ASQ 2007 World Conference on Quality and Improvement http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/ en Copyright 2007 Wed, 02 May 2007 20:33:09 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tuesday and Wednesday 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.

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/tuesday_and_wednesday.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/tuesday_and_wednesday.html Wed, 02 May 2007 20:33:09 -0600 Tuesday Morning Keynote 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

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/tuesday_morning_keynote.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/tuesday_morning_keynote.html Tue, 01 May 2007 20:24:58 -0600 Opening Session on Monday 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 

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/opening_session_on_monday.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/05/opening_session_on_monday.html Tue, 01 May 2007 06:05:57 -0600 The Rumor Mill Dennis Arter taught me in his auditing class that in order to establish a fact, you have to have corroborated evidence. This could be through interview/conversation, documents, records, etc. Last night, I heard some rumors that I did not believe to be true, so I wanted to share that information with you.

Rumor one: Roberto Saco is Mike Nichol's business parter. FALSE. Both Roberto and Mike USED TO work for Amex. However, Mike left Amex before he started on the board, and Roberto had already left Amex by the time he was selected by the nominating committee. Evidence: Conversation with Roberto and Mike, business cards. Roberto is a principal for Aporia Advisors, Mike is a principal for Nichols Quality Consultants.

Rumor two:Roberto Saco co-authored Mike's Six Sigma book. FALSE. Roberto is mentioned in the book on Six Sigma for Financial Services, however, both books are co-authored by Rowland Hayler. Evidence: Conversation with Roberto and Mike, ASQ website.

It is easy to be critical when one is not satisfied with the results in an election. However, we need to remember that even when we do not agree, that in itself is not evidence that the process is broken.

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/the_rumor_mill.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/the_rumor_mill.html Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:08:06 -0600 Is it really Monday already? Today was another busy day. Did I get everywhere that I wanted to? No. Did I find value in where I went? Absolutely.

The day started with the opening session. Unfortunately, I was too tired to sit in a dark room, so after 9, I walked over to the exhibit hall and started walking around. I also got a chance to get a book personally autographed by Denise Robitaille (for free!) from Paton Press. Then I got to spend some time with my friend Eric, who promised I could get my picture taken in the BMW at the automotive division booth. Eric also convinced me to go see the featured speaker, Dan Korem, talk about Profiling. I had planned to attend a session on periodicals writing that overlapped it. While I was interested in the writing session, I am glad that I went to see Dan speak. I also purchased his book on profiling. I think that I can use his tools to try to improve the performance on some of the teams that I work on. The conference sessions I attended were on the Baldrige criteria, and supplier management.

After that things got a little crazy. The ECD had an after 5 session - I got to present about the RoHS technical committee, followed by a mad dash from the other end of the OCCC to the Rosen Center Hotel for a meeting of the research committee at the Executive Rountable Reception. Then, it was time for the Biomedical and FD&C joint dinner at Sleuths. We got to see the Squire's Inn. I won't tell you whodunnit, but perhaps Danny Whelan can tell you.

I mentioned last night that ASQ friendships really meant a lot to me. Today was a day that really highlighted that for me. I feel really lucky to have made the friendships I have here. However, what really means the most is that I have made friends that won't disappear when the conference is over. Perhaps lack of sleep is making me somewhat sentimental, but at a conference on quality, I don't want to mention quality of life. Friendship is a big component in that equation.

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/is_it_really_monday_already.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/is_it_really_monday_already.html Mon, 30 Apr 2007 22:04:22 -0600 Sunday kicks off the Conference Today was a very long day. Of course, some of it is self-inflicted (I stayed up way past my bedtime), however, there was a lot going on today. The morning started at 6:30am with the second part of the ideas to action gathering. There was a lot of great sharing. I had the opportunity to meet Sylvia Garcés Soria, and she said that she would blog on the conference on her Spanish blog - mission accomplished. At the end we had to make a committment to do something before the next meeting in the fall - I committed to share the "good" stuff from WCQI and the rest of my trip with my home section, and to continue blogging after the conference.

After lunch with the Lean Enterprise Division (I learned that Cliff Moser is a surfer dude), I got to attend some division meetings. I went to Lean Enterprise, EED and ECD. Lean Enterprise is looking at pairing up with the Six Sigma Forum for a conference. EED discussed the need for better control and understanding of their conference planning. ECD is working on documenting their BoK.

The annual meeting was next. I was disappointed to discover so few members had voted. Approximately 4,600 members voted. Dennis alreay blogged the presentation itself since he beat me here again tonight.

The conference opening reception was fun and filled with pirates. I got to see Michael Dreikorn from the Aviation, Space and Defense Division. I met him at the reception at my first conference in Philadelphia. I must have looked totally lost, and he took pity on me and had a conversation with me that evening in Philly. I didn't even go to the annual meeting that year because I thought it was not for people like me. It was nice ot see him again. Next was the certification board reception followed by a visit to the FD&C suite. It was a very full evening to cap a very full day.

One thing that we discussed at the cert. board reception was ASQ and friendships. I feel lucky to have the friendships I do within ASQ. The networking is important, especially since it leads to the exchange of information. The training is important, since it helps me do my job better. However, the thing that I have come to value the most is the friendships. I hope that this is something that you too can find within ASQ.

Aimee Siegler

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/sunday_kicks_off_the_conferenc.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/sunday_kicks_off_the_conferenc.html Sun, 29 Apr 2007 23:23:56 -0600 Annual Business Meeting by Dennis Arter

We started off with a presentation by our representatives in Washington, DC. Even though they continually referred to our Washington Presence, As a resident of the State out West, I knew they really meant the lesser location -- DC. We are working with legislators and agency people in Education (no Child Left Behind), FEMA (disaster planning), and Food Safety (recent contamination and recalls).

Ron Atkinson presented the State of the Society:

- External Communications: We are working in Washington, DC, and providing information to various media outlets. Rumer has it tomorrow's USA Today will have an article on us.
- Membership: We have finally turned the corner and membership numbers are increasing after nine years of decline. We are presently at 93,000 members. We were also told that membership renewal is highly dependent on Section and Division satisfaction.
- Body of Knowledge: We continue to acquire, provide, and share our jewels with others.
- Education and Training: We are studying how to better provide what is really wanted.
- Internal Communications: Our Friday Fast Facts to member leaders has been well received.
- Markets: We continue to emphasize healthcare (6 sigma and Baldrige), service (federal government), and education (higher education).
- Management of the Society: We are applying the quality tools to the operations at Headquarters and were awarded the Mastered Level of the Wisconsin Forward Award.

Elections were announced and all candidates presented by the nominating committee won.

The Financial and Membership report shows that membership is increasing and the financial condition is quite good. An interesting fact: 1/4 of the revenue comes from Sections, 1/4 from Divisions, and 1/2 from Headquarters.

Dennis Arter, WorldCon blogger]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/annual_business_meeting.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/annual_business_meeting.html Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:01:14 -0600 Thoughts on Blogging by Dennis Arter

Over the past several days, I have shared information about this blog with my colleagues. I mention how Will, Aimee and I are trying to share the sights, sounds, smells, and thoughts associated with this event. We know that most of our readers cannot be here, but some can.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Division and Section member leaders were to start blogging about what they are doing to make your ASQ association better, fuller, and more rewarding?

Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear about the thoughts, pressures, and successes of our headquarters staff managers through a blog?

Blogs shouldn't be limited to single events like this. They are a powerful communication tool, for use throughout the year.

Now, you already know this, because you are reading this entry. I know this, because I am writing to you. But we have so many colleagues that are mystified by this communication tool. When I mention this blog, their eyes glaze over.

Let's help them to understand that it doesn't have to be scary.

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/thoughts_on_blogging.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/thoughts_on_blogging.html Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:16:34 -0600 Saturday Afternoon Meetings by Dennis Arter

We had some good meetings Saturday afternoon. It was like a mini-conference for Division and Section leaders and those desiring more information about the mysteries of Headquarters, Divisions, and Sections. And the price was right: free (including lunch).

We had talks about the ASQ Business Planning (which I wrote about earlier), Division Management, Section Management, Group teleconference calls, Certifications and refresher training, Elections, Newsletters, Public relations and media, Membership building, SharePoint, Web site, Member surveys, Symposiums, Webinars, Leadership training, and Succession planning.

Like a conference, the topics were arranged in nine tracks. Each track had four one-hour sessions. Of course, one could hop around from session to session. We had both member leaders and headquarters staff making the presentations. Because of the focused topics and smaller group sizes, we had lots of Q&A and discussions.

I think it was a good experience for all. If you are planning to attend next year's WorldCon in Houston, you might want to come a day or two earlier and take advantage of these wonderful information opportunities.

Dennis Arter, WorldCon Blogger

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/saturday_afternoon_meetings.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/saturday_afternoon_meetings.html Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:12:59 -0600 Welcome Registration opend at 7:00 am this morning , Oh my...Way to go staff.

I had a wonderful conversation this morning with an ASQ member that came all the way from Portugal. My Portugese is very rusty but we made it work. First conference for her and very excited to be here. What a treat for us.

The Ideas to action meetings went very well, the feedback we recieved on education and training will be helpful as we move forward.

Don't forget to attend teh annual business meeting tonight at 5:30 pm (est) and following with the reception in the exhibit hall.

See you all soon

Semper Qualitas

Will

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/welcome.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/welcome.html Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:45:00 -0600 Saturday - Ideas to Action Gathering and Member Leader Institute I can't believe that I actually beat Dennis here tonight... It has been a very long day. As Will said, many of us were downstairs and ready to go by 6:30 this morning. Tomorrow, we will be starting at the same time at the OCCC (I have been pronouncing it as "ock"). I had the opportunity to participate in the "fishbowl" discussion in the middle of the room, although this did not work too well, at least in part because of the poor acoustics. Some of the SOAR leaders shared some of the work they had been doing, and then we had the opportunity to share what we thought was exciting about the concepts, and what we thought the barriers would be. The plan would make sections, divisions and HQ partners in providing education and training to the members of the community, in place of the current competition model. For Sunday, I am planning to participate in a break out session on "working together to create and deliver courses." It has some pre-work for it that I have not done yet. When I was in HS, my mom used to think that I learned by osmosis because she never saw me study (I actually did - she just didn't see it). Perhaps if I put this under my pillow it will be done in the morning? I know that it won't work - I will just have to get the job done in time.

Next, I moderated 3 sessions at the member leader institute. The first session was a best practice on continuing education from the Design and Construction Division. Next, there was a session for section newsletter editors, followed by a best practice on division libraries from the Reliability Division. All of the sessions were very well received. During the fourth time slot, I joined the standards committe to listen to Dan Reid from GM talk about the AIAG approach to working with healthcare providers. I was invited there to learn more with the intent of getting involved in the discussion on how this might apply to education. I also had the opportunity to talk with Craig more about the No Child Left Behind pilot.

At 5:45, we started a very thorough SMP/DMP awards program. I was proud to accept the gold excellence award for my section. This was followed by a reception, and then I had the opportunity to join the biomedical division for dinner. It was interesting to hear more about what is going on within the division, chat with old friends, and discuss the day's events. I also got to sing in Croatian (just a few lines), see where the ducks walk (we missed the ducks), and make some new friends. All in all, I consider this to have been a very successful day. Now, I just need to figure out when I am ever going to get any sleep!

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/saturday_ideas_to_action_gathe.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/saturday_ideas_to_action_gathe.html Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:10:11 -0600 DAC meeting The DAC meeting yesterday was packed with a lot of information. My compliments to everyone for working so hard to stay on task and focused, often information overload kicks in, but not this time! Great job DAC. Many divisions shared success stories related to initiatives from their business planning. Best practices will be captured by ASQ staff and made available on sharepoint.

Group facilitators, division chairs, and national directors were recognized for their service. I am moving out of the vice chair role for the DAC and Steve Wilson is assuming that role. I stepped in to cover for a resignation we had a year ago. (job related) and finished the rest of that term. Now I am happy to welcome Steve aboard and look forward to all the great work we have planned.

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/dac_meeting.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/dac_meeting.html Sat, 28 Apr 2007 08:45:51 -0600 The Gathering Quick break at the Ideas to Action gathering. (The gathering) Some very good feedback on where we have been and where we are going. Couple hundred member leaders have given their time to be here early and participate, Kudos!

Looking forward to the breakout sessions Sunday.  Remember The gathering is at the OCCC with a 7:00 am start. You know, it occured to me that to get this much done by 9:00 am it must be quality. Another way Quality...We get more done by 9 am than most people do all day...(my apologies to US Army)

Semper Qualitas

Will

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/the_gathering.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/the_gathering.html Sat, 28 Apr 2007 08:37:21 -0600 Some Comment Answers Two of the comments should have some answers that are visible rather than on the comments section. The first was a questions as to whether the Spanish sessions will be covered. For those of you who were unaware, ASQ has partnered with INLAC to co-host one Spanish-language tutorial (turtle diagrams with Jose Dominguez) and 9 conference sessions. While I would love to say that I will provide my own comments on these sessions, I did not bring my dictionary. While I did minor in Spanish in college, I have only had the opportunity to use it twice since then, and the vocabulary we learned in college is not sufficient to support this because I never took a Spanish for business class. However, I will commit to finding some comments to share on this blog.

The second question was on how many people were attending the conference. I had heard that it was something around 1500, but I will see what I can find out and post on this topic again.

Aimee Siegler

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/some_comment_answers.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/some_comment_answers.html Fri, 27 Apr 2007 23:09:22 -0600 a very fast Friday Today, of course, included more meetings. My first formal meeting was the SAC/DAC meeting at 1, followed by the SAC meeting. I was an observer rather than a participant this time. This meant that all that I had to do was stay awake and take notes. So far, I have done a good job staying awake in everything - always a challenge in meetings.

The joint SAC/DAC meeting was fairly short. Ron Atkinson commented on the work the board did on "going international," stating that SAC should be the geographic representation worldwide, and DAC is the technical representation worldwide. Grace Duffy talked about the economic case for quality, and mentioned that the Quality Management Division will be releasing four guides related to the subject. Belinda Chavez and Lou Ann Lathrop presented on strategic planning.

From there, the group split up, and I joined the SAC meeting (Dennis - you may have posted first, but you didn't get the same news posted that I would have posted!) This meeting started with recognition of the members of SAC, including especially those that had been involved with various committees. Those receiving plaques for their service included Clay Hodges, Brenda Fisk, Jeff Lackey, David Levy, Rick Litts, Belinda Chavez, Jad G.B. Jadanuth, Roger Keller and Dick McKeever.

The first presentation was from John Breckline, and dealt with using a balanced scorecard for the Excellence Criteria for the SMP awards. SMP currently looks at retention rate, loyalty and satisfaction. The proposed new measures would be retention, membership, growth, loyalty, section activities and section perceptions. The new measures would make use of data that is already available and use +/- scoring to give a final percentage. This percentage would be compared to designated buckets to determine award qualification. There was much discussion, and many action items were recorded. Next, Brenda Fisk presented the status of the SAC restructuring team, and talked about their use of TRIZ within this team. They are looking to schedule their next meeting in June. Next, Clay did some RD training. Finally, Belinda talked about how the business planning that the board does relates to the sections. This seemed to be a very productive meeting.

As we go forward, I have been seeing more and more people that I know in the lobby and in the halls at the Rosen Centre. I ran into Jeff Israel in the lobby tonight while he was on his way in. He previously spoke at my section on Customer Satisfaction, so it was nice to have the opportunity to renew the acquaintance.

The evening ended with a chance to spend time with a high school classmate that I haven't seen since her wedding. This was certainly another full day, and I am looking forward to the next one!

Aimee Siegler

]]> http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/a_very_fast_friday.html http://www4.asq.org/blogs/wcqi-2007/2007/04/a_very_fast_friday.html Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:41:58 -0600