The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeur
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce Hello, and welcome back to your favourite (I hope) Quality newsletter. I sincerely hope everyone had a good summer, which continues until September 23, 2023 🙂 I have often talked about “Quality of Life” here in my corner, about how important it is to have a good work-life balance. Like all normal first-world country people though, my balance sometimes falters. The one constant imbalance in my life for the past 10 years was that I had not made the effort to take a proper vacation. … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce 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 2023 with the next newsletter. All the best to you. EDITOR’S NOTE: Neither … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce The announcement earlier this month from the World Health Organization that COVID-19 no longer needs to be deemed a global health crisis was of little reassurance to me. As someone who is immune compromised and in daily contact with my Mom who is elderly, my mask wearing continues, and if I stick out like a sore thumb, then so be it. When I go into the office to work, I have consistently been the only one wearing a mask for about the last 3 months. … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce Back in March 2021, I wrote in this very section about the ice storm that had hit Texas. I concluded in the end that it was not really my place to point the finger at the state’s lack of preparedness, given eastern Canada’s lack of preparedness during the 1998 ice storm that affected us 25 years ago (happy silver anniversary!). In present day Quebec (and Montreal specifically), we experienced an unexpected sense of deja-vu when, low-and-behold, another ice storm hit the area on April 5th. … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB with Rolls-Royce Expiry dates. Best before dates. They are in our everyday lives all the time, and as anyone who has done audits during their Quality career knows, they can come up regularly during these activities as well: calibration dates on measuring equipment, expiry dates on chemical products, even certain documents (ex. quality plans, workmanship criteria) may be valid for only a certain period of time or for a certain quantity of product. But if you have read these posts of mine long enough, you know that … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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, … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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” … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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, … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB My days have been pretty busy for the past number of weeks, so you will forgive me if I have not taken any QUALITY time to think about what to write about here this month. Did you happen to watch the QUALITY movie I recommended to you last month? If you did, I hope you enjoyed it. Another question for you: have you signed up for our next QUALITY webinar later this month? This will be our 6th Pecha Kucha Night event since 2014 and I will … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB In all the years that I have been the Newsletter Editor for the ASQ Montreal Chapter, I don’t think I have ever discussed or reviewed a movie that I have seen. Well, I don’t plan on giving you a review or even discussing it much (the eye of the beholder being what it is), but I will encourage you, if you are a subscriber to Netflix, to watch the documentary “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing“. The documentary, released in February 2022, details the 2 fatal crashes of … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB It has been a while since I gave you all a meme. So here is one I created using a picture that I took during a vacation in Antigua in 2012. Share to your heart’s content . . . and always be careful when moving appliances. 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, Quality Management Professional, CSSGB Both during and since the holidays, I came across a few examples of Risk Management, and not in a work related Quality context. More so in an “everyday dealing with our current world situation” context. With the most recent revisions of ISO 9001, AS 9100 and other standards, the concepts and expectations of Risk Management were finally put into play. Ultimately replacing the long ineffective “Preventive Action”, the principles of Risk Management, Assessment, Mitigation, Acceptance, etc. all now require implementation into a company’s DNA. But we do … Read more
- The Editor’s Corner | Mot de l’éditeurBy 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 take up this space by wishing all our readers and ASQ Montreal Section members the safest and happiest of holiday seasons. I sincerely hope this coming year-end finds you in better and more celebratory circumstances than in 2020. 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 … Read more
- The Editor’s CornerBy Michael Bournazian, Eng., Newsletter Editor, ASQ Senior Member, CSSGB This past August, I decided to resurrect a tradition that my father and I used to do every year when I was younger: go see professional tennis at the (now named) IGA Stadium in Montreal. Every year on the professional tennis circuit, both Montreal and Toronto host tournaments in Canada, with the cities alternating each year with regards gender; this year, it was the women who played in Montreal. I was lucky enough that on the day I went, I got to see Canadian Leylah Fernandez play against the U.K.’s … Read more