Steve McDowell, CEO of TechDyno, looked quizzically at the smiling young woman standing at the front of the room. Lorraine Whitcombe finished her presentation by enthusiastically declaring, “That’s how my group will ‘Go for the O!’” That’s when Steve’s expression changed from interested to something resembling a layman at a particle physics convention. Mary Scott, director ... [Read More]

Although other aspects of controls required by ISO 9001 may be critical, none receives as much attention as subclause 7.5.1--”Control of production and service provision.” Almost every organization must develop processes for delivering services or producing products. Subclause 7.5.1 focuses on the key concept that processes must be carried out under controlled conditions. Considerations for ... [Read More]

  Decision-making with respect to improving performance is a matter of prediction. So is leadership. For example, was the energy crisis a rational, predictive event 30 years ago? Or was it random, unpredictable, and unpreventable? If it’s the latter, then we must believe that we are morons with no theory, knowledge, or predictive capability, and are powerless to influence our ... [Read More]

Quality professionals obsess about processes. We are so focused on processes that we sometimes forget that people who aren’t directly involved in quality don’t understand the importance of them. When we see process failure or processes that don’t make sense, they stick out like sore thumbs. Everything that gets done is the result of some sort of a process. There are, however, poorly ... [Read More]