All Features
Jack Dunigan
‘When you find him, come and tell me so I can worship him, too.”
Those were the now-famous words of Herod, the designated Roman ruler of Judea during the first century of the Common Era. This is not a religious c6340n, and neither is it a Christmas story. It is a leadership article, and if you…
Davis Balestracci
For those of you who are improvement practitioners, are you satisfied with the organizational results of your efforts? I have a feeling most of you would answer, “Far from it,” and would almost unanimously feel that you could be more effective.
There is justification for this. A recent…
Arun Hariharan
Starting with the board and the CEO, the pursuit of quality or excellence is the job of everyone in the organization. Everyone, regardless of seniority or functional role, needs to do their jobs right the first time, meet customer requirements, and figure out ways to continuously improve their…
Grant Ramaley
Medical device regulators around the world often have to assess the cost of a new regulation. Typically there is a study to determine the financial effect on industry and the public. This information is often supplied to lawmakers in their respective countries before they pass new legislation. In…
Ken Koenemann
As a business leader, you spend a lot of your time figuring out how to win. With good reason: The most crucial job of every executive is to align efforts at every level of the organization to deliver wins for the week, for the quarter, and for the year.
The people at the front end of the business—…
Annette Franz
I wrote about technology and the customer experience a couple times last year. After all, that’s what self-service is all about: technology, such as ATMs, online flight check-in, self-checkout grocery lanes, interactive voice response, online FAQs, knowledge bases, and more.
Technology is an…
ASQ
For the second time in three years, salaries in 2014 decreased slightly for quality professionals, who said their organization’s quality culture plays a key role in the overall satisfaction of their job and salary, according to Quality Progress magazine’s 28th annual salary survey.
In 2014,…
Mike Roberts
The life sciences are largely driven by innovation and growth. What lies beneath those two drivers is a world of complexity across the drug or device life cycle. It’s clear that those companies that can continuously and collaboratively ensure quality, meet regulatory compliance, and mitigate risks…
Alexandra Brown
My husband and I both like to run. I run about three miles once or twice a week—if the weather’s not too bad, and if I don’t have something else going on. Keith, on the other hand, runs half marathons.
Keith goes for long runs on the weekends for three to four hours at a time and shorter runs…
Robin Lawton
In this two-part series, we outline the action necessary to create organizational transformation in line with the “Culture of Quality” research report published in late 2014 by ASQ and Forbes Insights. We also explain in practical terms how to implement the three main actions leaders say are…
Andy Nichols
The international standard for quality management systems, known as ISO 9001, is currently being revised and is scheduled for release in late 2015. Are you ready for the changes? How do the changes affect you?
NQA, a globally recognized certification body, is preparing, and we’re sharing with you…
Christine Schaefer
In late October, longtime Baldrige examiner Miriam Kmetzo traveled to Suzhou, China, to attend and speak at the 6th Quality Forum for Academics and Innovation.
Kmetzo gave a presentation at a session that featured four quality award programs in the international arena: the Malcolm Baldrige…
Jeff Mazik
If you have been procrastinating on setting up electronic submissions for your adverse event reports to the FDA, you might want to reconsider that decision. Earlier this year, the FDA published its final rule on MedWatch/eMDR reporting.
Although not much has changed in this final rule in regards…
Robin Lawton
A recent survey by ASQ and Forbes Insights found that leaders and quality management professionals from all sorts of enterprises agree on some quality culture fundamentals. One is that customer expectations and experiences are the ultimate criteria for determining what quality is and the degree to…
Margaret A. Hamburg
I recently wrapped up a jam-packed, five-day visit to China, a fascinating country with a dramatically growing economy and an increasingly significant effect on the products that U.S. citizens consume. Indeed, a key reason for my trip is the important and growing collaboration between the FDA and…
Matthew Barsalou
Have you ever received a customer complaint with blurry photos and a demand for immediate action, but insufficient detail to actually take that action? Or the customer, in his or her haste to get the complaint out, neglected to mention which part failed or to provide a clear description of what …
Bruce Hamilton
I recently participated in the AME conference in Jacksonville, Florida, a terrific rally for manufacturing excellence with the tongue-twisting theme, “Strategic Success Through People-Powered Excellence.”
I had a small role on a keynote panel that attempted to answer questions from attendees…
Rip Stauffer
A number of recent articles in quality literature (and in the quality blogosphere) have posited the death or failure of Six Sigma. More articles, from many of the same sources, discuss the outstanding success of current Six Sigma efforts in manufacturing, healthcare, government, and financial…
Gary Minks
Medical device manufacturers seeking global access for their products can face significant challenges in meeting the regulatory requirements of multiple target markets. The approval process can be even more time-consuming when individual regulatory authorities require an independent audit of a…
Clara Asmail
Additive manufacturing (AM) is hurtling into its wide and wonderful future. Right now heavy attention is being given to the promise AM offers to toy and fanciful trinkets makers or to heavyweights in the aerospace industry. Deservedly, there are great investments and enthusiastic anticipation in…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
Drivers, choose boldly! It’s time to break the monopoly of black and white vehicles. The monotonous years of colorless commuting, a sad and safe reflection of the moribund recession, are ending. If you’re planning on buying a car to celebrate the uptrending economy, do not settle for silver. Turn…
Kyle Cochran
T he smartphone’s honeymoon has officially ended. Attractive features that once dazzled consumers are now considered a staple of everyday life, as well as an integral part of users’ smartphone experience, which can add up to hours of use every day. Mobile app developers face fierce competition in…
Rick Calabrese
The ISO 9001 standard is currently under revision. The decision to do so wasn’t driven by one dramatic event happening in the marketplace, but rather by due diligence of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committees and working groups that perform systematic reviews of…
Jack Dunigan
Irecently watched a reality show about a classic car restoration shop in Canada. In the episode, the owners of the shop had hired an apprentice mechanic. After a few months on the job they considered him worthy of increased responsibilities, so they gave him a project to manage.
I found the…
Annette Franz
Probably the most important component of listening to the voice of the customer is acting on what you hear. To do that, we must first optimize how we are listening. What do I mean?
When we ask customers for feedback, it’s imperative that we make the most of that conversation. I’m specifically…
