Michael Bournazian

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur

Editor’s Corner / / /
Michael Bournazian

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce

I want to take my “Corner” opportunity this month to highlight 2 ASQ Montreal in-person events that are coming up in 2025:

1) First off, on June 18th we will hold our latest networking event, a chance for Quality professionals to meet face-to-face and discuss our favourite topic (yes, that one!). Venue still to be determined, so stay tuned.

2) Secondly, our October 22nd event will be ASQ Montreal’s 75th birthday celebration. A milestone achievement thanks to the hard work of more people than I can name. Hopefully you have been reading the monthly newsletter articles being written by J.P. Amiel and Sam Weissfelner regarding the storied history of our section. Again, venue still to be determined, but save the date!

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

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.

 

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur Read More »

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025

Education / / /

Dr David TozerBy Dr. David Tozer, Ph.D., ASQ CQE and SSBB, Education & Audit Chair.

Having ASQ certification gives you an edge in the market and can significantly increase your income.

ASQ Certification often leads to higher paying employment.  The money invested in education and certification increases chances of finding employment quickly in the downsizing environment we live in.

For advice on the program, contact David Tozer at davidtozer@qualitiqua.com or call 514-694-2830.

The following is a list of the certifications and some of the topics covered.

Certified Quality Engineer: Topics include: quality concepts, cost of quality, human resources, team formation and group dynamics, inspection, metrology, sampling, reliability, quality standards, quality audit, statistics, design of experiments, process improvement, liability, and modern management methods for improving quality.

Certified Reliability Engineer: Topics include: reliability management, probability and statistics, modelling and prediction, data collection and analysis, design for reliability, maintainability and availability, reliability testing, product safety and liability.

Certified Software Quality Engineer: Topics include: cost of quality and return on investment, team formation and group dynamics, Life Cycles and Process Models, Systems Architecture, Requirements Engineering, Requirements Management, Audits, Maintenance Management, Software Analysis, Tracking and Controlling, Risk Management, Process and Product Measurement, Analysis and Reporting Techniques, Software Verification and Validation, Software Configuration Management.

 Certified Quality Inspector: Topics include: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, geometry, metrology, reading drawings, mechanical processes, statistical process control, inspection, and sampling.

Certified Quality Technician: Topics include: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, planning for sampling, problem solving, procedure and instruction preparation, statistical methods, cost of quality.

Certified Calibration Technician: Topics include: testing, calibration, repair, maintenance, environment, electrical, mechanical and electro-mechanical equipment.

Certified Quality Improvement Associate: Topics include: quality tools, improvement projects and teams.

Certified Quality Process Analyst: Topics include: problem solving methods, quality tools, improvement projects and teams,

Certified Master Black Belt: Requirements: Many years experience at the Six Sigma Black Belt level, portfolio of achievements, demonstration of practice and advancing the quality field.

Certified Six Sigma Black Belt: Topics include: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise-wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, lean enterprise, statistics, design of experiments, and design for six sigma.

Certified Six Sigma Green Belt: Topics include: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise-wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, and statistics.

Certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt: Topics include: problem solving using Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control.

Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence: Topics include: quality concepts, quality planning, customer focus, quality standards, project management, cost of quality, team formation and group dynamics, human resources and improvement. 

Certified Quality Auditor: Topics include: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, management responsibility, audit objectives, audit preparation, audit conduct, audit reporting, sampling, and basic statistics.

Certified Food Safety and Quality Auditor: Topics include: auditing for Food Safety, HACCP, managing methods for food safety, reporting on food safety.

Certified Medical Device Auditor: Topics include: standards, regulations, directives, guidance, systems and controls, auditing.

Certified Pharmaceutical GMP Professional: Topics include: human and veterinarian, standards and regulations, raw material management, manufacturing control, pharmaceutical delivery methods, packaging and labeling, auditing,

Certified Construction Quality Manager: Topics include: contract management, quality planning, resource management, documentation, closing the contract, risk management, environment, safety, team building, quality tools and statistical methods.

Certified Supplier Quality Professional: Topics include: supply chain quality, quality assurance plans, scrap reduction, repair and rework cycle time.

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025 Read More »

ASQ Certification Study Group

Education / / /

Dr David TozerBy Dr. David Tozer, Ph.D., ASQ CQE and SSBB, Education & Audit Chair.

Would you like to work with others to prepare for ASQ examinations? We have a Teams based section study group that is open every Tuesday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Join the team and get to help each other. Contact the host Dr. David Tozer, Montreal Section Education Chair, to obtain a link.

Aimeriez-vous travailler avec d’autres personnes pour préparer les examens de l’ASQ ? Nous avons un groupe d’étude Teams ouvert tous les mardis soirs de 19 h à 20 h 30.

Rejoignez l’équipe et aidez-vous mutuellement. Contactez l’hôte, Dr. David Tozer, président de l’éducation de la section de Montréal, pour obtenir un lien.

ASQ Certification Study Group Read More »

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante

Student Outreach / / /

Pierre Marquis, Membership Chair Section Montréal, Student Outreach Committee Member (An English text follows)

RÉSUMÉ du Panel SIX SIGMA organisé par Mme Anjali AWASTHI de l’UNIVERSITÉ CONCORDIA

Prestation assurée par trois membres du panel: Pierre GAUDET, B.ing/M.ing/CSSBB, Eric HOSKING, B.ing/MBA/SSBB et Pierre MARQUIS, B.ing./MBA/SSBB.

Le vendredi 21 mars 2025, le panel a été accueilli par Mme Anjali AWASTHI, Ph.D et professeure, pour participer à une discussion sur le Lean Six Sigma (LSS). Un total de sept étudiants en génie se sont présentés, intéressés par cette méthodologie de résolution de problèmes.

Les objectifs de la présentation étaient:

  • Partager les expériences de projets LSS avec les étudiants;
  • Discuter de la démarche DMAIC et des défis dans l’approche LSS;
  • Élaborer sur l’intersection de l’ingénierie et de la qualité;
  • Reconnaître le rôle de l’ASQ et les bénéfices comme membre étudiant.

En utilisant quelques diapos PowerPoint, les présentateurs ont parlé de leurs expériences comme ingénieurs et de leur éducation et diplômes. Pierre Gaudet a repris une présentation faite à la Polytechnique sur l’intersection entre l’ingénierie et la qualité, en abordant des sujets comme “L’ingénieur et l’inconnu”, “quand l’inconnu mène à la catastrophe” (réf. Incident de l’avion L1011 Tristar) et de défaillances du disque de compresseur de moteur causant l’écrasement d’un DC-10 en 1989 à Sioux City. L’objectif était de démontrer l’importance de trouver la cause racine des problèmes, dans la phase “Analyse” du processus de DMAIC.

Eric Hosking a élaboré sur le programme Red-X de Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) dont il était le responsable, l’équivalent du Lean Six Sigma, durant son rôle corporatif en qualité. Durant ses 37 années à PWC, Eric a été impliqué entre autres dans le service d’investigation des défaillances de moteurs d’avion.

Pierre Marquis a présenté une liste de sept projets LSS réalisés à Sanmina, un sous-traitant en électronique. Par exemple, le redesign d’emballage de serveurs, la réduction des défauts/rejets au procédé de montage en surface (SMT) et la réduction des composants excédentaires ont été nécessaires pour l’obtention de son diplôme LSS Black Belt en 2008. Les étudiants ont demandé comment les équipes fonctionnaient et quels étaient les obstacles rencontrés.

Pierre et Eric ont présenté les 18 certifications offertes par l’ASQ, tout en parlant de l’existence de la section d’ASQ Montréal depuis 75 années et de leur page LinkedIn; ils ont souhaité de nouvelles adhésions de membres étudiants.

À la fin du panel, la professeure Mme Awasthi  a félicité les présentateurs et des photos souvenirs ont été prises. Elle a démontré son intérêt pour répéter l’expérience dans un avenir prochain.

ACADEMIA:

  • Contactez-nous si vous souhaitez organiser un événement avec vos étudiants et discutons de la manière dont nous pouvons aborder le sujet de la qualité dans le monde universitaire.
  • Si vous faites partie d’un établissement d’enseignement et que vous souhaitez avoir plus de visibilité sur les sujets liés à la qualité, contactez Pierre Marquis sur LinkedIn. Nous disposons d’un réseau de conférenciers potentiels qui pourraient vous intéresser.

SUMMARY of SIX SIGMA PANEL organized by Ms. Anjali AWASTHI, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

Presented by three panel members: Pierre GAUDET, B.Eng/M.Eng/CSSBB, Eric HOSKING, B.Eng/MBA/SSBB and Pierre MARQUIS, B.Eng./MBA/SSBB.

On Friday, March 21, 2025, the panel was welcomed by Ms. Anjali AWASTHI, Ph.D and professor, to take part in a discussion on Lean Six Sigma (LSS). A total of seven engineering students showed up, interested in this problem-solving methodology.

The objectives of the presentation were:

  • Share LSS project experiences with students;
  • Discuss the DMAIC approach and the challenges of LSS;
  • Elaborate on the intersection of engineering and quality;
  • Recognize ASQ’s role and benefits as a student member.

Using a few PowerPoint slides, the presenters talked about their experiences as engineers and their education and qualifications. Pierre Gaudet repeated a presentation made at Polytechnique on the intersection between engineering and quality, covering topics such as ‘The engineer and the unknown”, “when the unknown leads to catastrophe” (ref. L1011 Tristar aircraft incident) and engine compressor disk failures causing the crash of a DC-10 in 1989 in Sioux City. The aim was to demonstrate the importance of finding the root cause of problems, in the “Analysis” phase of the DMAIC process.

Eric Hosking developed the equivalent of Lean Six Sigma on Pratt & Whitney’s Canada (PWC) Red-X program, for which he was responsible, during his corporate role in quality. During his 37 years at PWC, Eric was involved, among other things, in the aircraft engine failure investigation department.

Pierre Marquis presented a list of seven LSS projects carried out at Sanmina, an electronics subcontractor. For example, the redesign of server packaging, the reduction of defects/rejects to the surface mount process (SMT) and the reduction of excess components were necessary for his LSS Black Belt diploma in 2008. The students asked how the teams functioned and what obstacles they encountered.

Pierre and Eric presented the 18 certifications offered by ASQ, while talking about the 75-year existence of the ASQ Montreal chapter and their LinkedIn page; they welcomed new student memberships.

At the end of the panel, Professor Awasthi congratulated the presenters and souvenir photos were taken. She expressed her interest in repeating the experience soon.

ACADEMIA:

  • Contact us if you are organizing a student event and wish to discuss how to present quality-related topics in the university.
  • If you are part of an educational institution and would like to have more visibility on quality-related topics, please contact Pierre Marquis on LinkedIn. We have a network of potential speakers that may be of interest to you.

 

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante Read More »

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur

Editor’s Corner / / /
Michael Bournazian

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce

If the 21st century work experience can be defined by one thing, in my humble opinion, that thing would be . . . . E-MAIL.

This simple, Internet-enabled communication tool has completely transformed not only HOW we work, but also WHERE we can work and WHEN we can work. I won’t go into the myriad of examples, but suffice it to say that our Quality of Work, and as a result our Quality of Life, has been drastically affected.

If it’s one thing I have heard on a regular basis from work colleagues over the past 2 decades, it is that they have all at some point or another had difficulty keeping up with e-mails. And often, this is difficulty experienced on a day-to-day basis: it’s one thing to go on vacation for a week, completely disconnect from work, and then come back to hundreds of new e-mails in your Inbox; it’s even worse if you are burdened with hundreds of e-mails after one night’s sleep.

I’ll never forget one particular occasion back in 2012: I went to see a colleague to discuss something relating to project we were both working on. She was talking on the phone so I sat in the chair next to her desk and patiently waited. While waiting, I happened to glance at her computer screen which was open to the Microsoft Outlook, and I happened to notice the number of unread e-mails in her Inbox. That number was 1,066. Forget about hundreds of e-mails, this was 4 digits worth of unread e-mails. My only thought was “Somewhere in those e-mails, a bomb has gone off”.

During the first week of April (specifically March 31 to April 4, 2025), I decided to try an experiment on myself: I set an objective that at the end of each working day, I would try to have ZERO e-mails in my Inbox, both new and read. This would mean focusing almost exclusively on dealing with issues from received e-mails. Also, no working extra hours to make this happen, I would stick to my regular schedule and would also not miss or cancel any meetings.

Did taking this approach improve my Quality of Work? Perhaps even my Quality of Life?

The results:

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 0 e-mails in my Inbox at the time of clocking out;
  • Wednesday: 6 e-mails in my Inbox at the time of clocking out.

And before you wonder, here are the total e-mails in my Inbox at the start of each day: Monday – 73, Tuesday – 67, Wednesday – 97, Thursday – 45, Friday – 22. Yes, I know, not in the hundreds or thousands (mercifully), but most of those e-mails still have some task(s) behind them, even if it’s just responding to them.

How did it feel working in this manner? One the one hand, I admit it did feel good finishing each day with none to little Inbox e-mails. That said, any work that did not come up as the topic of an e-mail ended up neglected. For example, I have a supplier audit to prepare for and complete in the next few months: did I do any work on that project? Nope, because it never came up in any e-mails during that week, and I can say the same thing for a few other items as well.

So although it felt great at the end of each day knowing that I was slaying the e-mail dragon, I was regularly having guilty feelings that I was not working on certain things and I should not be ignoring them.

Perhaps ultimately since my work is a mix of short and long term projects/issues, I have to find the right balance.

And there is that word . . . BALANCE; you know, from that expression “Work-Life Balance“. More importantly, how good is the Quality of that Balance?

Let’s see what the second week of April brings.

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

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.

 

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur Read More »

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025

Education / / /

Dr David TozerBy Dr. David Tozer, Ph.D., ASQ CQE and SSBB, Education & Audit Chair.

ASQ Certification often leads to higher paying employment. The money invested in education and certification increases chances of finding employment quickly in the down sizing environment we live in.  People who take the section sponsored refresher courses, and spend at least twice as much time as spent in the classroom on self study, have an 80%, or better, chance of passing the examination on the first attempt.

Having ASQ certification gives you an edge in the market and can significantly increase your income.
Courses are now available online as well | Courses now available online

    • Certified Quality Engineer : quality concepts, cost of quality, human resources, team formation and group dynamics, inspection, metrology, sampling, reliability, quality standards, quality audit, statistics, design of experiments, process improvement, liability, and modern management methods for improving quality.
    • Certified Six Sigma Black Belt: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, lean enterprise, statistics, design of experiments, and design for six sigma.
    • Certified Six Sigma Green Belt: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, and statistics.
    • Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence: quality concepts, quality planning, customer focus, quality standards, project management, cost of quality, team formation and group dynamics, human resources and improvement.
    • Certified Quality Auditor: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, management responsibility, audit objectives, audit preparation, audit conduct, audit reporting, sampling, and basic statistics.
    • Certified Quality Inspector: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, geometry, metrology, reading drawings, mechanical processes, statistical process control, inspection, and sampling.

    Calendar and Registration Online Form
    Questions? Cours en site/In house courses, etc. Contact: Dr. David Tozer (514) 694-2830

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025 Read More »

Unemployed Members – Dues

Messages / / /

Any individual Full or Senior, or a Fellow member may participate in ASQ’s unemployment dues relief program if they want to continue maintaining their ASQ membership. For more information:

  • Log-in to your ASQ account, go to the My Account page, select Unemployed Members on the left panel. The Unemployed Member Dues page appears.
  • Download the ASQ Unemployment Program Application, complete and submit to ASQ-HQ.
  • Don’t forget to Log-out.

Tout membre individuel Titulaire, Senior ou Fellow peut participer au programme d’allègement des cotisations de chômage de l’ASQ s’il souhaite continuer à maintenir son adhésion à l’ASQ. Pour plus d’informations:

  • Connectez-vous à votre compte ASQ, allez sur la page Mon compte (My Account), sélectionnez Membres chômeurs (Unemployed Members) sur le panneau de gauche. La page Cotisations des membres chômeurs (Unemployed Member Dues) s’affiche.
  • Téléchargez la Demande d’adhésion au programme de chômage de l’ASQ (ASQ Unemployment Program Application), remplissez et envoyez à ASQ-HQ.
  • N’oubliez pas de vous déconnecter.

Unemployed Members – Dues Read More »

ASQ Certification Study Group

Education / / /

Dr David TozerBy Dr. David Tozer, Ph.D., ASQ CQE and SSBB, Education & Audit Chair.

Would you like to work with others to prepare for ASQ examinations? We have a Teams based section study group that is open every Tuesday evening from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Join the team and get to help each other. Contact the host Dr. David Tozer, Montreal Section Education Chair, to obtain a link.

Aimeriez-vous travailler avec d’autres personnes pour préparer les examens de l’ASQ ? Nous avons un groupe d’étude Teams ouvert tous les mardis soirs de 19 h à 20 h 30.

Rejoignez l’équipe et aidez-vous mutuellement. Contactez l’hôte, Dr. David Tozer, président de l’éducation de la section de Montréal, pour obtenir un lien.

ASQ Certification Study Group Read More »

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025

Education / / /

Dr David TozerBy Dr. David Tozer, Ph.D., ASQ CQE and SSBB, Education & Audit Chair.

ASQ Certification often leads to higher paying employment. The money invested in education and certification increases chances of finding employment quickly in the down sizing environment we live in.  People who take the section sponsored refresher courses, and spend at least twice as much time as spent in the classroom on self study, have an 80%, or better, chance of passing the examination on the first attempt.

Having ASQ certification gives you an edge in the market and can significantly increase your income.
Courses are now available online as well | Courses now available online

    • Certified Quality Engineer : quality concepts, cost of quality, human resources, team formation and group dynamics, inspection, metrology, sampling, reliability, quality standards, quality audit, statistics, design of experiments, process improvement, liability, and modern management methods for improving quality.
    • Certified Six Sigma Black Belt: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, lean enterprise, statistics, design of experiments, and design for six sigma.
    • Certified Six Sigma Green Belt: quality concepts, cost of quality, enterprise wide deployment, business process management, project management, team formation and group dynamics, define, measure, analyze, improve, control, and statistics.
    • Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence: quality concepts, quality planning, customer focus, quality standards, project management, cost of quality, team formation and group dynamics, human resources and improvement.
    • Certified Quality Auditor: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, management responsibility, audit objectives, audit preparation, audit conduct, audit reporting, sampling, and basic statistics.
    • Certified Quality Inspector: quality concepts, team formation and group dynamics, geometry, metrology, reading drawings, mechanical processes, statistical process control, inspection, and sampling.

    Calendar and Registration Online Form
    Questions? Cours en site/In house courses, etc. Contact: Dr. David Tozer (514) 694-2830

ASQ Montreal Section – Education Program 2025 Read More »

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante

Student Outreach / / /

Pierre Marquis, Membership Chair Section Montréal, Student Outreach Committee Member (An English text follows)

APERÇU DES PARTICIPATIONS PROCHAINES DU COMITÉ ÉTUDIANTS – ASQ MONTRÉAL: MARS et AVRIL 2025

Calendrier des événements, trois au total (bannière d’ASQ Montréal affichée à l’entrée des salles):

Les deux événements suivants sont confirmés à l’UQAM/ESG:

1) Le 27 mars, panel de discussion d’étudiants en sciences de la gestion ayant pour thème “Le rôle du consultant en entreprise”.

Pierre MARQUIS représentera l’ASQ section de Montréal et fera part de son expérience de travail comme consultant durant plusieurs années, dans les domaines manufacturier et agroalimentaire. Un autre participant sera aussi présent pour compléter le panel.

2) Le 1er avril, le comité des étudiants invite Pierre MARQUIS à partager sa vision de “L’intersection de la gestion et de la Qualité”, sous format PowerPoint, pour une durée de 75 minutes, période de questions incluse.

3) Cet évènement a été demandé par l’Université Concordia, en attente de choisir une date et heure:

OPTION C – Panel Six-Sigma  

Un panel d’experts de l’industrie dans la mise en œuvre de programmes six sigma et l’utilisation d’outils six sigma présente une brève vue d’ensemble de leur expérience avec six sigma. Un panel d’au moins trois experts comprenant :

Expert en mise en œuvre de programmes Six Sigma;

Deux ou trois experts sur l’utilisation et les avantages de Six Sigma;

Les questions et réponses suivront après la présentation de tous les orateurs.

Les experts probables seront Eric HOSKING, Pierre GAUDET et Pierre MARQUIS.

ACADEMIA:

  • Contactez-nous si vous souhaitez organiser un événement avec vos étudiants et discutons de la manière dont nous pouvons aborder le sujet de la qualité dans le monde universitaire.
  • Si vous faites partie d’un établissement d’enseignement et que vous souhaitez avoir plus de visibilité sur les sujets liés à la qualité, contactez Pierre Marquis sur LinkedIn. Nous disposons d’un réseau de conférenciers potentiels qui pourraient vous intéresser.

OVERVIEW OF UPCOMING PARTICIPATIONS BY THE STUDENT COMMITTEE – ASQ MONTREAL: MARCH and APRIL 2025

Calendar of events, three in total (ASQ Montreal banner displayed at hall entrances):

The following two events are confirmed at UQAM/ESG:

1) March 27th, a panel discussion by management science students on the theme “Le rôle du consultant en entreprise”.

Pierre MARQUIS will represent the ASQ Montreal Section and will share his experience of working as a consultant for several years, in the manufacturing and agri-food sectors. Another participant will also be present to complete the panel.

2) On April 1, the Student Committee invites Pierre MARQUIS to share his vision of “The Intersection of Management and Quality”, in PowerPoint format, for 75 minutes, including Q&A.

3) This event has been requested by Concordia University, pending selection of a date and time:

OPTION C – Six-Sigma Panel 

A panel of industry experts in the implementation of six sigma programs and the use of six sigma tools present a brief overview of their experience with six sigma. A panel of at least three experts including:

Expert in Six Sigma program implementation;

Two or three experts on the use and benefits of Six Sigma;

Questions and answers will follow after all speakers have presented.

The likely experts will be Eric HOSKING, Pierre GAUDET and Pierre MARQUIS.

ACADEMIA:

  • Contact us if you are organizing a student event and wish to discuss how to present quality-related topics in the university.
  • If you are part of an educational institution and would like to have more visibility on quality-related topics, please contact Pierre Marquis on LinkedIn. We have a network of potential speakers that may be of interest to you.

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante Read More »

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur

Editor’s Corner / / /
Michael Bournazian

By Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce

A rare thing happened during the last week of February 2025.

I was virtually conducting a supplier audit, with yours truly as the Lead Auditor while a colleague of mine was onsite at the supplier in the UK. The audit lasted approximately 2.5 days and covered all the elements of ISO9001, as well as specific requirements put forth by my company to its supply chain.

And in the end, we raised NO findings.

Anyone who conducts audits in the Quality field will know that an audit devoid of any findings/non-conformances is the rarest of species, the proverbial diamond in the rough . . . a very, very, very big rough. But there it was, staring my colleague and I in the face at the end of 2.5 days, and we were both really happy about it.

Truth be told, we did raise 2 observations, which in our company’s audit processes means “you are verging on finding territory, barely a stone’s throw away”, but not a finding. There was also 1 recommendation; in other words “maybe doing this would makes things better, but you can take it or leave”. But no findings.

During the first 10 years of my Quality career, I spent more time being audited than auditing. As a result, I encountered many different types of auditors and auditing styles. My least favourite of these styles was one which I dubbed FTF (Find The Findings); in other words, the auditor is looking for anything and everything that is wrong in order to raise as many findings as possible. In some cases, I was convinced that they must have been “paid by the finding”. I grinned and tolerated it.

When I started a new Quality role in 2007 with Rolls-Royce Canada which would require me to regularly visit and audit suppliers, I believe I subconsciously decided that I would make every effort to not take on the bad habits of the auditors I experienced in the previous 10 years. And this included not succumbing to the FTF style. I started making it a point during opening meetings (and I still do) to say that the goal of the audit is to look and verify for conformance, not non-conformance. In other words, I won’t be specifically going out of my way to look for only mistakes; if one is found, then yes, that has to be documented and the auditee has to respond and correct, but it won’t be the goal of the audit. The goal of any audit should be to verify if the company/system/process/etc. is meeting the intended requirements, and it is up to the auditee to show that that is being done.

So for the audit conducted at the end of February 2025, our goal was to look and verify for conformance, and there was plenty of it. During the closing meeting, the Quality Manager stated that he “thoroughly enjoyed the audit, and appreciated that we worked with them and not against them”. Yes, working together so that both supplier and customer create a positive relationship is key, and being an auditor who only wants to “find the findings” is not how to meet that objective.

Besides, how many times have you heard the words “audit” and “enjoyed” used in the same sentence by an auditee?

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

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.

The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur Read More »

Unemployed Members – Dues

Messages / / /

Any individual Full or Senior, or a Fellow member may participate in ASQ’s unemployment dues relief program if they want to continue maintaining their ASQ membership. For more information:

  • Log-in to your ASQ account, go to the My Account page, select Unemployed Members on the left panel. The Unemployed Member Dues page appears.
  • Download the ASQ Unemployment Program Application, complete and submit to ASQ-HQ.
  • Don’t forget to Log-out.

Tout membre individuel Titulaire, Senior ou Fellow peut participer au programme d’allègement des cotisations de chômage de l’ASQ s’il souhaite continuer à maintenir son adhésion à l’ASQ. Pour plus d’informations:

  • Connectez-vous à votre compte ASQ, allez sur la page Mon compte (My Account), sélectionnez Membres chômeurs (Unemployed Members) sur le panneau de gauche. La page Cotisations des membres chômeurs (Unemployed Member Dues) s’affiche.
  • Téléchargez la Demande d’adhésion au programme de chômage de l’ASQ (ASQ Unemployment Program Application), remplissez et envoyez à ASQ-HQ.
  • N’oubliez pas de vous déconnecter.

Unemployed Members – Dues Read More »

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