Last month, we examined the supply chain. The management of this complex system is a daunting task. That’s why, with this month’s column, we will move the discussion from the system to the standard—specifically, the quality management standard, ISO 9001:2015.

As quality professionals, you may or may not be directly involved in managing your company’s supply chain. You might be in an organization large enough to have a quality department in the purchasing/procurement group.

According to the ASQ Quality Glossary, voice of the customer (VOC) is defined as, “The expressed requirements and expectations of customers relative to products or services, as documented and disseminated to the providing organization’s members.” 

Quality is based on a series of facts and statistics collected together and analyzed. To produce a quality product—and continue producing a quality product—you need data.

With 2017 upon us, “Speaking of Quality” will take a look back to a few of quality’s anniversaries. Three particular anniversary years stand out as monumental for the advancement of quality methodology and in unifying the community.

With the signing of Proclamation 5249, President Ronald Reagan created National Quality Month. Since 1984, American companies have been observing National Quality Month as an opportunity to promote quality initiative awareness and celebrate the wins.

In one of its simplest definitions, quality represents the state of conformance to requirements. To be able to determine this conformance, we need to compare the product or service to established standard. 

As part of studies, Sangahn Kim researches theoretical and practical applications in quality engineering.

You are leading an improvement team. Leadership wants fast results. So, you and your team need new ideas fast.

In May, thousands of quality professionals from across the globe gathered to attend ASQ's 2016 World Conference on Quality and Improvement.