A father and his son were going to market. Their donkey was laden with the vegetables from their garden and assorted wares they were going to sell. The young son became tired and so his father lifted him up onto the donkey so that he could ride for a while.

Through the 1990s, the application of a quality system relied primarily upon the Food and Drug Administrations’ (FDA) good manufacturing practice requirements or the FDA 21 CFR Part 820 Quality System Regulation.

There’s a new wave of environmental consciousness rolling across the landscape of U.S. business. In certification circles, we refer to it as the Green Wave. But companies are discovering that going green isn’t easy, and getting green certified is even tougher.

I often get assignments at organizations where I am required to take aside a group of people, either within the building facility or off campus, to focus on issues or problems.

The most important element in producing a quality product or service is the attitude of the people doing the work—not only the worker—but the attitude of all levels of management.

"The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.”

—George Bernard Shaw

When I first got into quality, I really hated verifying the effectiveness of actions taken to correct a problem. After all, I was young and inexperienced. All of the people whose actions I was verifying were older, wiser, and more experienced than I was.

Geoff Bilau, senior writer for the International Association for Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Group, was

Charles Kettering, the famous inventor, once said: “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” This implies that a good portion of problem solving should be devoted to a thorough understanding of what’s going on before any corrective action steps are taken.