ASQ-QMD Podcasts

Steve Novack

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:46:26 -0600

Effective Strategy Planning for Organizational Excellence

To attain organizational excellence you need a detailed plan and an affective methodology. This session will guide you through the process of developing and deploying an affective strategic plan. The four dimension of a strategic plan will be discussed, along with a methodoloogy with which to reach you objectives.

Steve Babb

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:45:08 -0600

Using Lean Six Sigma and Integrated Management Systems for Environmental Management

One of the exciting new frontiers for Lean Six Sigma and integrated management systems is achieving excellence in environmental management. In the same way that Lean and Six Sigma shift focus through metrics-driven analysis, environmental programs may recognize breakthroughs in cost and environmental impact when moving beyond compliance-only thinking. Discussion will include examples for application of Lean Six Sigma to integrated quality and environmental strategies.

Russell T Wescott

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:30:23 -0600

Listening to the Voice of the Customer

Your customers are talking, but are you listening?

Using LCALI, your organization will effectively listen, capture, analyze, learn, and improve the use of the Voice Of the Customer (VOC). Participants will learn a process for integrating and applying LCALI within their organizations. LCALI leads to:

Smarter product design Gaining a competitive edge
Reduction of waste Improving profitability
Customer satisfaction Employee satisfaction

In your organization, perhaps only a few customers are really heard. Why, because the employees are not effectively trained and tuned into the VOC. Decisions are typically based on small amounts of data gathered from more verbal customers. Organizations feel they know their customers’ needs and wants. But do they?

Customer surveys, focus groups, lost-customer analysis, complaint analysis, and other tools have their place. However they reach only a small percentage of present customers and even fewer lost customers. A means is needed for capturing the expressed thoughts of the customer during personal contact. The contact may be a product inquiry, a specifications discussion, a problem, a dissatisfaction, an appreciations, etc. During the verbal exchange (phone, e-mail, letter) the customer will frequently express needs or wants, feelings about your organization or its employees, a work problem, or a suggestion for improvement. Most organizations haven’t a clue what they are missing by not capturing this data.

With LCALI, every employee receives simple training in how to listen for the VOC. “Listening posts” are established as conduits for getting the many voices of the customers to the right places for action. Employees feel “connected” to the customers and enjoy playing a recognized role in the organization’s success.

Participants are encouraged to bring examples of the need for VOC and questions about problems or lost opportunities that may have been caused by inadequate customer data.

Linda Reed

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:13:50 -0600

Mission Excellence: Collaboative Risk Reduction Across the Value Stream

Northrop Grumman Space Technology is exploring and implementing the next level of quality discipline – an evolutionary step called Mission Excellence. Merging and enhancing traditional approaches of risk management, mission assurance, and process improvement, Mission Excellence aims to meet all customer and mission requirements by producing the right product at the right time for the right cost, efficiently and effectively. The focus is on end-to-end value chain collaboration; predictable, repeatable processes; and flawless execution.

Karl Arbanas

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:07:37 -0600

An Approach to Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Why should you care about measuring customer satisfaction? Consider the following facts:

The average business loses between 10% and 30% of its customers each year, often without knowing why.
Only 4% of all customers with problems complain.
The average person with a problem eventually tells 9 other people

Cost of acquiring a new customer is 5 to 7 times greater than retaining current ones
NOT taking action allows your customer base to decay while permitting your competition to gain market share

Measuring customer satisfaction provides you with feedback on your organization’s performance and information to drive continuous improvement. By taking improvement actions in response to your customer feedback, you are able to improve customer loyalty, increase revenue, reduce costs and react quickly to market changes.

The challenge for many organizations is how to effectively measure customer satisfaction and what to do with the results.

This presentation discusses the methodology used by R. L. Polk & Co. to measure the level of satisfaction of its large and diverse customer base. Learn about their approach to questionnaire design and survey sampling methodology to obtain the most valuable feedback.

Methods to maximize responses, analysis methods used and actions taken in response to the results will be discussed. You will also learn ways to keep a continual pulse on the state of customer satisfaction throughout the year.

K.S. Krishnamoorthi

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:02:55 -0600

Why Can't We Produce Quality Products?

“The average Japanese worker has a more in-depth knowledge of statistics than an average US engineer” was the answer from an US business executive returning from a visit to Japan (in 1980) to find out how the Japanese were able to make products of superior quality. This observation may contain the clue to a root cause of why the US manufacturers, including the auto manufacturers, are unable, even today, to compete with the Japanese in quality and reliability. The author makes a case for providing basic literacy in statistics for all engineers who design and produce products. He contends that increasing the proportion of statistically literate engineers among the US engineering population will increase the quality of manufactured products from US industry. He proposes a plan for increasing this proportion.

JR McGee

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:49:24 -0600

A Survival Guide for Middle Management Change Agents

Many in middle management positions find themselves struggling with how to achieve their goals and objectives in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles. This session introduces and demonstrates a dynamic model that illustrates the reasons for change resistance and explores different techniques and tactics to become a successful change agent.

Jefferson D. Howell Jr

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:17:45 -0600

Leadership & Ethics

Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General and visiting professor at the Lyndon B Johnson School for Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Grace Duffy

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:14:18 -0600

Making the Economic Case for Quality

The QMD took an early lead in the ASQ strategic theme for Economic Case for Quality. There are many resources available for the concept of ECQ, but few references for applying the approaches to real life. This session provides tools, examples and activities for participants to envision and design their individual ECQ application to execute at their location.

Dick Shainin

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:05:32 -0600

Method vs. Leadership Which Matter Most?

Both effective methods and strong leadership are required to create a strong problem solving culture and together they create a synergy that neither can achieve by itself. One way to consider the question is to treat methods and leadership as independent inputs to a full factorial experiment. This presentation will examine characteristics of ineffective and effective problem solving methods, and weak and strong leadership. We will further examine the four possible combinations and expected results. The results will be examined in terms of waste to highlight the opportunity to apply lean thinking to the problem solving process.

Denis Devos

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:50:11 -0600

QMS Audits as an Enabler for Organizational Change

Quality Management System Audits are not just for assessing compliance with customer requirements or a QMS Standard, but can be used by Senior Management to gauge the performance of their organization. Examples will show how Quality Management System Audits can be an important tool to assist with organizational turn-around.

Although third-party audits can be used for this purpose, this paper will focus on the role of internal audits as the enabler for organizational change. Although audits by registrars have their place, they are not by their nature the most suitable vehicle for supporting organizational change.

The paper includes examples from three organizations where internal audits were used as enablers to accomplish leader-led organizational change.

Jd Marhevko

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:23:25 -0600

Lean for Your Organization

This is a hands-on, high-level, walk-through session of how to utilize lean six sigma tools at the management/organizational level. The discussion takes the participants through a DMAIC process where they define their key objectives via a strategic planning goal-setting matrix.

Britt Berrett

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:02:56 -0600

Strategic Planning in a Health Care Organization.