APRIL, 1995 NEWSLETTER
Quality Matters
NEWS FROM THE CHAIR
The "annual meeting" for Section 0511 is coming up at the May dinner
meeting. Your Executive Committee is already preparing for the 1995-1996
year, and there are several opportunities open for involvement on the
Board. The positions currently slotted as open include: Programs Chair,
Professional Liaison, Newsletter, Publicity, and Student Activities. Any
help you may wish to give in these areas will be greatly appreciated. The
current slate of officers and committee chairpersons will be announced at
the annual meeting.
Also at the annual meeting will be results of the member votes on the new
Bylaws for the section. As you may recall, the Executive Committee has
taken on the difficult task of updating the Section Bylaws, which were
originally written in 1983 and have be come somewhat outdated. We would
like them to reflect our current processes and methods. The new Bylaws
are put to a vote by the general membership, and we must obtain a 25%
response to officially act on the updated Bylaws. We need your vote
returned by 24 April in order to act by the annual meeting. We
appreciate your help in this long and arduous task.
As you may remember, ASQC National Headquarters is going to run a trial
run of the latest ASQC examination - the Certified Quality Manager.
Unfortunately, Northern Virginia was not chosen as a test site; the
closest site is Hampton, Virginia. These results will be analyzed and
National Headquarters will decide on the final body of knowledge before
instituting the Certified Quality Manager test schedule. We will let you
know as this effort progresses.
Finally, we would like to welcome our new Regional Director for Region 5,
Ernest W. Perry of the Dana Corporation in Reading, PA.
As always, give me a call with any comments, complaints, or "attaboys" you
may have for the Board and the Section.
Until next month...Mary Ann Stasiak
***
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS
CHAIRPERSON: Mary Ann Stasiak (O) 703-604-2210
(F) 703-604-2619
VICE CHAIRPERSON: Barbara Lembcke, GMU,
Office of Finance & Planning (O) 703-993-8834
(F) 703-993-8707
e-mail: vice-chair@quality.org
SECRETARY: Patty Adair (H) 703-528-0765
e-mail: secretary@quality.org
TREASURER: Roger Semplak (H) 703-491-8227
AUDITING: John Matthewson 703-534-3614
MEMBERSHIP: Henry Kling (O) 703-360-9134
PROGRAMS: Russell V. Carstensen (O) 703-739-0084
(F) 703-739-6028
EDUCATION: Jim Wilson, EG&G (O) 703-330-4222
e-mail: education@quality.org
PUBLICITY: Harvey Shaw, ADI Technology (O) 703-892-2740
Corporation (F) 703-892-8994
NQM COORDINATOR: Bill Eastham, Jr. 703-323-5803
e-mail: nqm95@quality.org
CERTIFICATION: Dallas E. Frederick, (O) 703-750-4273
Washington Gas (F) 703-750-5603
SMP/HISTORIAN: Walter M. Mendus (O) 703-354-5932
PROFESSIONAL LIAISON: Barba Affourtit (O) 703-778-0318
IRI, Inc. (F) 703-323-5015
ELECTRONIC MEDIA: Bill Casti (O) 703-513-5673
(F) 703-716-0479
e-mail: e-media@quality.org
HEALTHCARE: David Simmons (O) 703-938-5227
e-mail: healthcare@quality.org
STUDENT ACTIVITIES: Bob Gahagan 703-281-9090
REGION 5 DIRECTOR: Ernest W. Perry (O) 610-371-7060
(F) 610-371-7014
***
April Dinner Meeting
Come to listen to new ideas from Heero Hacquebord on abuse, misuse and
overuse of data. Heero Hacquebord was a student of Dr. W. Edwards Deming
and a speaker during Dr. Deming's seminars. An international consultant
in continuous improvement, Heero currently teaches Statistical Thinking
for Leaders for numerous organizations including the Department of
Defense. Heero's ability to translate theory into "real world"
applications in an engaging manner makes his presentations a valuable and
enjoyable learning experience.
This joint meeting is co-sponsored by the ASQC Section 0511 and the
Washington Deming Study Group (WDSG).
The meeting will take place at the Crystal Gateway Marriot, 1700 Jefferson
Davis Highway. The hotel's parking garage entrance is on Eads Street.
Parking will be $5 for this event. By Metro, get off at the Crystal City
Metro station, follow the underground passage to the right of the first
set of escalators. For additional directions call the hotel at
703-920-3230.
Seating is limited. Please reserve by April 12 by calling (301) 340-0325.
***
ASQC Section 0511 Calendar of Events
April, 1995
-----------
Thursday, April 6, 1995
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Intertek Board Room, Fairfax, VA
MOP Study Group:
Wednesday, April 12, 1995
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Topic: Organizational Performance Measurement
Location: VSE Corp, 2550 Huntington Ave., Alexandria, VA
Coordinator: Robert Wise, Ph.D.
Registration: For info & directions, call
(703) 549-3824, ext. 305
ISO 9000 Users Group:
Tuesday, April 18, 1995 (tentative)
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Topic: Software Quality Standards (ISO 9000-3)
Guest Speaker: TBA
Coordinator: Crystal Pilkins
Location: NEC America, Inc., 14040 Park Center Road, Herndon, VA 22071
Registration: For info. & directions call (703) 318-6440.
Health Care Seminar:
Wednesday, April 19, 1995
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Topic: "Can We Manage the Challenge of Health Care Quality?"
Speakers: A list of notable experts
Cost: $95.00
Registration: Catonsville College (410) 455-4318
May, 1995
---------
ASQC Section 0511 Workshop:
Saturday, May 6, 1995
10:00 am - 1 pm
Topic: Orienting and Welcoming New Members
Speakers: Henry Kling
Cost: $10.00
Registration: Call Henry Kling (703) 360-9134
Dinner Meeting:
Wednesday, May 17, 1995
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Topic: Software Maturity Model
Speaker: TBA
Cost: $15.00
Location: Silver Plate Restaurant, Fairfax, VA
Registration: Intertek (703) 591-1320 by noon, Mon. May 15
June, 1995
----------
MOP Study Group:
Wednesday, June 14, 1995
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Topic: Organizational Performance Measurement
Location: VSE Corp, 2550 Huntington Ave., Alexandria, VA
Coordinator: Robert Wise, Ph.D.
Registration: For info & directions, call
(703) 549-3824, ext. 305
ASQC Section 0511 Workshop:
June 1995 (on a Saturday)
9:00 am - 12 noon
Topic: Train the Trainer
Instructor: Joseph Wrobel
Cost: $10 members; $15 non-members
Location: TBA
Dinner Meeting:
Wednesday, June 21, 1995
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Topic: Internal Communications
Speaker: TBA
Cost: $15.00
Location: Silver Plate Restaurant, Fairfax, VA
Registration: Intertek (703) 591-1320 by noon, Mon. June 19
Dr. W. Edwards Deming Memorial Lecture (tentative):
June or July, 1995
Topic, Lecturer, Cost & Location: TBA
July, 1995
----------
MOP Study Group:
Wednesday, July 12, 1995
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Topic: Organizational Performance Measurement
Location: VSE Corp, 2550 Huntington Ave., Alexandria, VA
Coordinator: Robert Wise, Ph.D.
Registration: For info & directions, call
(703) 549-3824, ext. 305
Dinner Meeting:
Wednesday, July 19, 1995
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Topic: Business Process Re-Engineering
Speaker: TBA
Cost: $15.00
Location: Silver Plate Restaurant, Fairfax, VA
Registration: Intertek (703) 591-1320 by noon, Mon. July 17
***
TO: All Section 0511 Members
FROM: Jim Wilson, Education Committee Chair
IN RE: Education Committee Update
Our ASQC Board has authorized teaching a CRE Review Course starting this
Spring to prepare for the October 21, 1995 exam. If you are a CRE and
interested in teaching and leading this educational effort, call Jim
Wilson at (W) 703-330-4222 or (H) 703-255- 9560 (or, send him e-mail:
education@quality.org). This will give you teaching experience and an
opportunity to exercise leadership and earn some extra money. Our CQE/CQA
Review courses are off to a great start in a nice NEC Herndon environment.
Mark your calendars for the following workshops on Saturday from 9:00am -
12:00 noon at the Fairfax County Government Center:
Process Analysis: 22 April
Strategic Planning: 13 May
Train the Manager to be a Facilitator: 24 June
Exam Application Deadline:
Friday, August 18, 1995
Exam: CRE/CQT/CMI
Exam Date: October 21, 1995
Exam Registration: Call ASQC National at 800-248-1946
Exam Application Deadline:
Friday, October 6, 1995
Exam: CQE/CQA
Exam Date: December 2, 1995
Exam Registration: Call ASQC National at 800-248-1946
Certification Exam:
Saturday, October 21, 1995
Exam: CRE/CQT/CMI
Location: NEC America, Inc., Herndon, VA
Exam Registration: Call ASQC National at 800-248-1946 by 8/18/95
Certification Exam:
Saturday, December 2, 1995
Exam: CQE/CQA
Location: NEC America, Inc., Herndon, VA
Exam Registration: Call ASQC National
at 800-248-1946 by 10/6/95
***
Quality Standards in Education
Have you ever considered how a student can transfer academic credits
earned in a college in one region of the country to an institution in
another part of the country? Why is it that these credits are equivalent?
Basically, the answer lies in the accreditation process. Within this
century, regional accreditation agencies have taken on the role of
evaluating schools and colleges. For example, the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools is the recognized accreditating body for 11 states
in the southern part of the United States.
The principal concerns in accreditation, which is a voluntary process, are
"the improvement of educational quality and assurance to the public that
institutions meet established standards." (SACS Criteria Manual,
1989-90., p.7)
The way the process works, in brief, is that each member institution
periodically undergoes a self-study based on several criteria established
by the accrediting body. These criteria include: institutional purpose,
institutional effectiveness, educational programs, faculty, library and
other support services, student services, athletics, administration,
financial resources, and physical resources. The institution prepares a
written report, based on the criteria, which is evaluated by a committee
of peer educators from other institutions. Successful completion of the
procedures results in accreditation for the institution.
Currently this accreditation process is under some scrutiny from various
sources and may undergo some significant changes in the near future.
***
W. EDWARDS DEMING WORKING CONFERENCE
The purpose of the conference is to work on activities generated from the
planning conferences of 17 September '94 and 14 January '95.
Conference date: Saturday, 06 May, 1995.
Place: Raddison Plaza located in Alexandria, VA. A special conference
rate of $92 per day (plus tax) is available -- providing you make
reservations by 05 April 1995 and mention the W.E. Deming Institute.
Airport shuttles are available. Call 1-800-333 -3333 or 1-703-845-1010.
Additional cost: There will be a $65 expense fee to cover costs including
continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments at break.
How to sign up: A sign up letter will be sent to previous attendees in
early April (I will also post info on the DEN). You will be asked to
select from over 20 activities and inform the institute of your
preference.
Also, at the last 2 sessions, there were a number of informal "get
togethers" Friday night and Sunday morning. They provided excellent
opportunities to network with others. If your travel plans allow it,
consider providing time for these.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Jim Clauson
Voice: 1-615-882-4611
Fax (W): 1-615-882-4666
Fax (H): 1-615-882-8179
e-mail: den_moderator@a1.rscc.cc.tn.us
***
ORIENTATION WORKSHOP
New Members - Old Timers - and Everyone Else
Come to this exercise and hear:
Dr. Joan Cassidy
Henry Kling
Roger St. Pierre
as they present those lessons learned the hard way, those things you wish
somebody told you on your first day at work in the quality profession.
Saturday, 6 May, 1995
10:00 am until 1:00 pm
Dress Informally
Price is $10.00
Call Henry (703) 360-9134 for reservations
***
BOOK REVIEWS:
ISO 9000: Motivating the people; mastering the process; achieving
registration!
By David Stevenson Huyink and Craig Westover, copublished by IRWIN
Professional Publishing (1333 Burr Ridge Parkway, Burr Ridge, IL 60521)
and National Center for Manufacturing Services (NY, NY) 1994, 311 pages,
price $45.00
A book review by Mr. McArthur, Director of Quality Systems for Gentex
Corporation.
This is an excellent book about implementing an ISO 9000 standard, based
on real experiences, and expressed realistically. The authors have met
their objective stated in Section I, "How are we going to get this done?".
It is addressed to key individuals who are seriously considering, or have
made the commitment to the process, including:
the ISO 9000 management representative;
the sponsoring executive;
the coordinating line manager;
individual contributors who have the most effect.
The authors provide lively discourse on preparations for management
commitment, organizing for implementation and the direct effort toward
registration by a third party. The final sections address maintenance of
the quality system, and offer special applications and implications to
consider. This book will be useful not only to quality professionals, but
to any manager or leader who recognizes the potential companywide benefits
that can be expected from application of an ISO 9000 standard.
Even though the word "registration" is somewhat overused, the authors are
convincing in their explanation that this word provides a better focus for
managers outside of the quality environment, especially those in
marketing. The point is made that "setting a schedule for registration
is a market-driven process", p. 49. Registration is a perceptible goal.
However, the authors are specific about their true purpose, "The only
approach to ISO 9000 registration that works is to improve the company's
quality system for the benefit of those who function within it; ISO
registration is a by-product of quality system improvement", p. 34.
Cultural issues are fully addressed, since these can be more of an
obstacle than technical issues. A "Critical Seven" ISO 9000 success
factors are provided:
Management Commitment -something to do;
Employee Commitment - direct involvement;
Organizational understanding of the standard;
Understanding of company's quality system
An effective companywide communication structure;
Institutionalizing the ISO 9000 quality system;
Acceptance of the plan by both management and employees.
These are best carried out by the recognition, training and dedication of
ISO 9000 "champions" for the various functional departments. Other
responsible individuals will become more committed when they realize their
own problems are also to be addressed by improvement of the overall
quality system.
Resolving cultural issues and implementing an effective internal
assessment emerge as the most significant features of this book, in my
view. To deal with cultural change can be daunting, but this is vital to
get everyone involved. As an effective technique, the authors advocate
that each department examine itself for compliance to the selected ISO
9000 standard. This self-evaluation is contrasted with the formal
internal audits by auditors independent of areas audited. Internal
assessment provides the opportunity for people to discover and solve
their own problems. This gives responsible persons a method and
measurement means over which they can have control. Resultant corrective
or preventive action should still be under executive management sanction
to maintain its commitment by being actively involved.
The more informal internal audit by independent auditors is, of course, an
ISO 9000 requirement. This book describes this audit process thoroughly
so that an audit planner or lead auditor can prepare and organize an audit
plan to fit the company. It explains how to maintain management
commitment to ISO 9000 by having the quality steering forum respond to
summary audit reports as part of carrying out its own management
responsibility.
Benefits of third party preregistration assessment are described
convincingly. This would be followed by a special effort to prepare the
organization for the official registration assessment. Throughout the
book, the authors build the expectation of the reader to a successful
registration, then rightly say, "CELEBRATE!!!". Their advice on how to do
this properly obviously comes from experience. They also have wise words
for a company that does not achieve registration with their first
assessment, and how to continue to improve.
This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in quality system
improvement through the ISO 9000 standards, whether registration is
contemplated or not. Personally, I just wish it had been available
sooner.
Mr. McArthur is Director, Quality Systems for Gentex Corporation. He is
on the ISO 9000 Steering Committee and serves as the Audit Manager for two
divisions and their corporate staff. He was previously with ILC
Industries in the fields of quality and new product development.
***
Book Review:
Meeting ISO 9000 in a TQM World
by Allan J. Sayle; Allan J. Sayle Ltd., available through Quality Press
(611 East Wisconsin Avenue, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005) 1994,
pp. 458.
A Book Review by Norman C. Frank, PE, CQE, CQA
The author has revised and expanded Meeting ISO 9000 in a TQM World to
encompass the 1994 ISO 9000 family of standards and to bring in additional
considerations and suggestions. Sayle packs an incredible amount of
information into this book. You will still find excellent guidance on
how to meet the revised ISO 9000 standards while working in a Total
Quality Management (TQM) environment. Sayle provides cogent suggestions
and decisions that must be made to work successfully in both worlds. New
examples from his experience have been added to illustrate selected
points. All companies, not just those working with a TQM program, will be
interested in and helped by the contents of this book.
Sixteen documents, including the ISO 9000 family of standards, ISO 10011
concerning auditing, ISO 10012 concerning measuring equipment, and ISO
8402, are included in the revision. Every chapter has been expanded and
modified to address the 1994 ISO 9000 standards in depth while providing
information on how to move from the 1987 standards to the 1994 standards.
Chapter 16 has been added that delineates the changes in detail along with
the impact of the change and suggested actions to take.
Elastic and vague expressions (e.g., as necessary, adequately,
appropriate) and how to read and interpret the standards are discussed to
help allow each user to better understand what is meant by the standard.
Sayle also discusses the ambiguous use of the term "management" as is now
found in the 1994 ISO 9000 family. The section described actions related
to the "Management Representative" has been strengthened considerably.
Within the book Sayle addresses deficiences in the standards and what you
can do about addressing these deficiencies prior to being assessed for
registration. Considerable space is devoted to problems of
interpretation, potential misrepresentation, and dealing with certifying
bodies to help you gain back control from the registering bodies. A
solid, logical discussion of the audit process and auditor/training
qualification schemes provides food for thought as well as for action.
The quality of assessments and the certification is called into question
such that he recommends that companies do not rely on the certification as
a means to qualify suppliers. Sayle stresses that you must NEVER LOSE
SIGHT OF THE PRODUCT.
This edition is well worth purchasing, even if you already have the
previous edition, because of the expansion on the 1994 standards. The
suggestions and decisions will prevent many problems as a company works
its way through to registration.
Mr. Frank has over 25 years of experience in the field of quality, in the
areas of nuclear quality assurance, research and development, and
consulting. He is currently in Washington, D.C. with CER Corporation out
of Las Vegas, Nevada and can be reached a t 202-488-5444.
***
News from our Regional Director, Steve Bailey:
Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 3rd. That is when the ASQC Section
and Division Leadership Training session will be in the Washington, D.C.
area. This session will be similiar to the Region 5 session held in
Harrisburg last July, but also different enough for folks who attended
last year to benefit. For example, ASQC Chairman of the Board Jack West
(rather than ASQC President Dave Luther) will be discussing the strategic
plan.
Editor's note: Steve will be taking on the position of ASQC's
Vice-President of Divisions and Technical Committees in 1995-96. Our new
Regional Director will be Ernie Perry.
***
ELECTRONIC MEDIA NEWS from Chairman Bill Casti
Both the QUALITY.ORG domain and the electronic outreach project of ASQC
Section 0511 got prominent mention in the March/95 issue of the national
Quality Digest magazine. Complimentary copies of that issue will be
available to members at future dinner meetings, as well as by direct
mail.
If any member wants a copy mailed to them, she/he must send me a LARGE
self-addressed and stamped ($1.50 U.S. postage) manila envelope. Please
place that envelope inside another envelope and mail to: Bill Casti,
E-Media Chair, P.O. Box 1412, Herndon, VA 22070.
Also, the ASQC Quality Audit Division's quarterly newsletter, VISTA, had
an article about the electronic projects. The electronic version is
available in the QAD section at QUALITY.ORG (the hard copy version is
available only to members of the Quality Audit Division). I'll be happy
to e-mail a copy to anyone who requests one. E-mail requests should be
directed to me at: e-media@quality.org. The "subject": line should read
"VISTA request".
Recently, Section 1408 in Oklahoma City requested and was assigned an
electronic access e-mail address: asqc1408@quality.org.
Finally, as of March 30th, there have been almost 9,000 accesses - March
alone! -- to the Online Quality Resources available at QUALITY.ORG. The
total number of accesses to this site in its four full months of operation
is now over 21,000.
The URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) for all of our information are:
Gopher quality.org
FTP ftp.quality.org/pub/qc
WWW http://www.quality.org/qc
***
Sponsored by the The Washington Deming Study Group:
David P. Langford on Total Quality Learning
The Application of Quality Management Tools, Techniques, Theories, and
Philosophies to Education
David P. Langford, the founder of Total Quality Learning, Inc. and well
known educator and author, will share his knowledge and experience in an
interactive presentation. A must for everyone interested in education:
teachers, administrators, consultants, and business leaders. Copies of
his Orchestrating Learning with Quality will be available for purchase.
When: Tuesday, May 9, 1995 from 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: The George Washington University Medical Center Auditorium, 23rd
and I Street, NW, Foggy Bottom Metro Stop
To Register: 301-340-0325
Fee Payable at the door: $5 WDSG member; $10 non-members
***
Thank You !
Many thanks to Inchcape (Intertek) for their support of No. Va. ASQC
Section 0511 on all dinner meetings through advertisement and
reservations.
*** end ***