Whether your business has a 50-year history or just opened last year, you need to make sure you have a system of sustained success. ISO Q9004: Quality Management Systems–Managing for the Sustained Success of an Organization “provides guidance to management for achieving sustained success of any organization in a complex, demanding, and ever-changing environment.” 

A revolution has occurred. Those with a view of major developed economies over the last roughly twenty years say it happened “quietly,” as the businesses of these economies began investing more in intangible assets—such as design, branding, research and development, and software—than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. 

Despite best efforts, auditors find things. It is their job. Why wait until audit day to uncover problems? In the words of Walt Disney, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” 

Quality sat down with Eric Hayler, past chair of ASQ and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, BMW Manufacturing, to discuss his work as ASQ’s 2017 chair and his work now as past chair.

Multi-vari charts are a useful tool for presenting analysis of variance data in graphical form. They can identify patterns of variation, on a single chart, from many causes. 

Greg Mann doesn’t want to brag. Although he’s proud of the company’s work, he isn’t satisfied. “We’re just getting started,” says Mann, the operations manager at Accurate Gauge & Manufacturing (Rochester Hills, MI). 

Those familiar with the animated comedy The Simpsons may recall that Homer has a once long-lost brother named Herb. While making a valiant effort to pull himself from the gutter, Herb invents a device that will translate a baby’s cries into intelligible language that will tell parents exactly what the baby wants or needs. 

In 2011, Sipho Tjabadi, general manager, Eskom Quality Management, South Africa, spoke at the ASQ Audit Division Conference. To punctuate his keynote address’s points, Tjabadi brought a video titled “The Cost of Quality.”

Real-life quality problems are conundrums. Dorian Shainin realized that recognizing the distinctive characteristics of a problem was critical. He also knew that applying the right tactics was the key to the solution; however, many of the analysis tools of his time were not effective.

Walker joined Adcole in 2017 as vice president of global sales and marketing.