Description: Perform document control and recordkeeping duties within an ISO 9001/13485 environment. Responsible for establishing document flow and distribution; reproduce, distribute, store and retrieve documentation. Assist in creation of SOPs and with the activities of the Quality Manager as needed.
Position Purpose: Responsible for all aspects of API Heat Transfer quality control.
Read the rest of this entry »
Position Purpose:
Manage the daily operations of the Quality department to ensure that Company policies, operations, and procedures meet customer, Company, and industry quality requirements for the Air-cooled business.
Read the rest of this entry »
Our client currently has a direct-hire opening for an experienced quality supervisor with AWS certified welding inspector/instructor credentials.
"Quality Is Our Job, Customer Satisfaction is our Duty, Customer Loyalty is our Future”
by mcardus Posted: Tuesday, 1/10/2012
A great presentation shared by John Lupienski ASQ Buffalo Board Member and ASQ Fellow.
"Quality Is Our Job, Customer Satisfaction is our Duty, Customer Loyalty is our Future”
Your Thoughts?
What about this presentation was useful to you? How might you apply this to your existing work?
Contribute to SIGMA’s lean strategy and lead our lean activities with a focus on the servicing process, also including lean leadership for a broad range of other SIGMA business functions.
International Imaging Materials, Inc. (IIMAK) is an industry expert and a leading North American manufacturer of thermal transfer ribbons, which are used in a wide range of high growth markets including bar coding, thermal fax, color computer graphics and security authentication. IIMAK’s global operations have nearly 600 employees worldwide, and are headquartered in Amherst, New York. We currently have an opportunity for a Quality Engineer.
International Imaging Materials, Inc. (IIMAK) is an industry expert and a leading North American manufacturer of thermal transfer ribbons, which are used in a wide range of high growth markets including bar coding, thermal fax, color computer graphics and security authentication. IIMAK’s global operations have nearly 600 employees worldwide, and are headquartered in Amherst, New York. We currently have an opportunity for a Quality Assurance Director.
It’s a new year. And by now you may have set-up New Year’s resolutions to make improvements in your life. As Quality professionals, let’s look at six of the past centuries Quality Gurus and see what principles we should be reminded of in setting New Year’s resolutions for Quality Improvement. (The six gurus were featured in ASQ’s 2012 calendar. The principles noted below are only one small snippet of these great men’s contribution to quality. )
Armand Feigenbaum – TQM. TQM (Total Quality Management) recognizes that quality control, quality assurance, quality improvement are not stand alone programs for a separate department to run. To attain the goals of a “Quality Organization” the philosophies, methodologies, tools, etc. of quality must be integrated into the very fabric of all that an organization does to assure that the “customers” obtain the best products and services at the best prices with lowest level of defects. We need to continue to strive to assist our organizations to incorporate “quality” into the vision, mission and strategies of everything they do.
Phil Crosby – zero defects. Phil established that the only goal for defects was zero. The purpose was the mindset that said we should passionately strive for reducing errors, reworks, defects until they no longer exist. It is the goal of error-proofing. It is the goal of Six Sigma with its 3.4 defects per million opportunities. It should be our goal.
Edwards Deming – PDSA. The Plan – Do – Study – Act cycle has become a staple in many organizations repertoire of problem solving. It recognizes that continuous improvement has a process for planning the improvement process, carrying-out the plan, studying the results and then acting on the new information for the next round of improvements. It is a cycle with no end. The PDSA is the forerunner to DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control). Do you use an established process for making improvements in your organization?
Kaoru Ishikawa – Fishbone diagram. The Fishbone diagram (also known as the Cause & Effect or Ishikawa diagram) is a basic tool for starting a root cause analysis. It combines knowledge of a process with brainstorming activities to group ideas into common areas for further investigation. Used in conjunction with Affinity diagrams and the 5 Why Analysis this basic tool is a must for any initial problem solving activity. Are you using it regularly?
Joseph Juran – Pareto Chart. While the Pareto Chart is named for an Italian economist of the late 18th century, it is Joe Juran that understood its basic concept and applied it to practical problem solving. The 80 / 20 rule, while not a law of nature, is a significant concept in one’s ability to solve problems in a practical way. The bottom line is that we don’t have to fix all of the causes of an issue in order to make a significant impact on results. Make sure you are using this tool regularly in order to keep your sanity.
Walter Shewhart – Control Charts. Control charts are statistically based so that we don’t over or under react to fluctuations in our processes. Some changes are just “noise” in a system and should be left alone. Other changes are specific in nature and should be investigated for root cause. The control chart should be used to assure that improvements in systems stay improved and don’t regress to the “old way.” Are they a staple in your arsenal of weapons for quality improvement?
So what do I see in these six Quality Guru’s approach to making a difference. Philosophies of TQM and Zero defects set the framework for making change. Having a methodology in PDSA to attack the issue assures me that I continuously and thoroughly resolve the root cause. Using tools such as the Fishbone diagram and the Pareto chart allow for digging deep into the problem. And finally, Control charts give me a measurement for monitoring my improvement which keeps me from regressing.
Are you using these philosophies, methodologies and tools to make improvement in your organization, your community and in your own life? If not resolve to do so in 2012.
Thom Marra
ASQ Buffalo – Chair
DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INERTIA. The psychological meaning of the word "inertia" implies an indisposition to change – a certain "stuckness" due to human programming. It represents the inevitability of behaving in a certain way – the way that has been indelibly inscribed somewhere in the brain. It also represents the impossibility – as long as a person is guided by his habits – of ever behaving in a better way.
You are bound by individual construct of reality. This is the continual practices, prejudices, experiences and beliefs (false and true) you contain within your brain. When brought into a team, a team construct is developed. The team creates systems of practices, prejudices, experiences and beliefs; that are reinforced through time and experience with your-self and the team. We subconsciously impose our own restrictions; rules and assumption – This imposition spreads outside of individual to teams to eventually creating organizational folkloric constructs of practice.
These are heard in;
- "That is the way it has always been done."
- "You are not allowed to do that!"
- "Tradition demands that it be done this way!"
- "You have been given the information, and the information is true."
- “We have always done it that way.”
- “I tried doing it differently once, and got written up.”
- …you can add more I am sure.
The more experience we have, more reinforcement of psychological inertia, more belief in our constructs - which freezes our thinking in place. Once our thinking freezes in place the friction of innovation and growth ceases to happen.
Examples – Read the statements below, while answering be thoughtful of how your continual practices, prejudices, experiences and beliefs (false and true) impact the solutions:
Example 1
- How many months have 28 days?
Example 2
- At what speed must a dog run not to hear any sound from a frying pan that is tied to its tail?
Example 3
- There are sixty lit candles in a room, and 10 have blown out. How many candles remain?
Think about it
- How did your initial 1st thought response, differ from a more thoughtful response?
- What past constructs (experiences) impacted your responses?
- If you were to answer these questions in a group – how would that have change the outcomes?
- How fast does that dog have to run?
Looking at the routine causes below, explore how you overcome or fell victim to them.
- In the past, when faced with challenges similar what was effective?
- What can be done to ensure solutions to problems are as “true” as possible and are able to overcome psychological inertia?
Routine causes of psychological inertia are;
- Having a fixed vision (or model) of the solution or root cause.
- False assumptions (trusting the data).
- Language that is a strong carrier of psychological inertia. Specific terminology carries psychological inertia.
- Experience, expertise and reliance upon previous results.
- Limited knowledge, hidden resources or mechanisms.
- Inflexibility (model worship; trying to prove a specific theory, stubbornness).
- Using the same strategy. Keep thinking the same way and you will continue to get the same result.
- Rushing to a solution – incomplete thinking.
- 8 Causes can be found in TRIZICS
Michael Cardus is Create-Learning Team Building & Leadership