Archive for the 'Quality management' Category

Informal learning in the workplace

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

Between the Lines, newsletter of the Southwestern Ohio Chapter of STC, has a feature in the November, 2007 issue on “Wikis and informal learning,” with an account of a workplace learning strategy involving use of a wiki and other web services. Links in the article lead to additional ideas.

Change and personal identity (Part 2 of a series)

Thursday, August 10th, 2006

by Amy S. Friend BB, CQM, Senior Member Rochester Chapter STC

This is part 2 of a series: Revel in Your Discomfort: Living With Change. An earlier version of these articles was published in the Proof Sheet newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of STC, beginning in November, 1996.

In Part 1 I wrote about Tannenbaum’s Change Continuum. Robert Tannenbaum explains that every change is perceived as either superficial, incremental, continuous, or transformational. Two different people may perceive (or classify) the same change differently depending on their experience, gender, ethnic background, or other personal history. How we experience change has more to do with us than with the change. This month’s article will focus more on the personal side of change. (more…)

Quality at center stage: ASQ and STC produce a play!

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

The July 2006 IDeaL newsletter of the Instructional Design and Learning SIG was published yesterday, and IDL SIG membership manager Sylvia Miller recounts a story from Dot Champlin, in Dot’s own words, about a play produced this spring in Rochester, New York by the Rochester Section of the American Society for Quality, with a lot of help from STC members!

“Some of our (Rochester Chapter) STC members are also members of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Last year, the ASQ members had expressed an interest in changing the pace of their yearly conference from the usual Keynote/Sessions format. So this year, the conference chair (Amy Friend), a dual STC/ASQ member, asked an STC member (Lori Marra), who has a serious interest in play writing, to write a little play that would illustrate the basic principles of quality for the enjoyment of the attendees. She agreed, and we presented the play at the local ASQ conference in April. (more…)

Six Sigma Green Belt experience

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006

by Wanda Phillips, Senior Member, Canada West Coast and Puget Sound chapters and QPI SIG

I’ve been working on my Six Sigma Green Belt for a year now. The training is through my employer, Philips (Ultrasound and Monitoring), and my manager selected the project. It turns out to be a huge project with the potential for incredible savings and increased reliability. As a Green Belt, I’m expected to also keep up with my writing workload.  (more…)

Quality management: resources

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006

This starts a list of resources on the topic of quality management. The QPI SIG also has a list of quality management standards.

The BetterManagement site identifies resources for management of performance and information technology as well as financial management: http://www.bettermanagement.com

QPI SIG member has article in Intercom

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006

Diane Evans, member of the Puget Sound chapter and the Quality and Process Improvement SIG, published the article “Document Control Systems” in the April 2006 issue of STC’s Intercom magazine. The article reviews configuration management, document control software, and search engines and emphasizes the importance of business rules in effective operation of document control systems.

A continuum of change (Part 1 of a series)

Saturday, June 24th, 2006

by Amy S. Friend BB, CQM, Senior Member Rochester Chapter STC

This is part 1 of a series: Revel in Your Discomfort: Living With Change. An earlier version of these articles was published in the Proof Sheet newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of STC, beginning in November, 1996.

I keep waiting for the pace of life to slow down. Change is constant, with no end in sight. This can be overwhelming. This past year (1995), I participated in a workshop called “Living In Turbulent Times” on coping with change. I found some of the principles helpful when dealing with change both at work and at home. In this series I will share with you some change concepts. I hope this will help you to organize your thinking about change and give you a few strategies to handle it. (more…)

Quality gurus featured on websites

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

Short biographies of several gurus are presented on http://www.murtongroup.com/qgurus.htm. Each biography is followed by information about that person’s theories and tools.

Information about gurus and other personalities in quality, as well as a discussion forum, are found on http://www.qualitygurus.com

The W. Edwards Deming Institute, http://www.deming.org, was founded in 1993 by Deming. The site has information about Deming and the institute, the criteria for the Deming prize, and a newsletter. The site offers videos and books about Deming for purchase.

A short biography of Joseph Juran is on the website of the Carlson School of Management: http://www.csom.umn.edu/page1275.aspx

Baldrige resource library online

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

A New Zealand website offers case studies and examples from organizations that have improved using the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. The site also offers a primer on Baldrige, worksheets, a presentation on how to do a self assessment and tips on writing the award application. Please visit http://www.baldrigeplus.com.

New organization focuses on leading change

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

The Society for Leadership of Change sponsors events, publishes a quarterly online newsletter, and has web resources including a change management bookstore, links, white papers and articles, a forum, a career center and “ask an expert” service. One year of membership is free. Please visit http://www.theslc.org.

QPI SIG pursues performance improvement

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

Process improvement efforts pervade every sector of society today, and not for profit organizations are no exception. In STC, the Quality and Process Improvement SIG is following a performance management system. This starts with tracking key measures related to satisfaction and retention of members, and growth.

Also tracked are performance in the stages of the Section Management Process of the American Society for Quality, and monthly performance against the STC Newsletter Competition Guidelines and the criteria for the STC Community Achievement Award.

Benchmarking started with looking for data on expectations for retaining members. This article applies: “Member Retention Key to Association Growth” The link was current in December 2005.

Vietnam Quality Association of HCM City founded

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

The Vietnam News Service reported May 8, 2006 that Vietnam Quality Association of HCM City (VQAC) was founded on Friday May 5, with its first 330 corporate and individual members.

The mission of the association is to support members in applying and improving quality management systems.

Professor Dao Van Luong, Director of the HCM city Department of Science and Technology, reports that approximately 3,000 organizations in Vietnam have quality management certifications. The goal is, by 2010, to increase to 5,000 the number of businesses in Vietnam with quality management certifications. HCM city supports businesses and government in implementing quality management.

Education quality resources

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

Much of the activity in educational quality is focused on kindergarten through 12th grade education in the United States. There are also institutions of higher education with quality programs, and some are working toward state quality awards or the Baldrige award. Here are some resources for those interested in learning about quality in education, or starting a quality program in a school or college. If you can add to this list, please leave a comment. (more…)

Health care quality resources

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

Quality management in health care is expanding, and this resource list will grow. To add information, leave a comment.

IWA-1:2001 - Quality Management Systems: Guidelines for Process Improvements in Health Service Organizations. ISO/AIAG/ASQ. Link current May 2005.

Quality blog: Healthcare Efficiency. Link current December 2005.

Medical devices and pharmaceutical standards and resources

Thursday, May 11th, 2006

This list encompasses laboratories as well as medical devices and pharmaceuticals. If you have information to add, please leave a comment. (more…)