ASQ 2007 World Conference on Quality and Improvement

Sorry for not blogging last night. I could not get on the internet, and I was so tired that I just gave up trying. I tried again this morning with no luck, so that was that.

Some of the sessions I attended included a session on disaster planning and business continuity (I was the moderator), supply chain management, and some sessions related to the biomedical industry. Although I missed the opportunity to get a free book from Paton Press, I decided to purchase one and still was able to get Craig Cochran's signature. I am a fan of his letters from Hopeulikit, Georgia, so it was great to not only meet him, but have the opportunity to spend a few minutes chatting and get his signature. I forward his stories to coworkers throughout the organization. I was also able to get a copy of ISO Lesson Guide 2000: Pocket Guide to Q9001:2000 to send to a coworker in Thailand and have it autographed by both of the authors.

Tuesday evening finished up with the President's Reception followed by the Banquet, and of course more hospitality suites. The dancing at the Banquet was fun as always, with a wide variety of music, and some songs I had never heard before. I turned into a pumpkin early, and even got to sleep earlier than usual because of the technical difficulties with my computer. Someone must have known that I needed more sleep.

This morning went very quickly with a session on "Flawless Execution at the Speed of the Customer" (my second moderator session), and a fascinating closing keynote by Stephen Hacker based on his book about the Wild Dogs of Africa. I also ran into my friend Steve, and got to help with taking down the Biomedical Division booth. Of course, I think I may have been in the way more than I was a help, but it was fun.

With that, the conference ended and I am now in Tamarac, FL visiting my mom! I hope that you have enjoyed our blog. I have certainly enjoyed being able to share the details of the conference. It made me much more aware of all of the details of the event, and it was a factor in helping expand my network. I look forward to seeing you in Houston next year.

Aimee Siegler

p.s. I will try to get my photos up and get a link posted tomorrow if I have the chance.

Posted by Aimee Siegler at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Dennis Arter

Jim Carroll talked about the future and how it is changing our profession. Although he didn't use the words, he presented Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns, where technologies are doubling in power every year. He gave several examples of this accelerating change:
- 65% of today's six-year olds will work in a job that doesn't presently exist,
- half of the technical knowledge a freshman engineering student learns will be obsolete by the time that student graduates,
- many of today's products have six-month life cycles

The second half of his talk focused on five effects of this rapid change:

1. Idea instantaety, where news travels around the world in minutes (and bad news travels even faster),
2. Scientific rapidity, where we have less available time to assess quality due to ever increasing complexity,
3. Hyperconnectivity, which can result in exponential risk several layers down the supply chain,
4. Workforce risk, where today's employees have different reward drivers,
5. Volitility, where everything seems to be moving and changing

Jim closed by suggesting that we need to

Observe everything around us.
Think about the changes.
Change how we approach a task.
Dare to experiment with something new.
Banish fear and disincentives.
Try new things.
Question the established ways.
Grow your knowledge base.
Do something new.
Enjoy the ride!

Today marks my last day at the conference. Tomorow, I am teaching auditing classes north of here by Universal City, for the rest of the week.

Dennis Arter, WorldCon blogger

Posted by Dennis Arter at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Dennis Arter

The Head of ISO, Alan Bryden, gave us a thought-provoking perspective on standards. The management system standards (MSS) are all coming together under the flag of "sustainable development."

Here's how it works.

Think of an overlapping bubble diagram with three bubbles.

The first bubble is Social Equity. Inside this bubble are standards on
- consumer protection
- worker protection
- occupational health and safety
- homeland security
- fair trade
- ethics and labor

The second bubble is Environmental Integrity. Inside this bubble are standards on
- environmental management
- life cycle and green labeling
- climate change
- energy efficiency
- renewables
- soil, air, and water quality

The third bubble is Economic Growth. Inside this bubble are standards on
- internet technology
- quality management
- trade facilitation
- e-business
- emergent economies
- finance

They all come together in the middle, giving us Sustainable Development.

Dennis Arter, WorldCon blogger 

Posted by Dennis Arter at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)