Category: Pro QC

Are you a Quality Aficionado?

Use the Likert-type scale below to answer the 20 questions, and then total up your score.

Strongly Disagree>  1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5  <Strongly Agree

1. You notice non-conformances in products when you go shopping. You may or may not speculate what the root cause could be.
2. You notice inefficiencies in the processes of various organizations you interact with outside of work. You often identify how you would do it better.
3. Customer ratings have a significant weight on your personal purchase decision-making process.
4. You notice the word “quality” whenever it’s referenced in a company name or other commercial message.
5. You love data (metrics).
6. You’ve had more than one conversation with family and friends about the importance of quality.

World Trade Month is observed each year in May.  The objective of this recognition is to create awareness, identify trends and drive market opportunities.

World Integrated Trade Solutions offers extensive data related to world trade.  The same site offers interesting visualization options such as the word cloud referenced below.

In a 2015 ranking of the top 20 export countries worldwide via Statista, China ranked first in exports with an export value of about 2.28 trillion US dollars.

Over the past few months, I’ve reached out to our team asking them to share their advice to manufacturers regarding ensuring quality.  Our team’s responses are included here:

What words of advice would you give manufacturers about ensuring quality?

“Never stop improving your system, structure and process to stay competitive. Implement a continuous improvement process with regular slight adjustments and optimization rather than waiting for the day you need to take extreme measures. Finally you can’t inspect quality; the factory has to produce quality products. With our experience we can help them to get to this level and maintain it.” ~Thomas Kaiser (General Manager, Germany)

“Always make quality your priority, because good quality equals trust and that is something you don’t want to loose.” ~Nancy Barroso (Account Manager, Latin America)

“To manufacturers, I would explain that ensuring quality means clients’ satisfaction, high clients’ retention and more orders being placed to them.” ~Bruno Singier (Sales & Marketing Director, Europe, Middle-East & Asia)

We’ve just returned from the World Conference on Quality and Improvement and find ourselves already planning for 2016 in Milwaukee!

We’ve attended the conference for many years but have only exhibited since 2013.  This year, the event was held at The Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, TN and word on the street is that ASQ had record attendance with ~3,000 quality professionals.

One thing that’s unique to this conference is the sense of community and strength in the pursuit of the mission to make a difference in the world through quality.  We find ourselves right at home among clients, partners and friends.

Pro QC’s General Manager, Thomas Kaiser, visited from Germany and Michael Mago attended as  a representative of E-D-S International.  Communications Director Jennifer Stepniowski attended from Tampa, FL and had an opportunity to present in one of the sessions Monday afternoon.  She continues to be active in the organization and is working on a second certification as a CQA later this year.