- Cost of Quality
- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Data Quality
- Environmental Manag. and Sustainability
- Innovation
- ISO 9000
- Laboratory
- Leadership
- Metrics
- Metrology
- Problem Solving
- Process Management
- Product Development and Recall
- Project Management
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Safety
- Six Sigma
- Social Responsibility
- Software Quality
- Standards
- Statistics
- Supplier Quality
- Teams
- Best Practices
- AS9000
- ISO 26000
- Certification/Registration (management system Standards)
- Risk Management
- Customer Experience Management
- Food Safety
- Economic Case for Quality
- Awards
- Product-Service Design
- Certification (ASQ)
Balancing Act
With common quality methods and standards in place, manufacturing organizations share a daunting challenge: an increased volume of electronic and paper-based data collected during process development and manufacturing....
Heart of the Matter
The goal of most processes in the manufacturing and service industries is to produce products or services that exhibit little to no variation. Variation is defined as “where no two items or services are exactly the same.”...
Perspectives: Survey Overload
Some years ago, I was presented the bill at a restaurant. In addition to the itemized list of charges, the little billfold contained a customer comment card. “Wow,” I thought, “what a great idea. This place is really on the ball.”...
Expert Answers: March 2013
Supplier audits ... Requiring ISO certification...
One Good Idea: Form by Design
Filling out simple forms should be easy, right? Yet, how many of us have had the experience in which a simple and easy-to-follow form took more than one time to fill out 100% correctly?...
The Right Ingredients
In Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming writes, “Everyone doing his best is not the answer. It is first necessary that people know what to do.” To ensure people know exactly what to do, all activities within the organization should be system oriented....
March 2013 One Good Idea - online figures
CAPA process swim lane diagram / online Figure 1 Phase 1: Initiation Phase 2 and 3: Investigation and Corrective Action Issue CAPA number Enter CAPA info into log Notify quality manager CAT investigation CAT investigation Identify issue Meet with process...
Lessons in Labeling
What kind of care would you want for a loved one fighting cancer? This is the question the experts at Cancer Treatment Centers of America ask themselves every day and motivates employees to create a culture where continuous improvement becomes a habit....
Why Certify?
These stories are told by people at different stages of their careers. One of the things they have in common, however, is they’ve carefully considered the costs and benefits of ASQ certification....
Salary Survey 2012: Crunching the Numbers
The 2012 survey was sent to 54,337 members. Of the 6,857 individuals who started the survey, 6,857 completed the questionnaire for a response rate of 11.2%....
Salary Survey 2012: Part 1, Section 4: Salary by ASQ and RABQSA International Certification
Percentage of respondents holding aSQ certifications / Table 1 2012 2010 2008 Certified quality auditor 22.9% 24.1% 24.2% Certified quality engineer 20.4 23.7 21.6 Certified manager of quality/ organizational excellence 12.6 13.7 12.6 Certified Six Sigma...
Expert Answers: December 2012
A better supplier scorecard ... Inspecting your suppliers ......
Online Figures - December Back to Basics
alt section Remove engine Critical inspections Hydro cks Adjust 2410 Adjust 2410 TCI/ TCTO Supply Get topics E/ E AFG Fuels A/ V A/ R Egress B/ M NDI Looks Tools Egress Egress flow cks M/ T AFG & lube Remove elevators Weigh elevators AFI Props RFLTS TCR ...
Quality Around the Clock
It’s in your DNA. It’s how your mind works. It’s what you do. It’s who you are. When you work in quality, you see things differently. You approach problems and scenarios in certain ways. It happens after you’ve signed off....
Standards Outlook: From the Trenches
ISO 9001 and the COSO internal control guidance document used by financial organizations that must comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act don’t have a lot in common, but one thing they share is the need to update the current version....
Law and Order
The laws created and enforced by government are among the most important works of humankind. They address the most significant societal problems and have a direct impact on human rights, living standards and the quality of life of every person....
Lasting Impression
A recent paper found that quality initiatives have made significant contributions to three primary indicators of economic well-being: gross domestic product, corporate tax revenues and employment....
Perspectives: Added Structure
Global good manufacturing practices (GMP) and regulatory guidelines ensure the “safety, identity, strength, quality (and) purity of drug(s).” Manufacturing and quality control testing of approved drugs fall under these GMP regulations....
A Service Framework
To help service quality professionals negotiate the unique challenges they encounter, the ASQ Service Quality Division envisaged the Service Quality Body of Knowledge as an umbrella framework....
Expert Answers: October 2012
Finding the right role ... Audit mismatches ... Accuracy in calibration...
(Re)visionary Thinking
The preeminent ISO standard on environmental management, ISO 14001, is being revised to incorporate new approaches in the field of environmental management systems and meet stakeholder expectations that have evolved since it was first published in 1996....
Clever Combination
As software use increases in safety-critical applications, we must implement quality improvement tools and techniques to identify software failures before they have a critical effect on the completed system or a fatal effect on the end user....
One Good Idea: Put on Your Business Hat
During a software testing project, teams are consistently faced with constraints that may affect how business requirements are met, but as quality professionals, we have the ability to ensure any project is delivered with acceptable quality level (AQL)....
Expert Answers: September 2012
Sustaining excellence ... Blood bank error...
Innovation Imperative: A Question of Balance
Many people say that mentioning standards and innovation in the same breath is a contradiction in terms. Evidence from the real world says otherwise....
Career Corner: Mapping the Future
As quality professionals, one technique we are all taught is change management. But how we learn to embrace and manage change doesn’t just apply to our job tasks and duties. Career development also requires applying a change management process....
Expert Answers: July 2012
Reigniting quality ... Going nuclear...
Career Corner: Turn, Turn, Turn
In the quality world, I have seen my share of heated conversation about why (fill in the quality technique of your choice) works or doesn’t. The passion usually does not run as deeply as on a soap opera, but it comes close on occasion....
Standards Outlook: Group Effort
When users think about AS9100, they typically think only of the AS9100 quality management system standard and not about the other products and services the International Aerospace Quality Group provides to the aviation, space and defense industry....
The Audit Answer
Graduate students at Bowling Green State University studied the Quality Systems Educational Collaboration, a program that addresses workforce and technical assistance needs for organizations, and disclosed areas for improvement using Six Sigma methods....
In the Spotlight
Based on what we know about the skills needed for innovation management, what quality management functions, responsibilities and skills can be applied to manage innovation?...
Quality for Tomorrow
The work of the quality profession has evolved over the years from quality control to quality assurance to quality management. But what is the next stage of evolution from quality management?...
Back to Basics: Solid Proof
In general, the audit process is similar across most industries. To effectively evaluate risk, we need an understanding of the reliability of the audit evidence obtained. But how do we best assess the reliability of audit evidence?...
Tangled Mess
Many of the world's factories are designed in ways detrimental or unhealthy to product quality. The typically complex and lengthy flow times multiply process variables, which can obscure and delay the discovery of defects and nonconformities....
Standards Outlook: What's Old Is New Again
The time appears to have finally come to start another major revision of ISO 9001. But before moving forward, it’s a good idea to look back at where we’ve been....
Expert Answers: May 2012
Defining quality ... Consolidating certifications ......
Beyond the Basics
A movie sequel often can be as, if not more, captivating than the original. Essentially, a sequel builds on the original, continuing a journey with familiar characters and settings, developing ideas and unveiling more insight....
Quality in the First Person: Quality Assurance at Home
Quality assurance 5S principles—sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain—benefit my home life in the same ways that quality assurance principles benefit the workplace....
3.4 per Million: Next in Line
In quality, the sequel is what usually makes things better. Who knows how often savings have been left on the table because organizations failed to look ahead to the next project?...
Standards Outlook: Revised Thinking
COSO developed the internal control integrated framework in 1992 in response to the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s. COSO is now 20 years old and is due for an upgrade to incorporate changes in the financial environment....
Eradicating Inconsistency
When most people imagine the Orkin man, they visualize a uniformed technician driving a white truck from house to house. What’s probably not as widely known is that the technicians stop at many places other than homes....
A Tangled Web
In simple terms, software as a service is on-demand access to software via the internet. It seemingly eliminates the installation and testing of the software by the customer—or does it?...
Email Matters
It is commonly accepted that 80% of data within an organization is unstructured. Emails are considered a part of the definition of unstructured data. But with the right processes, it is possible to get email under control....
Standards Outlook: Complex Relationship
In addition to being required to master a multitude of global requirements, regulatory professionals must address other issues that impede their ability to function expeditiously....
Career Corner: Survival Kit for Success
The employment process is a two-way street. By understanding the basic needs of an employer, we can determine how to fulfill our needs at the same time....
Measure for Measure: On Solid Ground
There are a few fundamentals every calibration or metrology department should know to get moving in the right direction....
Online Figures Udell
QP 1 Quality assurance audit workbook / Online figure 1 Branch name: Region #: Date: 08/ 30/ 10 Administrative review results Possible exceptions Total exceptions Standard weight factor Weighted rating Total branch rating Percentage exceptions Commercial...
Quality in the First Person: Quality at Its Core
After leaving the manufacturing sector for 12 years and then returning, I found quality was still what drew me to the industry. Quality has carried me through my professional life, as well as my personal life, in ways I never realized were possible....
Salary Survey 2011: Part 2, Section 23: Consultant Education and Training
Base earnings for U. S. self- employed consultants / Table 1 ( conTinueD) Minimum Maximum Standard deviation Count Average Median Part- time All consultants $ 10,000 $ 450,000 $ 82,437 87 $ 74,648 $ 54,000 Highest level of education High school diploma 6...
Salary Survey 2011: Slow and Steady
A single organization’s actions may be reported several times if multiple employees of that organization responded to the survey. Director: Oversees all aspects of an organization’s quality or business improvement efforts, such as developing and administr...
Quality in the First Person: A Bad Sign
I kept my head down as I played hopscotch with the puddles on the mall parking lot. I started the engine, wiped some fog from the windows and started to back out, looking behind for cars. Suddenly—what was that?...
Salary Survey 2011: Part 1, Section 9: Salary by No. of Years in Current Position and Quality Field
Part 1. Regular Employee Results Section 9. Salary by Number of Years in Current Position and in the Quality Field Comings and Goings Cross- tabulation of the number of years in current position and in the quality field / Table 1 Less than 1 year 1- 3 ye...
Salary Survey 2011: Part 1, Section 2: Salary by U.S. Regions and Canadian Provinces
South Carolina 1.6% 96.8 North Carolina 3.6% 95.7 Tennessee 2.4% 90.5 Kentucky 1.2% 91.6 WV 0.2% 99 Virginia 2.9% 96.9 Maryland 2.1% 123.7 Delaware 0.4% 106.9 D. C. 0.1% 144.4 New Jersey 2.4% 129.1 Connecticut 1.6% 133 RI 0.5% 124.6 MA 3.9% 139.7 Maine 0...
Back to Basics: Turning 'Who' Into 'How'
When things go wrong, the goal should be to move away from trying to determine “who” was at fault and quickly transition into a problem-solving mindset of “how” to make things better....
A Decade of Distinction
In the first six months of 2010, Telefónica Group launched 60 simultaneous quality improvement projects. These 60 projects represent nearly 30% of the total number of improvement projects conducted in the company during the last decade....
40 New Voices of Quality
When QP set out to find the individuals who will give a voice to the new generation of quality professionals, one of the hopes was that the group’s makeup would lend insight into what the future holds....
Standards Outlook: The Missing Link
In most organizations, quality and finance behave like independent silos, resulting in excessive costs and unhappy customers and investors....
Quality in the First Person: Chili Topped With Statistics
My daughter calls me a data nerd, as I am always using Microsoft Excel to document my life. I maintain data on the time my wife’s van arrives in the carpool lot, data on the performance of my investments and data on my various collections....
Measure for Measure: Under the Microscope
Audits are chances to see where improvements can be made and to find areas that can be improved upon. If you approach an audit with the right mindset, it can be a great opportunity for all parties involved....
Supporting Role
The ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9000 Series of Quality Management Standards consists of three component standards. Taken together, the standards are components because they form a complete tactical approach to quality management....
Reaching Out
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex, Jeffery Eugenides describes life at Ford Motor Co. in the 1920s, detailing how unskilled workers tried to match the calculated pace of assembly lines and a manufacturer that made almost every part itself....
Quality in the First Person: Quality Helps Kick Cancer
As a quality professional, I can’t help but look for ways to use quality tools in anything from correction to prevention, from work to everyday life. I have two examples of how quality tools and processes can help people overcome life-changing challenges....
Career Corner: Timing Is Everything
The last few years have been a struggle for those seeking employment as well as those seeking to make a change. The employment market has been difficult to judge. Many folks have shared their stories with me, especially during ASQ’s recent World...
A Change in Focus
It is ironic that the life-sciences industry’s approach to quality management systems has been lagging rather than leading due to a fundamental focus on compliance with regulation versus a holistic process for improving quality....
Certification at Work
Organizations face difficult decisions every day: where to invest, how to focus employees and how to drive a competitive advantage in their markets. A decision to launch employee training cannot be taken lightly....
Expert Answers: August 2011
Connecting SOPs and IT ... quality assurance vs. quality control ... looking for remote audits....
Quality in the First Person: Introverts: Get Out!
Networking. We all know we should do it. Most of us have repeatedly been told the key to getting good jobs, achieving goals and having a happy life is building a network. And yet, if you’re an introvert, the prospect of heading into a group of strangers...
Survey Says
To make software quality assurance less taxing, one organization used online survey tools as a creative means of addressing and resolving the difficulties inherent in performing process review data collection with limited resources....
Not Your Normal SOP
To ensure business activities are performed correctly and consistently, it is vital to be compliant to numerous quality, safety and regulatory requirements. One way to do so is to understand and develop thorough procedures—and then follow them....
Quality in the First Person: Come Together
After working several years in the health promotion field for private industry, I found myself wanting to help others in a broader sense, so I pursued opportunities in the world of public health. I started in the public health field as the quality...
No Surprises
When it comes to supplier control, having the right information at the right time is key to making a sound decision....
Standards Outlook: Revisionist History
The latest version of ISO 9001 was published in December 2008. Since then, ISO/TC 176 has created a task group to consider concepts for inclusion in the next revision, which is scheduled for publication in 2015....
Quality in the First Person: A Winding Career Path
Career paths can sometimes alter quite unexpectedly. Some people take great care in steering their career development, only to learn that factors beyond their control can have a greater influence on life....
Go With the Flow
In an effort to implement lean Six Sigma initiatives, many companies forget that data flow and material flow are two sides of the same coin. This starves the Six Sigma methods of data, which causes the enterprise to run at a suboptimal level....
Quality in the First Person: Around the World
Earlier this year, I was going through my e-mails and found one from ASQ, offering online training. The e-mail pointed to ASQ as being, “the leading quality training provider for more than 60 years.” I can vouch for that....
Career Corner: Paint Yourself a Purple Squirrel
In recent years, economic conditions have caused organizations and job seekers alike to re-evaluate fulfilling needs. Companies have been re-evaluating their need for talent, and job seekers have been re-evaluating their talents for filling companies'...
Salary Survey 2010: Part 1, Section 8: Salary by Number of Years in Current Position
Part 1. Regular Employee Results Section 8. Salary by Number of Years in Current Position Those Who Can Are Staying Put Figure 1 includes results for: x Full- time employees, Part- time employees, x U. S. employees, x Canadian employees, International em...
Salary Survey 2010: Part 1, Sect. 12: Salary by Industry
Salary by industrial classification / Table 1 United States Canada Percentage Average salary Percentage Average salary Manufacturing sector 69.5% $ 82,909 66.9% $ 72,726 Chemicals and related products 8.8 90,106 7.9 87,847 Computers and electronic produc...
Salary Survey 2010: Not Out of the Question
Every year, QP’s Salary Survey sparks countless questions for quality professionals and gets them thinking about their careers and personal development: How do I compare with others? What can I do get ahead? Are things getting better out there?...
Salary Survey 2010: Part 1, Section 1: Salary by Job Title
The vast majority of respondents to this year’s salary survey was regular, full or part-time employees—that is, they work for a single company or organization. Part 1 of this report, comprised of sections 1-20, covers these respondents....
Salary Survey 2010: Part 1, Section 4: Salary by ASQ and RABQSA International Certification
For four straight years, the number of survey respondents not holding any ASQ certifications has fallen. This year, 59.1% of respondents reported that they have one or more ASQ certifications, and 24.9% said they hold two or more certifications....
Salary Survey 2010: The Complete Report
experience by gender / FIGURE 2 More than 20 years 10.1- 20 years 6.1- 10 years 3.1- 6 years $ 6,000 Male Years of experience in quality profession Years of experience in quality profession Female $ 4,000 $ 2,000 0 $ 2,000 $ 4,000 $ 6,000 1- 3 years Less...
Tip of the Iceberg
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS KNOW it’s not enough to treat a patients’ conditions and send them on their way. Often, the patient’s condition and symptoms are simply the tip of the iceberg. Many other factors—including human behaviors and societal conditions...
On the Map
Process mapping is an essential technique for identifying all the processes that take place in an organization, as well as their interrelation. This visual tool makes it easy to understand the sequence in which these processes take place....
Quality in the First Person: A Different Perspective
My journey in quality began 1996, when I was studying industrial engineering at Mexico City’s Autonomous Metropolitan University. I was attracted to this field because a friend’s father had a small voltmeter assembly factory, and to sell its products...
Online Sidebars: Keeping Current: October 2010
In addition, BS 5750 and Z2999, similar series of quality assurance standards, were published in the U.K. and Canada and the quality management system (QMS) standard ANSI-ASQ Z1.15 was published in the United States. Eventually, the ISO 9000 series had bo...
No-Hanging Fruit
I first met the “no-hanging fruit” problem back in the day when ultrasonic impulse meters (like some quality problems now) were as big as a bread box—or bigger....
Handle With Care
An internal auditor walks into a drug manufacturer’s production area and sees three containers staged outside the weighing room of the formulation section. She asks the first container, “Where are you from, stranger?”...
Career Corner: Words of Wisdom
The deadline for this column coincided with my son’s high school graduation. The advice I gave him about starting his career is applicable to everyone, no matter the stage of their career....
Bull's-eye
All companies want to build a stronger brand by ensuring customer satisfaction. Along the way, of course, the companies want to make a profit....
One Good Idea: Taken to Task
There’s an easy way to build quality into the organization: by working inside out—or, to put it another way, by applying quality management principles at the task level....
Expert Answers: June 2010
Changing industries ... Organizing your quality department....
0410 One Good Idea Online Figure
Phase 1: Analysis Site visit/ gap analysis Project management and quality planning Provider recruiting Phase 2: Pre- start Process improvement ( close the gaps) Provider credentialing/ scheduling Communication plan ( internal and external) Phase 3: Imple...
One Good Idea: What's the Plan?
Launching a project without a plan is a blueprint for disaster. So, when ER-One needed to transition the management of newly acquired hospital emergency departments to its organization, it turned to advanced implementation quality planning....
Quality in the First Person: Oh, the Places You'll Go
In 1988, after I had been working in the quality control department of a major alkaline battery producer for 10 years, I had the opportunity to move to the quality assurance department. The move included some quality control responsibilities....
Perspectives: TPS Troubles
It’s only natural to link the TPS to Toyota’s safety problems. But is the system the problem? And should organizations that employ a version of the TPS be concerned about their systems?...
Standards Outlook: Taking Responsibility
Social responsibility and sustainability are issues that have gotten the attention of most countries around the world, and they're growing in importance in quality circles....
Standards Outlook: Under Control
Medical device manufacturers must ensure the design and process are reliable, and must produce devices the same way every time. The FDA believes the quality, safety and effectiveness of a device are established during the design phase....
Quality 3.0
Two quality leaders weigh in on the current direction of quality management, sustainable quality improvements and their visions of what “Quality 3.0” will bring....
One Good Idea: Cut Down on Redundancy
We devised a solution to help staff and auditors better understand which standard operating procedures (SOPs) were applicable and why—a form dubbed the SOP applicability worksheet (SAW)....
