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November
2005 Newsletter
Past
Newsletters
Printable Newsletter |
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Tours
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Would you like to help the section by sponsoring a tour at your place of business? We are always looking for new locations.
Please contact Ron Jochimsen at (920) 225-6127 for more details.
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Please Welcome
Our New ASQ Members!
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Jesse
Berg |
Colleen
O'Brien |
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Cesar
Brage |
Norbert
Schry |
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Donald
King |
Lori
Schubring |
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James
Merkatoris |
Charles
Steinbach |
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Learn About Quality
This month's topic: Reliabiltiy |
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Will the quality of your product
or service hold up over time? Here are some ways to tell:
Quality = Does it perform its intended function?
Reliability = How long will it do so?
Reliability can be defined as the probability that a product, system
or service will perform its intended function adequately for a
specified period of time, operating in a defined operating
environment without failure.
Components of this definition:
- Probability: the
likelihood of mission success.
- Intended
function: for example, to light, cut, rotate or
heat.
- Satisfactory:
perform according to a specification, with an
acceptable degree of compliance.
- Specific period
of time: minutes, days, months or number of cycles.
- Specified
conditions: for example, temperature, speed or
pressure.
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Stated another way, reliability is
probability of success, durability, dependability, quality over time
and availability to perform a function. Common examples:
- "This car is
under warranty for 40,000 miles or 3 years,
whichever comes first."
- "This mower has a
lifetime guarantee."
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Excerpted from Mark L. Crossley,
The Desk Reference of Statistical Quality Methods, ASQ Quality
Press, 2000, page 333. |
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Message From The Chair
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We all may have heard things like: 'Times
are changing'; or 'Everything is changing'; or 'The only thing constant is
change'. Many have experienced changes in our business climate or seen
Quality functions shift to the 'line'. ASQ as an international association
has observed and suffered from broad changes with how Quality is respected
and supported over the past eight years. The result is less corporate
support, financially and intellectually. Membership numbers have trended
down as some companies tighten their belts by decreasing involvement and
funding. Other associations have experienced similar difficulties.
When Jerry Mairani took over as President of ASQ, he saw that our typically
planning information was not reflecting what was happening with our members,
and changes in their preferences or needs. The typical survey method was not
working. The Board of Directors approved the calling of a first ever special
summit of the Section leaders to discuss Member Value: participation,
satisfaction, and expectations, plus new ways to provide it. As ASQ members
change, we need to change what we offer and how we deliver it to them.
Leaders from about 150 sections and 20 divisions assembled in Milwaukee in
October to discuss Member Value. Using the 'Café' method, we harvested the
leader's perceptions of the members. From this, ASQ hopes to respond quicker
to member changes. The raw information is too fresh to announce any new
programs, but collectively the leaders are trying to find new ways to
increase the value that our members find in the American Society for
Quality.
Ron Jochimsen
2005-2006 ASQ Section 1206 Chair |
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Madison Area Quality Improvement
Network
Hunter Conference on Quality |
December 7- 8, 2005
Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin
The Madison Area Quality Improvement Network (MAQIN) is pleased to
present Peter Block, author of "The Answer to How is Yes", as this
year's keynote speaker on Wednesday, December 7th. A Senior Leaders
panel discussion will follow this presentation. On Thursday,
December 8th, there will be a keynote speaker, in addition to
education and networking opportunities, plus breakout sessions on
topics of interest for quality, management, organization
development, and business improvement professionals. For more
information visit the MAQIN at
www.maqin.org
or call 608-277-7800. |
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Summary of September 26th Executive Board Meeting
Main topic: Program Team
plans for 2005-06, Member-Value. |
- Treasurer report received and
accepted.
- Program Team tentative plans
for Program meetings were presented. They are planning a special
spring meeting. The Board approved a budget change.
- ASQ headquarters is hosting a
Member-Value Leadership Summit in October. Ron has been asked to
attend. Board discussed what they perceived our members thought
about participation, joining or renewing, satisfaction, loyalty,
and expected and provided value.
- Membership committee -
Retention. Plan was established for assisting in contacting past
members.
- Coordinated cut-off dates for
Section Newsletter delivery and monthly Program registration.
- Web usage up is up 9%. We
would like to take digital pictures at meetings to place on
website.
- Pete Guckenberg will assume
the Committee Audit Chair position.
- Bruce Berg and the Program
Team members will tabulate attendee survey from Program Meetings
& Conferences.
- Section member survey should
be developed this fall and placed on Website this winter.
- More members are needed for
Treasurer Function at every Program Meeting.
- Apple i-Pod will be used as
survey submission prize.
- Anyone who knows of any
vendors that would be interested in presenting at our December
Vendor night, please tell Michelle Kilgas
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Advance Your Career: ASQ Certification |
In today's world, where quality competition is a fact of life and the need for a work force proficient in the principles and practices of quality control is a central concern of many companies, certification is a mark of excellence. It demonstrates that the certified individual has the knowledge to assure quality of products and services. Certification is an investment in your career and in the future of your employer.
Certification exams are given twice a year in March and October at ASQ Local Sections and International sites. They
may also be available at certain conferences and events. If you are currently a member of ASQ and would like to register for a certification exam, fill out the ASQ member online certification application at
www.asq.org.
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Ask Woody |
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Got
a quality question or a problem at work you can’t solve?
How about asking an expert?
You can take
advantage of the “Ask Woody” column -- a place to ask questions,
share concerns or anything else on your mind. Email
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This Month's
Question for "Ask Woody"
I work with a company that manufactures dietary supplements. We make
capsules, tablets, liquids and bulk powders to help target certain
health areas such as cardiovascular, immunity, and overall good
health (multi vitamins). We are evaluating our sampling techniques,
and I was wondering if you had any experience taking samples of
different size batches (for our capsules that we manufacture). Right
now, we are having our operator take a sample every 5-10 minutes. We
are noticing a discrepancy in what is in our sample vs the rest of
the batch, so our sample is being biased in a way. We were trying to
come up with different, easier techniques, but were not sure what
was used most in industry. I have seen something called a sampling
thief, but was not sure how it works. I have also heard of having a
dedicated quality person taking the sample every 5-10 minutes
instead of the operator. To me, this does not sound like the most
efficient way, but maybe it is the best thing to do. Also, I
was wondering if you had any other members that are in the food /
dietary supplement / drug industry. I often have questions about
regulations and it would be good to have some contacts that I could
bounce ideas off of, instead of trying to re-invent the wheel.
Woody's Response
I received this email back in June, and pretty much took the summer
off so my answer is unusually delayed. This email contains several
questions, some of which the answer could double or triple the
length of the newsletter as books have been written to address the
issues. So I will only highlight a reply and suggest that these
could be subjects of a network session of the Section monthly
meeting, either their own session or as part of the Six Sigma
session.
- Samples different
from the batch. That would imply to me that you have
another process for measuring the output besides
periodic random sampling (often used for control
charts). I would dig deeper into the two methods and
closely examine the measurement process (Gage R&R) as a
starting point. Are you using a control chart to monitor
trends over time?
- The Sampling Thief. I
have not heard of this, but it does sound curious.
- A dedicated sampling
person. Some organization will use a dedicated sampling
person. At John Deere in Horicon we use a similar type
of function. We do end of line audits, the auditor being
part of the production team. But we also have
"independent auditors" that do the same task to a
different sample across multiple production lines. Our
results only rarely show a difference between the two
auditing processes (can be explained as random sampling
variation). Our use of the independent audits varies -
we try to balance need with cost. Many companies use the
philosophy, "Trust - but verify".
- Other members. I'll
put in a plug for monthly networking sessions, which are
an emphasis for the section this year - thanks to
Michelle Kilgas and others on the team.
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Showcars Your Team's
Dedication to Excellence! |
Register your team for ASQ's International
Team Excellence Competition
Register your team for a competition that is unlike any other! The ASQ
International Team Excellence Competition is the only international team
recognition process of its kind in the United States. Since 1985, 746
teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Japan,
and China have participated in this outstanding process!
Why Should your Team Participate?
- Recognition
- Self Assessment and
Improvement
- Benchmarking
- Encouraging Excellence
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Get your team presentations together!
The deadline for DVD/video entries is December 19, 2005. Team finalists
will be selected to participate in the LIVE presentations at ASQ's World
Conference on Quality and Improvement , May 1-3, 2006, in Milwaukee, WI.
For additional information, contact Geetha Balagopal at 800-248-1946,
ext. 7303, or at .
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Hey Job Seekers:
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Please contact newsletter editor
if you have a job opening you'd like to post. Please include the company name, city, position open (title) and how prospective candidates can learn more.
Also - The ASQ’s Career Center is free to all job seekers and provides you with access to the best employers and jobs in the
quality industry. Go to www.asq.org to search for jobs, post your resume, and learn about other helpful resources for advancing your career.
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Use the "Editor's Mailbox" to convey your comments, promotions, and whatever else you'd like to express with regard to the newsletter or the ASQ section. Please email newsletter editor
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