Michael Bournazian

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

When we talk about QUALITY in our domain, it more often than not involves the quality of the parts we manufacture or the services we provide. Fair enough, but many other things require similar focus and energy, one of those things being QUALITY OF LIFE.

A friend of mine (both on and off Facebook) recently posted the following statement, in advance of the bone-chillingly cold days we had in Quebec at the start of February 2023:

“I typically don’t mind winter, but we’re getting to the portion of the program that always makes me question certain life choices”.

Aside from the laugh it gave me, it did make me think about how we all make big, important choices during the course of one’s life: what career to have, buying a home, getting married, where to live, etc. And in the end, all of these choices will affect your quality of life.

My life philosophy for many years has been: get up each day, be grateful that you got up, and do your best with whatever the day brings. Or perhaps worded differently . . . today, have the best quality of life that you can.

Does this mean that my quality of life each day is excellent? Hardly. But it does mean that I will do my utmost to have the best day possible. I don’t know who said it first, but the expression “Every day above ground is a good day” is one that I fully subscribe to.

Was the recent cold snap fun? You guessed it . . . hardly. But I got through it, and if you are reading this, so did you.

So congratulations on having the best quality of life you could under those circumstances.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

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Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:
1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.
2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

Late last year, I helped organize and participated in a 2-day Supplier Quality workshop in my company. One of the things that I did at the start of each day’s sessions was to present a safety moment. On Day 1, I presented a one-pager on safe driving habits during the winter season, timely as we were about to enter the snowy season. On Day 2, I focused on safe practices when dealing with hazardous materials in the workplace.

More and more when I attend workshops, all-hands presentations, etc., I find that these events are starting with safety moments. And it is good to see, for in my humble opinion, there is plenty of crossover between Safety and Quality, whether it be during our working time or our personal time.

So going forward in 2023 and beyond, please do your best to assure your own personal safety in anything you do, as I am sure no one would want to be the subject of the headline below, which caught my eye as I was starting my first day of work in 2023.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

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Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:
1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.
2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

As is customary for the final Newsletter issue of a calendar year, I would like to wish all our readers and ASQ Montreal Section members the safest and happiest of holiday seasons.

As well, thank you to everyone who takes the time to read the monthly Newsletter (monthly here means January to June and September to November). It continues to be a pleasure being the one who puts this together for our membership.

Here’s looking towards a better and safer 2023.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

**********************************************

Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:
1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.
2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

In case you did not notice, our October 2022 event (happening on October 26th, to be precise) will be an in-person event for the first time since February 2020.

Going back to that “eventful” time, that in-person event featured speaker Vincent Béchard giving a presentation on “How Simulation Can Enhance Scheduling by Avoiding Lean Waste”.

The following month was supposed to feature an in-person “Women in Quality” panel event on March 25th. As we all know, that evening had to be cancelled.

That said, from April 2020 until September 2022, this section has been able to provide its members and non-members alike with online webinars. It was certainly not easy at first, and there have been hiccups along the way, but for the most part the webinars have been well executed, well attended and much appreciated.

So for our event this month, the Leadership Team decided that it was time to try an in-person event. As usual for our October events, the General Assembly will take place first, followed by an workshop on how to best deal with multiple management systems. As someone who has spent most of his Quality career directly with/in said systems, I am looking forward to it.

Hope to see you there.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

**********************************************

Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:

1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.

2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful summer (that’s right, having, summer is not over yet ;-)).

The past 2.5 years has brought about many changes in our lives, both personal and professional.

On a professional level, I am grateful that my work has not been negatively affected: the only change is that I mainly do it from home. At first a full 5 days a week, and now for 3 days from home and 2 in the office.

With regards to the actual tasks that make up my current Quality work, the biggest change that I have had to adjust to is the practice of conducting an audit virtually. Since the late 90s when I started working in the Quality field, any audits I was involved in (either as the auditor or auditee) were conducted face-to-face and in-person. Eventually with the advent of streaming video, being able to video-conference became a valuable asset to companies and society in general. However, auditing stayed pretty much in the “tangible” realm . . . we still wanted to see and deal with issues/processes/people in the flesh. But with what the last 2.5 years have given us, the switchover to virtual audits became a necessity, and no longer a “just in case”.

For myself in my current Supplier Quality role, this year found me completing 2 supplier audits virtually. I actually found the amount of preparation about the same as an in-person audit, and the content remained unchanged (agenda, questionnaire, audit report, evidence, NCRs, action plan).

The one new thing I had to consider before the audit was that the suppliers would be ready from a video standpoint. With both audits, I set up pre-audit calls with the auditees to work this out. I use TEAMs with my work, so it was important to assure that the supplier was also familiar and comfortable in using it; in both cases they were. That said, with one supplier, they needed to become “TEAMs mobile”. It is nice to have TEAMs set up on your desktop and be able to talk and share documents/records; however as the auditor, I want to be able to see the company and how it works (as you would do if you were present onsite). This meant setting up TEAMs on the smartphones of key employees involved in the audit, that way I could see and interact with the shop floor, visit the inspection areas, quarantine areas, etc. Once all this was set up and taken care of, the audits were able to be conducted relatively smoothly.

Although my audits were both with suppliers in the Eastern time zone, one thing that may require adjustment is when you have to virtually audit a supplier outside of your time zone. If you are in Montreal and your supplier is in California, then most likely you will need to adjust your working hours to accommodate your auditee in California . . . certainly not something you would think about if you were to get on a plane and go to the supplier and put yourself in their time zone.

In conclusion, although I still prefer the in-person audit, I am very satisfied that had to conduct a few virtual audits this year, in order to get that experience under my belt and feel more comfortable with it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

**********************************************

Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:

1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.

2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

As is customary for me in the June newsletter, I would like to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to read this newsletter. I do hope that the effort that goes into putting it together by myself and others shows, and that you get something positive out of it every time you read it.

I wish you a safe, happy and QUALITY summer season. We will be back in September 2022 with the next newsletter. All the best to you.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

**********************************************

Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:

1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.

2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB

How things change.

If you had asked me in April 2020 if it would be possible to have an evening of Pecha Kucha presentations done virtually, I would have said “Nah, it won’t work, and it certainly would not be the same as having it in person.

In fact, I did say that at some point in 2020, when as a Section Leadership Team, we discussed what events would work in the new virtual reality (pun intended . . . I think).

Well, fast forward two years, and as of April 27, 2022, I can happily say that my statement was only 50% correct.

Our Pecha Kucha Night held on April 27th was definitely not the same as having it in person; and I do hope that we can soon start having face-to-face events again.

That said, the event did work! Three different speakers presenting three Pecha Kucha presentations with three separate Q&A sessions . . . it worked! After months and months of work within our Team to get the concept and practice of webinars just right, it was finally decided to give the Pecha Kucha Night a try. And although there were a few minor hiccups, I walked away from the evening (and over to my sofa to some television before going to bed ;-)) with a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude . . . gratitude to the speakers, the attendees and men and women of our Section Leadership Team who work “behind the scenes” to put it all together and then to pull it off.

Thank you to everyone involved. (Hopefully) see you in person next time.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither the “C” word nor the “P” word were used during the writing of this article.

**********************************************

Any feedback? Click on the link and let me know.

ALSO . . .  Please contact me or any one else on the Leadership team if you would like to:

1) Write and submit an article to be published in the Newsletter.

2) Write a review of one of the upcoming monthly webinars for the “Had You Been There” section.

Thank you, all the best and none of the worst.