Certification
pays. According to the 1996 Quality Progress Salary Survey, CQA
auditors earn $8,000 more than those who aren't certified; CQEs earn
almost $5,000 more than those who aren't; and CQMs earn $8,000 more
than those who aren't.Free agency is coming to the quality profession, and the impact will be as profound as it has been in professional sports. The downsizing of the 1990s has resulted in sudden and massive layoffs. Company loyalty is scarce. Very few safe harbors of employment exist anymore. Dilbert is alive and well. We're all vulnerable to these new marketplace and workplace pressures.
The statistics are stunning: Forty percent of the jobs held 10 years ago no longer exist. What can you do? The best tool for working with significant change is to learn something new. Flexibility and the ability to learn are critical competencies for life and career success.
We all must anticipate changes, discern trends and predict business needs in our industries. We then must make shrewd career moves that will keep us ahead of the change curve and position ourselves for professional opportunities.
The American Society for Quality Control offers a number of opportunities for career positioning, specifically through certifications such as Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), Certified Quality Technician (CQT) and, most recently, Certified Quality Manager (CQM). Each of these certifications will be featured in Quality Digest, starting this month with CQM.
Why get certified?
What's in it for you? You've got to make the career cost-benefit decision. Tough, fundamental questions should be addressed before you invest time and money in a certification. What are some of the benefits of ASQC certification?
Certification
pays. According to the 1996 Quality Progress Salary Survey, CQA
auditors earn $8,000 more than those who aren't certified; CQEs earn
almost $5,000 more than those who aren't; and CQMs earn $8,000 more
than those who aren't.
Certification
gets you recognized. More companies are using tests and
certifications for promotion and employee training. If you don't
believe it, look at the back of any ASQC certification brochure to
see the companies that use certifications in their personnel
practices.
Certification
gets you a leg up on the competition. As jobs become scarcer and the
pool of qualified people grows, that additional certification may
mean the difference in a promotion, new opportunities or a new
client. All other things being equal between you and other job
applicants, that something extra may make the difference between
getting the job or not.
Certification
demonstrates knowledge and abilities. We all know that lifetime job
security is history. We need to develop portable, transferable and
marketable skills. We're going to be much more mobile as job security
and seniority-based wages disappear. ASQC certifications provide an
excellent way to demonstrate abilities and knowledge. For example,
the CQM has a structured response section that demonstrates critical
understanding, thinking and problem solving.
Certification
implies credibility and, ultimately, marketability. ASQC
certifications are usually based on a thorough and widespread
analysis of what quality managers and professionals do. The
certifications are reality-based and tested.
Certification
helps communicate quality to others. Certifications can be used as a
means to communicate about quality. For example, the CQA incorporates
many ideas found in the ISO 10000 series, the standards specifying
auditor training and auditing criteria.
CQM: What is it?
The CQM may be the ASQC's crown jewel certification. It is a formal recognition by ASQC that a person has demonstrated proficiency, knowledge and comprehension of the CQM body of knowledge. For legal reasons, ASQC calls it a peer recognition, not a professional recognition or license.
ASQC defines the CQM as a: "professional who understands quality standards and concepts, can implement organizational assessment and maintain customer satisfaction and focus. The Certified Quality Manager should manage projects supporting strategic objectives and motivate human resource in the support of organizational goals."
How and why did the CQM develop? Thomas Pyzdek, quality professional and author, was involved from the beginning. He recently noted: "In recent years it became increasingly obvious that there existed a glaring certification omission from the ranks of certified quality professionals: the quality manager. The quality manager supervised the work of an array of certified professionals without needing to be certified himself or herself. This situation could and did lead to problems, especially when the quality manager was less than fully qualified for his or her position.
"When the demand for qualified professional quality managers exceeded the supply, the field was overrun with hacks and incompetents. The result was resentment on the part of the other certified quality professionals and a general lack of respect for the ability of the quality department to contribute to the success of the organization."
Quality is everyone's business
ASQC's definition of a CQM is good, but it doesn't tell the whole story. In our surveys and our CQM refresher classes, we've discovered something interesting: Up to two-thirds of the people taking our CQM classes were people from outside the quality profession. They were first-line supervisors, team facilitators, functional managers, ISO 9000 administrators, operational supervisors and project improvement leaders. They had operational quality responsibilities and needed to understand the discipline. Many were from service and government organizations. These people were new to quality. They had never been exposed to quality. They wanted the quality information and knowledge but weren't particularly interested in sitting for the exam. Another way to think about this startling revelation is that the ASQC definition of CQM can be applied to almost anyone in any organization.
Why are so many nonquality professionals attending CQM refresher courses? The quality profession has been successful beyond its wildest expectations. Quality professionals have been preaching the same message for years: A person or team responsible for an activity or process is truly responsible for the quality of his or her efforts. More companies realize this as they integrate ISO 9000 or QS-9000 systems into their organizations. Some organizations understand that quality is everyone's business. Everyone quality-manages his or her process. That means that everyone should have a basic understanding of quality.
Does that mean that everyone should or may become a CQM? Probably not. The present experience requirements specify "at least five years in a decision-making technical, professional or management position" in the areas covered by the CQM body of knowledge. (See sidebar on page 37.)
What's in it for you?
Steve Landenberger, quality assurance manager at Nelson Steel and a CQM instructor, sees two types of quality professionals sitting for the exam: people without college degrees who are using the CQM certificate to justify that they are qualified to hold or attain a quality manager position, and people with nontechnical degrees who are using the certificate to supplement their knowledge and lend credibility to their quality management status.
Companies are also using the ASQC certification process to assess and improve the abilities of their present employees as well as to recruit new employees. Bill Vance, quality systems manager at furniture manufacturer Haworth, says that "the certification process provides Haworth with the confidence that an individual being considered for a particular position has a minimum understanding of quality methods and techniques required in that position." Almost every quality professional at Haworth has at least one quality certification, while many have up to four.
Fast-growing certification
The CQM is still relatively unknown. It has been out for a little more than a year. The number of people sitting for the exam has been flat, and the pass rate remains relatively constant at about 44 percent. However, this will change in 1997.
This year, ASQC is developing a number of CQM products and will be promoting the certification heavily. Bill Wortman, a CQM instructor and author, reports that when he speaks to ASQC sections and inquires how many have taken the CQM, about 5 percent raise their hands. When he asks them how many plan to take the exam in the near future, about 85 percent to 90 percent raise their hands. It's conceivable that thousands of people will attempt the CQM exam each year.
It's not a slam dunk
The CQM is a difficult certification. Less than half of the people who sit for the exam pass it.
The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and two constructed-response questions. The multiple choice questions are open book and fairly straightforward, similar to the SAT. They are more organizational, team and strategy oriented rather than technical. You won't get any questions like, "Given 5-percent AQL, what are the accept/reject numbers using MIL-STD 105E?"
When you work through the multiple-choice questions, you must focus on quality. Some questions are open to interpretation. There is always a right quality answer, while there may be close business answers. So it is critical to interpret each question in terms of how you, the quality manager, would deal with, respond to and work with the situation described in the question. Typical multiple-choice questions provided by ASQC include:
1. Which of the following is not an appropriate use of the Baldrige Award criteria?
The correct answer is b. Quality system registration refers to ISO 9000 quality systems registration -- the Baldrige Award wouldn't be used for this.
2. To ensure success in implementing quality initiatives, the most important factor is:
The correct answer is c. Any person who has driven or facilitated a companywide quality initiative or improvement project knows that without a senior management sponsor, the initiative or project has a much higher risk of failure.
The biggest challenge
The constructed response part of the certification is the most challenging element of the certification. One reason is because this part of the CQM is closed book. Another reason is that many people haven't written an essay in years. The fear factor sets in when being timed to get the right answer in two mini-essays within 45 minutes.
The ASQC certification brochure offers the following as a typical problem:
"A company that provides repair services to airlines has both field service for on-site repairs and a repair depot for other repairs and maintenance. Field service technicians, who report to the manager of field service, often replace major assemblies to get equipment back on-line as quickly as possible, sending the 'defective' assemblies back to the depot. Depot technicians, who report to the depot manager, complain that too many of the 'defective' field returns are diagnosed 'no trouble found.' Indicate what actions a quality professional should take to better understand and resolve this situation."
Scoring for the above problem is based on how you would approach the problem. A higher score would be given to a solution that integrated:
Data
collection -- What is the scope of
the problem?
Problem
solving -- How would you solve the problem?
Cross-functional teams -- How would you implement the
solution?
A low score would incorporate just one or two elements of the above approach. Regardless of the question, follow a structured approach with your answer:
Define the
problem.
Identify
causes of the problem.
Develop or
select possible solutions.
Develop an
implementation plan.
Follow up on
the solution.
The ASQC determines who can sit for the exam by reviewing education and work experience. Certification as a quality manager requires that you have at least 10 years of higher education and/or work experience in one or more of the areas of the CQM body of knowledge. Five years should be in a decision-making technical, professional or management position. Some of the experience can be waived through certifications and degrees. For example, a bachelor's degree is worth five years toward the required 10 years.
What happens if you never held a quality manager's title but assumed quality management responsibilities are part of your job? This could qualify as having had a decision-making position.
How do I sign up?
Call the ASQC at (800) 248-1946 or (414) 272-8575 and request the CQM Certification Brochure B0070 for complete requirements. The information packet is free. Pay attention to the application dates.
The exam costs are: $140 for an ASQC Member&endash;North America, $170 for an ASQC Member&endash;outside North America, $245 for a nonmember&endash;North America and $275 for a nonmember&endash;outside North America.
The CQM is offered twice a year, in March and October. The ASQC is firm about application deadlines. The 1997 test dates are: March 1 (application deadline: Jan. 10) and Oct. 18 (application deadline: Aug. 22).
Certified Quality Manager Body of Knowledge
Suggested resources
CQM Primer by Bill Wortman, Quality Council of Indiana, (812) 533-4215.
The Quality Book by Greg Hutchins, QPE Inc., (800) 266-7383.
The Complete Guide to the CQM by Thomas Pyzdek, Quality Publishing, (520) 749-9113.
About the author
Greg Hutchins is a noted author and lecturer on quality. His firm, Quality Plus Engineering, offers internal CQM training. He wrote The Quality Book, which is a sourcebook for the CQM. It can be ordered through QPE at (800) 266-7383.
© 1997 Greg Hutchins
