Notes from our 19 September 2007 Networking Event

Sorry for the delay.  Sometimes there are simply too many things to do.  However, this was important so, as I promised, listed below is the feedback I compiled from the Networking Event back on 19 September 2007.

 
What topics & services would interest Quality professionals & their companies?

 ·        Things to ensure the future of Quality; that it is coherent, visible, integrated, & that it will protect our local organizations against closures, outsourcing, & being “burned”

·        Quality of supply (Supply Chain Quality) in the holistic sense of Quality; holistic being the functional relation between the parts and the whole

·        Examples of local successes vs. competing outsourcing factors

·        Teaching non-Quality professionals the basics of Quality

·        Reviewing the difference between “Management” & “Leadership”

·        Data driven decision making

·        The power of persuasion, e.g. Toastmasters public speaking techniques

·        Quality vs. Safety; while similar, they are often treated differently, i.e. Safety often has more priority?

·        Lean Manufacturing; Lean in general

·        Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)

·        New ISO standards

·        Improvement in the ways of doing business

·        Supplier qualification

·        Optimizing the productivity & benefits of companies

·        Building a bridge between QMS & costs; Costs of non-Quality are becoming more important

·        Distinguish between Quality “Systems”, e.g. ISO, Sic Sigma, etc.

o       Pitfalls & advantages of each

o       Vs. Cost of Non-Quality

·        Career opportunities in Quality

·        Measurement System analysis

·        How to develop a Quality ROI & show the benefits of everything done by the Quality department; i.e. a Return On Investment for all Quality activities including audits, NCs, CARs, documentation, etc.

·        Quality Management during & after production transfer

·        Saving money

·        Conformity to medical instrument standards

·        Continuous improvement

·        Leading change

·        How to implement Quality Systems

What can our section do or do better for its members? the Quality community?

 ·        Organize workshops on practical Quality tools & practices

·        Publish shared experiences, e.g. short presentations

·        Send questions to the community

·        Develop & maintain forums for exchanging ideas, e.g. Blogs

o       Note:  Should re-emphasize Eric Stern’s “Quality_Montreal” discussion group http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Quality_Montreal

·        Inform the community of what works & what doesn’t

·        Share presentations

·        Provide more practical examples

·        Organize more networking events

·        Promote next events at each event

·        Help each other improve the community & their businesses

·        Organize more activities

·        Keep contacts with members

·        Provide book reviews

·        Share “seen elsewhere” experiences

·        Share & publish as many member Quality accomplishments as possible

·        Share how to implement “real” improvements

How can individuals get involved with ASQ activities & promote its value?

 ·        Share personal experiences, difficulties, challenges, & solutions

·        Forward to others event notifications

·        Volunteer to support activities

o       Become active in meetings

o       Join the Section Leadership Team

·        Network pertinent e-mails

·        Provide reflections

·        Help provide more awareness

·        Bring new ideas of how to improve the ways of doing things

·        Find ways of getting to organizations & top management with the notion of the added value of being a member of & involved with the ASQ

·        Be part of activities periodically

·        Continue to talk about Quality

·        Speak in schools

·        Promote real, concrete success stories

·        Participate at networking events

·        Provide good presentations & workshops

 
So what will we do with this?  For a start, it’ll be shared with the folks that participated at that Networking Event as well as those that have participated at our other events since.  It’ll also be shared with the Leadership Team to provide valuable information as to how to adjust our activities this year as well as prepare for next year.  Last, but definitely not least, it’s being shared with you, our members, so that you can see we do take your input seriously and also to provide you the inspiration to add to the list.  Simply restate the question in the subject line, provide your input in the body of the message, and send your feedback to redyer@nortel.com .  One last comment; the feedback received from this September Networking Event was so positive that we’ve decided to repeat the exercise in January with a small twist of adding a small presentation as well.    It’s with your involvement that we all become better.  Thank-you for your participation.