2/7/17 -- "Too Lean Presentation - Correct SPC Case Study"  -- Cassie Jodon

Quality Assurance and Quality Control both are part of Quality Management, however QA is focused on preventing defects while QC is focused on identifying the defect.

Control Plans are critical quality assurance documents utilized to assist in achieving ISO certification; quick references during internal audits and ease operator training.

They can also be easily converted into a “Quality Audit Plan” to assist production.

A Quality Audit Plan is seen as valued added by the production team. This document outlines QUICK – but valuable - audit points that production can react to immediately when found nonconforming. The audit points should be ones agreed upon between quality and production to ensure buy in and accountablility.

This document is a quality tool that identifies process nonconformances for production because busy production supervisors cannot be everywhere, all the time – and hopefully identifying the problem before it turns into a product nonconformance. If a large amount of the quality teams focus throughout the day is on product audits, it may be too late.

If your company does not have documented Control Plans – that is OK because YOU can create a “Quality Audit Plans” without a previously established Control Plan.

This presentation will provide examples of why Control Plans are valuable and how to start creating Control Plans OR Quality Audit Plans that will become a valuable part of your quality assurance system.

3/17/16 -- "Too Lean Presentation - Correct SPC Case Study"  -- Bob Doering

Listen to what happens when a simple attempt to implement SPC unearths some disturbing quality and process design flaws. Everything from gage choice and usage, process flow, machine location, material temperature control and incorrect specification all come together to create a whirlwind of chaos. This is a real case study, scrubbed to protect the victim. See how a few useful tools sort out the mess. But can it be totally fixed? Find out!

This presentation is very controversial, as it destroys the myth of the normal curve in precision machining!

4/16/15 -- "Quality Tools in Your Career" -- Theresa Whitacre

Quality Progress Career Corner Articles - Sampling of my most popular columns for advice, tools, and tips on how to apply quality principles in your career.

3/19/15 -- "Process Capability Analysis" -- David Kitska

 This presentation will explain the meaning of process capability and will review the key elements of a process capability analysis (PCA).  Included will be an explanation and comparison of the widely used process capability indices (CPI’s) Cp, Cpk, and Cpm as well as a discussion of the difference between short-term and long-term capability.  Dave will use Minitab and measurements of automotive piston ring diameters to demonstrate a typical PCA and how to check the necessary statistical assumptions of stability and normality. 

 The presentation will emphasize the use of confidence limits on CPI’s for drawing appropriate conclusions.  People often report a calculated Cpk, for instance, as the “actual” process value without appreciating that it is a sample statistic based on a limited time horizon and subject to sampling error and potential bias.   While most quality professionals know well enough not to draw conclusions from sample averages, for example, without conducting hypothesis tests (e.g., Z-tests or t-tests) or without calculating confidence limits, this same prudence is often not practiced when reporting and using sample Cpk values.  Fortunately, Minitab can calculate both one-sided and two-sided confidence bounds for Cp, Cpk, and Cpm with only a few key strokes.  The equations for these limits can be easily programmed into Excel in case one does not have access to Minitab or comparable statistical software.  If time permits, Dave will also demonstrate options available in Minitab for handling non-normal data in a PCA.management is increasingly the responsibility of quality managers, where we have adopted tools for sorting, categorizing, scheduling, ranking, mitigating, and reporting risks until we drown in databases, registers, matrices, and tables.  We know what to do once risks are identified, but how does one get a list together in the first place?  The key element is realizing that our perception of risk is a tacit knowledge activity, with similar risk events perceived differently person-to-person.  Some of us live for the thrill of the chase and others buy insurance for protection.  How do we find out that we have differing perceptions…when our planning fails and all has gone awry?

“Management is prediction,” as stated by Deming, is the bedrock for the learning cycle of PDCA, a highly tacit activity that underpins our conversations about risks.  In this session, we will learn how to use Deming’s theory to have more effective conversations about risks as a team through our own learning cycle, a game.  Roll up your sleeves because this will not be a presentation but rather a simulation to learn how to navigate the monsters and paper cuts of a project toward success.

2/19/15 -- "Gamification in Risk Management" -- Amanda Parker

 Risk management is increasingly the responsibility of quality managers, where we have adopted tools for sorting, categorizing, scheduling, ranking, mitigating, and reporting risks until we drown in databases, registers, matrices, and tables.  We know what to do once risks are identified, but how does one get a list together in the first place?  The key element is realizing that our perception of risk is a tacit knowledge activity, with similar risk events perceived differently person-to-person.  Some of us live for the thrill of the chase and others buy insurance for protection.  How do we find out that we have differing perceptions…when our planning fails and all has gone awry?

“Management is prediction,” as stated by Deming, is the bedrock for the learning cycle of PDCA, a highly tacit activity that underpins our conversations about risks.  In this session, we will learn how to use Deming’s theory to have more effective conversations about risks as a team through our own learning cycle, a game.  Roll up your sleeves because this will not be a presentation but rather a simulation to learn how to navigate the monsters and paper cuts of a project toward success.

1/22/15 -- " Aesthetic Quality Standards – How difficult could it be?" -- Cassie Jodon, Josh Greathouse

All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC manufactures bonded cookware using American craftsmanship and American-made metals to produce a complete line of superior cookware. As the Quality Systems Manager, I am responsible for the execution of proactive quality measures that ensure an environment of continual improvement while maintaining quality standards and management system certifications.

The specifications for the product are the backbone of any great manufacturing company’s quality system documentation. When I arrived at All-Clad I was shocked to find that a company who had been making cookware for over 40 years had never established product specifications. As quality professionals we know how difficult it would be to conduct training, an audit or root cause analysis without documented specifications. Imagine how hard it would be to reject material for a quality defect without a basis for your findings. As the new quality manager, it became my first objective to create these much needed documents.

It took several months for the quality and production departments to agree upon final specifications. So why is the quality department still being requested to review product defects on a daily basis? Two words – aesthetic defects!

Anyone can be trained to accept or reject a product using a Go/No Go gauge, but what if the product doesn’t look pretty enough? Join me as I discuss the journey of documenting over 60 defects and find out how hard it is to “maintain a spec” when 70% of those defects are aesthetic in nature.

Since aesthetic defects are not “black and white”, we will talk about how critical operational definitions are to define and the need to continually reduce the “gray” area. We will discuss the need for ongoing training to ensure that quality standards do not slide - both from an inspectors standpoint (not rejecting a good product) and from a management standpoint (not accepting poor quality in order to meet company goals).

This talk discussed the application of regression tolerance intervals for bounding the values of a dependent variable, which can be used as the basis for engineering design limits which depend on certain process input variables such as temperature, pressure, voltage, stress, etc. So…what if I asked you if you know your 3 vital metrics for your business or organization?  Would you be able to tell me what they are??  Every business or organization must recognize and appreciate the vital few metrics (measures of success) that underpin its vision of the future.  Our key metrics are the directional signs along the road to our vision that tell us if we’re headed in the right direction.  This presentation comes with a caution.  Don’t expect this to be just me presenting to you…this is going to be interactive!  It’s going to be engaging, thought-provoking and yes, fun.  I have spent a great deal of my career working to improve processes, and a key lesson-learned that I will share with you is process improvement starts with getting your metrics right.

4/16/15 -- "Quality Tools in Your Career" -- Theresa Whitacre

Quality Progress Career Corner Articles - Sampling of my most popular columns for advice, tools, and tips on how to apply quality principles in your career.

3/19/15 -- "Process Capability Analysis" -- David Kitska

 This presentation will explain the meaning of process capability and will review the key elements of a process capability analysis (PCA).  Included will be an explanation and comparison of the widely used process capability indices (CPI’s) Cp, Cpk, and Cpm as well as a discussion of the difference between short-term and long-term capability.  Dave will use Minitab and measurements of automotive piston ring diameters to demonstrate a typical PCA and how to check the necessary statistical assumptions of stability and normality. 

 The presentation will emphasize the use of confidence limits on CPI’s for drawing appropriate conclusions.  People often report a calculated Cpk, for instance, as the “actual” process value without appreciating that it is a sample statistic based on a limited time horizon and subject to sampling error and potential bias.   While most quality professionals know well enough not to draw conclusions from sample averages, for example, without conducting hypothesis tests (e.g., Z-tests or t-tests) or without calculating confidence limits, this same prudence is often not practiced when reporting and using sample Cpk values.  Fortunately, Minitab can calculate both one-sided and two-sided confidence bounds for Cp, Cpk, and Cpm with only a few key strokes.  The equations for these limits can be easily programmed into Excel in case one does not have access to Minitab or comparable statistical software.  If time permits, Dave will also demonstrate options available in Minitab for handling non-normal data in a PCA.management is increasingly the responsibility of quality managers, where we have adopted tools for sorting, categorizing, scheduling, ranking, mitigating, and reporting risks until we drown in databases, registers, matrices, and tables.  We know what to do once risks are identified, but how does one get a list together in the first place?  The key element is realizing that our perception of risk is a tacit knowledge activity, with similar risk events perceived differently person-to-person.  Some of us live for the thrill of the chase and others buy insurance for protection.  How do we find out that we have differing perceptions…when our planning fails and all has gone awry?

“Management is prediction,” as stated by Deming, is the bedrock for the learning cycle of PDCA, a highly tacit activity that underpins our conversations about risks.  In this session, we will learn how to use Deming’s theory to have more effective conversations about risks as a team through our own learning cycle, a game.  Roll up your sleeves because this will not be a presentation but rather a simulation to learn how to navigate the monsters and paper cuts of a project toward success.

2/19/15 -- "Gamification in Risk Management" -- Amanda Parker

 Risk management is increasingly the responsibility of quality managers, where we have adopted tools for sorting, categorizing, scheduling, ranking, mitigating, and reporting risks until we drown in databases, registers, matrices, and tables.  We know what to do once risks are identified, but how does one get a list together in the first place?  The key element is realizing that our perception of risk is a tacit knowledge activity, with similar risk events perceived differently person-to-person.  Some of us live for the thrill of the chase and others buy insurance for protection.  How do we find out that we have differing perceptions…when our planning fails and all has gone awry?

“Management is prediction,” as stated by Deming, is the bedrock for the learning cycle of PDCA, a highly tacit activity that underpins our conversations about risks.  In this session, we will learn how to use Deming’s theory to have more effective conversations about risks as a team through our own learning cycle, a game.  Roll up your sleeves because this will not be a presentation but rather a simulation to learn how to navigate the monsters and paper cuts of a project toward success.

1/22/15 -- " Aesthetic Quality Standards – How difficult could it be?" -- Cassie Jodon, Josh Greathouse

All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC manufactures bonded cookware using American craftsmanship and American-made metals to produce a complete line of superior cookware. As the Quality Systems Manager, I am responsible for the execution of proactive quality measures that ensure an environment of continual improvement while maintaining quality standards and management system certifications.

The specifications for the product are the backbone of any great manufacturing company’s quality system documentation. When I arrived at All-Clad I was shocked to find that a company who had been making cookware for over 40 years had never established product specifications. As quality professionals we know how difficult it would be to conduct training, an audit or root cause analysis without documented specifications. Imagine how hard it would be to reject material for a quality defect without a basis for your findings. As the new quality manager, it became my first objective to create these much needed documents.

It took several months for the quality and production departments to agree upon final specifications. So why is the quality department still being requested to review product defects on a daily basis? Two words – aesthetic defects!

Anyone can be trained to accept or reject a product using a Go/No Go gauge, but what if the product doesn’t look pretty enough? Join me as I discuss the journey of documenting over 60 defects and find out how hard it is to “maintain a spec” when 70% of those defects are aesthetic in nature.

Since aesthetic defects are not “black and white”, we will talk about how critical operational definitions are to define and the need to continually reduce the “gray” area. We will discuss the need for ongoing training to ensure that quality standards do not slide - both from an inspectors standpoint (not rejecting a good product) and from a management standpoint (not accepting poor quality in order to meet company goals).

This talk discussed the application of regression tolerance intervals for bounding the values of a dependent variable, which can be used as the basis for engineering design limits which depend on certain process input variables such as temperature, pressure, voltage, stress, etc. So…what if I asked you if you know your 3 vital metrics for your business or organization?  Would you be able to tell me what they are??  Every business or organization must recognize and appreciate the vital few metrics (measures of success) that underpin its vision of the future.  Our key metrics are the directional signs along the road to our vision that tell us if we’re headed in the right direction.  This presentation comes with a caution.  Don’t expect this to be just me presenting to you…this is going to be interactive!  It’s going to be engaging, thought-provoking and yes, fun.  I have spent a great deal of my career working to improve processes, and a key lesson-learned that I will share with you is process improvement starts with getting your metrics right.