple Process Map
This approach will help you easily identify areas for improvement
Traditional organizations built on functional lines suffer from a silo syndrome. Each function or department acts like a silo whose output is tossed over the wall to the next function....
9 Reasons to Switch to a Single Supplier System
Airtel Mobile Phone Services in Chandigarh, India manufactures electronic assemblies for automotive customers with stringent quality requirements. To improve quality, the firm switched from a multiple supplier system (MSS) to a single supplier system...
ISO 9002 Works In an Unusual Setting
Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I J U L Y 2 0 0 1 I 39 ISO 9002 Works In an Unusual Setting Persian Gulf airport registration overcomes multicultural challenges by Lee C. Bravener Y RECENT SUPERVISION OF AN ISO 9002: 1994 registration audit of the Bahrain ...
The challenges of auditing TL 9000 requirements.
New interpretations, lack of objective evidence can cause difficulties
Adding requirements related to metrics, including defining targets, tracking data, reporting data to a central database and using data to foster continual quality improvement. SANDFORD LIEBESMAN is ISO manager for corporate quality and customer satisfacti...
How To Make Software Peer Reviews Work
Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 I 69 How To Make Software Peer Reviews Work Simple enhancements can turn every peer review into a success by Kala Ranganathan S O F T W A R E Q U A L I T Y FORMAL PEER REVIEW, SOMEtimes called an in...
A World of Opportunity
Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 0 I 57 ASQ and other quality societies adapt to changing times by Spencer Hutchens Jr., chair, ASQ International Task Force I N T E R N A T I O N A L Q U A L I T Y UALITY PROFESSIONALS THE WORLD over ...
Semiconductor Assembly Council Promotes Use of Quality Tools
The member companies of the Semiconductor Assembly Council represent manufacturers, assembly and test subcontractors, and end user companies. SAC was established to certify subcontractor quality and process control systems. The member firms represent...
Quality Awards Listing
The list includes national, international, state and regional quality awards and award programs and industry-specific quality awards programs. The listed awards are related to the practice of quality, do not limit eligibility to members of the...
Building a Better Doctor
The leadership of the faculty, with support from the majority of members, deliberately chose to make a Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I J U N E 2 0 0 0 I 47 Content review group Associate deans, HoD, DEDE Block chair Case coordinators problems 1- 69 Depar...
Planning for Design of Experiments: A Case Study
Preparing before experimentation saves time, money and frustration
We decided to strengthen several processes by implementing design of experiments (DOE)--a quality tool the company hadn't used before. The team had planned to begin with the company's wave soldering process and intended to experiment with particular facto...
Changing Management Styles Put Their Mark on Industry
The nature of management is changing, and in the 21st century, it will depend on basic elements such as leadership, processes, and organizations. Successful leaders can communicate their vision effectively and inspire everyone in the organization to...
21 Voices for the 21st Century
The interplay of quality, e-quality, and equality in the comments of 21 individuals provide a preview of the future of quality in the new century. The editors of Quality Progress, with input from many sources, have selected 21 original thinkers...
India's Quality Movement
Awards and standards lead the way to significant achievements
To meet the product and service quality challenges of multinational companies operating in India and to realize export potential, both private and public sector Indian companies must resolve quality and quality management issues. The CMM model has been de...
Quality Today: Recognizing the Critical SHIFT
Five inevitable trends in quality exist today and will continue to develop. First, quality goes softer, in that organizations must attend to the emotional, psychological, and social needs of their employees. Only then can teamwork, cross-functional...
Mason E. Wescott: 1902 - 1998
Quality Progress/ May 1998 57 ASON E. WESCOTT, A FOUNDING AND Honorary member of the American Society for Quality ( ASQ), died on Jan. 26, 1998, in Newark, NJ, at the age of 95. Wescott was editor of the Society's journal Industrial Quality Control ( now...
Lessons Learned from Alexander the Great
Logistics planning, knowledge of the competition, innovation, and a single point of control were elements of success for Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) They also should be key characteristics of modern organizations. Alexander incorporated...
Keeping Neat Records of Noncompliance Is Not Quality
Quality management must be embedded into the operations of the organization. It requires a culture in which transactions and relationships are consistently successful. Leaders of successful organizations need the absolutes of leadership: agenda for...
Give Success a Chance
Accumulated savings in that period was about $ 320,000, with the return on investment being about 80- to- 1. In addition, production volume increased by 35%. Even more satisfying to top management, however, was the cultural change in the organization, as...
Trends and Key Forces Shaping the Future of Quality
The American Society for Quality Control Futures Team and Alternative Futures Associates identified nine key forces for the 1995-2010 era. Globilization may lead to demands for multicultural quality training and assistance for countries like China and...
Quality, the Future, and You
The American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) Futures Team recommends that now is the time for ASQC, quality professionals, and all organizations to prepare for rapid change. The 17-person team identified nine key forces and developed four scenarios...
Quality and Its Environment in 2010
Four scenarios of the year 2010 have been developed by the American Society for Quality Control Futures Team. First, the global reality scenario is one of worldwide wealth and technological revolution. The information society of 2010 is surrounded by...
The Legacy of W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming's contributions have had an impact on both Japan and the United States. His legacy in Japan was the application of statistical methods to quality control. In 1950, the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, the editorial staff...
Small Groups Bring Big Results
Employee participation in quality circles and the leadership of executives as team facilitators enabled an oil refinery to implement total quality management (TQM) at the shop-floor level. This is a labor-intensive, continuous-cycle process industry,...
A Not-So-Secret Recipe for Successful TQM
Companies that successfully implement TQM (total quality management) share ten characteristics. These characteristics are often seen in Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners, though the Baldrige Award is no guarantee of continued success....
Motorola's Fountain of Youth
Renewal is a key to success at Motorola. As technology has changed, the company has updated its product line. Its goals include the six sigma standard and reduced cycle times. More than 132,000 employees are renewed through continuing education in a...
Which Comes First: The Chicken or the Egg?
Simultaneous employee-motivation and system-problem programs have been successful in some industries in India. They allow employees to be trained in quality methods before a company solves all its system problems. In one case study, a motivational...
