Voice of The Customer | Voix du Client

Voice of the Customer / / /
Tooraj Khalili 2022

Tooraj Khalili 2022By Tooraj Khalili, ASQ member  (texte en français suit)

Pecha Kucha Night | Nuit on 27 April, 2022. Three subjects:

1. A Pecha Kucha on the History of Quality by Craig Plain;
2. Computer Security: How to Find your Way Around by Chantale Farley and Paul Beaudoin;
3. Using Difference for Continual Improvement by Ruth Stanley.

You were 33 participants to respond to the survey during our “Pecha Kucha” bilingual webinar hosted by Michael Bournazian. The webinar event took place on April 27th, 2022 from 18:30 to 21:00 Eastern time, and had an overall satisfaction rate of 94%. Participants particularly appreciated the exchange with 96% satisfaction. As for the subject, the approach and the speaker, the satisfaction rate was 95% and 95% each.

The webinar began with an approximately 30-minute networking period. Then there was an interesting discussion on the role of Pecha Kucha as a sharing tool. It is too short to give a lot of details on a subject but just right to focus/share or like a “teaser” to learn more on a particular subject.

Basically, it was fun, one of the major take-aways, along with the subjects and discussions:

  • Craig lost a tooth crown just before the event and was, well, in pain. But he managed to keep up with his slides on the evolution of quality in North America.
  • Chantale ran out of breath as she tried to share with us the large variety of standards on her subject.
  • Ruth turned on the subtitle feature in PowerPoint. In English it did okay but, when she spoke in French (basically translating what she had said), the subtitle feature started inventing all types of weird words and phrases. This became very distracting and funny.

Also, it is important to underline that this bilingual webinar attracted people from Montreal and its surroundings, while the rest of the participants were from other Canadian regions (Ottawa and Toronto), the United States, and France. I take this opportunity to tell you that it’s always a pleasure for the whole team to have such a diverse crowd.

A large majority of you would attend another event, which is why we invite you to our next bilingual event on Benefit Corporations and B Corp Certification, with Carolee Rigsbee on 25 May, 2022 at 19:00 with a Networking Opportunity starting at 18:30. Information | Reservations.

Trois sujets pour notre Nuit de Pecha Kucha Night ce 27 avril, 2022:

1. Un Pecha Kucha sur l’histoire de la qualité par Craig Plain;
2. Sécurité informatique: comment s’y retrouver avec Chantale Farley et Paul Beaudoin ;
3. Utiliser la différence pour l’amélioration continue avec Ruth Stanley.

Vous étiez 33 participants à répondre à l’enquête lors de notre webinaire bilingue “Pecha Kucha” animé par Michael Bournazian. L’événement webinaire qui a eu lieu le 27 avril, 2022 de 18h30 à 21h00 heure de l’Est, et a eu un taux de satisfaction global de 94%. Les participants ont particulièrement apprécié l’échange avec 96% de satisfaction. Quant au sujet, à l’approche et à l’intervenant, le taux de satisfaction était de 95% et 95% chacun.

Le webinaire a débuté par une période de réseautage d’environ 30 minutes. Ensuite, une discussion intéressante a eu lieu sur le rôle du Pecha Kucha comme outil de partage. C’est trop court pour donner beaucoup de détails sur un sujet mais juste ce qu’il faut pour se concentrer/partager ou comme un “teaser” pour en apprendre plus sur un sujet particulier.

En fait, c’était amusant, et c’est l’une des principales choses à retenir, tout comme les sujets et les discussions:

  • Craig a perdu une couronne dentaire juste avant l’événement et a souffert. Mais il a réussi à suivre ses diapositives sur l’évolution de la qualité en Amérique du Nord.
  • Chantale s’est essoufflée en essayant de nous faire partager la grande variété de normes sur son sujet.
  • Ruth a activé la fonction de sous-titres dans PowerPoint. En anglais, cela fonctionnait bien, mais lorsqu’elle a parlé en français (traduisant essentiellement ce qu’elle avait dit), la fonction de sous-titre a commencé à inventer toutes sortes de mots et de phrases bizarres. C’est devenu très distrayant et amusant.

Il est également important de souligner que ce webinaire bilingue a attiré des personnes de Montréal et de ses environs, tandis que le reste des participants provenaient d’autres régions canadiennes (Ottawa et Toronto), des États-Unis et de France. Je profite de l’occasion pour vous dire que c’est toujours un plaisir pour toute l’équipe d’avoir une foule aussi diversifiée.

Une grande majorité voudrait participer à un autre webinaire et c’est pour cela que nous vous invitons à notre prochain événement sur Benefit Corporations and B Corp Certification (Les sociétés de bienfaisance et la certification B Corp), avec Carolee Rigsbee le 25 Mai, 2022 at 19:00. Une opportunité de réseautage débute a 18:30. Information | Reservations.

Voici quelques prochains événements | Here are some future events:
♦ 15 Juin | June 15: Bilingual e-Networking Workshop | Atelier bilingue e-réseautage:
What do Quality Professionals need/want to learn? | Que doivent/souhaitent apprendre les professionnels de la qualité? avec|with Raymond E. Dyer. Information | Reservations
♦ 28 Septembre | September 28: Pharmaceutical data integrity and computer systems validation (Intégrité des données pharmaceutiques et validation des systèmes informatiques) with Kia Kahhali (Webinar in English | Webinaire en anglais)

Voice of The Customer | Voix du Client Read More »

ASQ Certifications Accredited | Accréditation des certifications

Messages / /
JP Amiel

By Jean-Pierre Amiel, ASQ Senior, CQA ret., Secretary, Web committee Chair and Audit Chair.

On April 14, 2022, ASQ announced that five of ASQ’s certification programs achieved ISO 17024 Personnel Certification Documentation Consultancy accreditation through the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). ANAB is the largest multi-disciplinary accreditation body in the western hemisphere, with more than 2,500 organizations accredited in approximately 80 countries.

By earning ISO 17024 accreditation for Personnel Certification, ASQ demonstrates to the Quality profession it represents and the general public it serves, that its credentialing programs have been reviewed by a panel of impartial experts who have determined that our CQA, CQE, CSSBB, CMQ/OE & CRE programs have met the stringent standards set by the credentialing community.

ISO 17024 accreditation adds additional credibility and value to your ASQ Certification.​​​ “Accreditation is not just an award – it’s critical to ensuring that there is an effective quality management system that affords greater process control, reduces risk, and ultimately results in increased customer satisfaction and sustainability of our products and services..” said ASQE CEO, Jim Templin.

More details…

Ce 14 avril 2022, ASQ a annoncé que cinq de ses programmes de certification ont obtenu l’accréditation ISO 17024 Conseil en documentation de certification du personnel par le biais du ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). L’ANAB est le plus grand organisme d’accréditation multidisciplinaire de l’hémisphère occidental, avec plus de 2 500 organisations accréditées dans environ 80 pays.

En obtenant l’accréditation ISO 17024 pour la certification du personnel, ASQ démontre à la profession de la qualité qu’elle représente et au grand public qu’elle sert, que ses programmes d’accréditation ont été examinés par un groupe d’experts impartiaux qui ont déterminé que nos programmes CQA, CQE, CSSBB, CMQ/OE et CRE ont satisfait aux normes rigoureuses établies par la communauté d’accréditation.

L’accréditation ISO 17024 ajoute de la crédibilité et de la valeur à votre certification ASQ. “L’accréditation n’est pas seulement une récompense – elle est essentielle pour garantir l’existence d’un système de gestion de la qualité efficace qui permet un meilleur contrôle des processus, réduit les risques et, en fin de compte, augmente la satisfaction des clients et la durabilité de nos produits et services…“, a déclaré Jim Templin, PDG d’ASQE.

Plus de détails…

ASQ Certifications Accredited | Accréditation des certifications 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

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.

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

Word from the Chair | Mot du président

Word from Section Chair / / /
Raymond Dyer

Raymond DyerBy Raymond E. Dyer (Ray), ASQ Senior Member, CMQ/OE, & CQA (un texte en français suit)

I’m writing briefly about three topics this month:

    1. The “New normal” for Quality professionals;
    2. Topics of interest for the Quality professional;
    3. Call for volunteer ASQ section leaders.

1. Wikipedia defines a “New normal” as a state to which an economy, society, etc. settles following a crisis, when this differs from the situation that prevailed prior to the start of the crisis. This expression most recently has been used to reflect on how things have changed in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Quality profession has undergone significant and somewhat directional change (as have other professions) for quite some time due to several other factors including technology, aging workforce, economic, environmental, social, and political factors. Many of these changes are becoming increasingly resistant to returning to what they were before (just think about the “Great Resignation”) and Quality professionals will need to understand and develop the agility to cope with this “New normal”. As we’ve been saying for years, change is the only constant in life. More to come in future articles.

2. On June 15th, I’ll be moderating a networking workshop on topics for Quality professionals. I’m really looking forward to the suggestions and ideas we’ll be generating together. Two web pages that our webmaster J.P. Amiel has cleverly put together are: https://asqmontreal.qc.ca/past-events-2007-20xx and, if you really want to go back in time, https://asqmontreal.qc.ca/past-events-1957-2006. These sites will allow you to search on key words and see events our section has put on in the past. I typed in my family name and saw how many times I was involved in our section events. Really cool information and a useful resource of past ideas. (Thanks J.P.!)

3. We’re always on the lookout for new ASQ Montreal Section Leadership Team (SLT) candidates. There are several areas new leaders can get involved in, e.g. generating myASQ postings and newsletter articles, supporting various committees like the Program Committee and the Student Outreach Committee, etc. Once you get more familiar with how the SLT runs, even more interesting development opportunities lay ahead, e.g. Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Chair, and Section Chair. If you’re interested in exploring this, please reach out to me (e.g. via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/redyer) or another senior leader of the ASQ Montreal SLT. Thanks!

J’écris brièvement sur trois sujets ce mois-ci:

  1. La “nouvelle normalité” pour les professionnels de la qualité;
  2. Les sujets d’intérêt pour le professionnel de la qualité;
  3. Un appel pour des bénévoles dans l’équipe de leadership de section de l’ASQ.

1. Wikipedia définit la “nouvelle normalité” comme l’état dans lequel une économie, une société, etc. s’installe après une crise, lorsque cet état diffère de la situation qui prévalait avant le début de la crise. Cette expression a été utilisée tout récemment pour réfléchir à la façon dont les choses ont changé au cours des deux dernières années en raison de la pandémie du COVID-19. Cependant, la profession de la qualité a subi des changements significatifs et quelque peu directionnels (comme d’autres professions) depuis un certain temps en raison de plusieurs autres facteurs, notamment la technologie, le vieillissement de la main-d’œuvre, les facteurs économiques, environnementaux, sociaux et politiques. Bon nombre de ces changements résistent de plus en plus à un retour à la situation antérieure (il suffit de penser à la “grande démission”) et les professionnels de la qualité devront comprendre et développer l’agilité nécessaire pour faire face à cette “nouvelle normalité”. Comme nous le répétons depuis des années, le changement est la seule constante de la vie. Nous vous en dirons plus dans nos prochains articles.

2. Le 15 juin, j’animerai un atelier de réseautage sur des thèmes destinés aux professionnels de la qualité. Je me réjouis vraiment des suggestions et des idées que nous allons générer ensemble. Deux pages web que notre webmaster JP Amiel a intelligemment mises en place sont: https://asqmontreal.qc.ca/fr/repertoire-devenements-fr-2007-20xx et, si vous voulez vraiment remonter le temps, https://asqmontreal.qc.ca/fr/repertoire-devenements-fr-1957-2006. Ces sites vous permettront de faire des recherches sur des mots-clés et de voir les événements que notre section a organisés dans le passé. J’ai tapé mon nom de famille et j’ai vu combien de fois j’ai participé à des événements de notre section. C’est une information vraiment cool et une ressource utile d’idées passées. (Merci J.P.!),

3. Nous sommes toujours à la recherche de nouveaux candidats pour l’équipe de leadership de section (ELS) de l’ASQ Montréal. Il y a plusieurs domaines dans lesquels les nouveaux leaders peuvent s’impliquer, par exemple en générant des affichages myASQ et des articles de bulletin, en soutenant divers comités comme le comité du programme et le comité de sensibilisation des étudiants, etc. Une fois que vous vous serez familiarisé avec le fonctionnement de l’ELS, des possibilités de développement encore plus intéressantes s’offriront à vous, par exemple en tant que secrétaire, trésorier, vice-président et président de section. Si vous êtes intéressé à explorer ces possibilités, n’hésitez pas à me contacter (par exemple via LinkedIn à https://www.linkedin.com/in/redyer) ou un autre dirigeant de l’ELS de l’ASQ Montréal. Merci!

Send me your comments / Envoyez-moi vos commentaires

Word from the Chair | Mot du président Read More »

Next Event | Prochain Événement

Next Event / / /

May 25th, 2022 | 25 Mai 2022 19:00

Networking opportunity | Opportunité de réseautage 18:30

Benefit corporations and
B Corp certification
(Les sociétés de bienfaisance et la certification B Corp)

English Webinar | Webinaire en anglais (Bilingual Q&A Bilingue)

B Corp Certification

Photo Bri Schneiter — Pexels

Some companies are building socially and environmentally responsible practices into their DNA by becoming a benefit corporation and/or B Corp certified. However, what this means is often misunderstood. This session aims to help clarify what being a "B Corp" is about while framing discussion in the context of the larger trend towards environmental, social, and governance reporting and auditing.

About our Presenter: Dr. Carolee Rigsbee, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Springfield and a senior member of the ASQ. Carolee specializes in strategic management and draws on extensive industry and quality assurance leadership experience (nuclear, aerospace & defense, food manufacturing, and other industries) in her research, teaching, and service. These experiences and her deep interest in corporate social responsibility, collectively inform her academic work which is focused on novel organization designs that hold the potential to strengthen stakeholder voice and reduce obstacles to economic, social, and environmental goal achievement (e.g., benefit corporations, using blockchain as an enabling technology in value chain management and governance).

Join-us !

Certaines entreprises intègrent des pratiques socialement et écologiquement responsables dans leur ADN en devenant une société de bienfaisance et/ou en obtenant la certification "B Corp". Cependant, ce que cela signifie est souvent mal compris. Cette présentation vise à clarifier ce que signifie être une "B Corp" tout en encadrant la discussion dans le contexte de la tendance plus large des audits environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance.

Au sujet du conférencier: Dr. Carolee Rigsbee, PhD est professeur adjointe à l'Université de l'Illinois Springfield et membre senior de l'ASQ. Elle est spécialisée dans la gestion stratégique et s'appuie sur une vaste expérience de l'industrie et du leadership en matière d'assurance qualité (nucléaire, aérospatiale et défense, fabrication de produits alimentaires et autres industries) dans ses recherches, son enseignement et ses services. Ces expériences, ainsi que son profond intérêt pour la responsabilité sociale des entreprises, alimentent collectivement son travail académique qui se concentre sur les nouvelles conceptions d'organisation qui ont le potentiel de renforcer la voix des parties prenantes et de réduire les obstacles à la réalisation des objectifs économiques, sociaux et environnementaux (ex. les sociétés de bienfaisance, l'utilisation du ‘blockchain’ comme technologie habilitante dans la gestion de la chaîne de valeur et la gouvernance).

Rejoignez-nous!

Your participation will be worth 0.5 ASQ RU (Recertification Units).
Votre participation vaut 0.5 RU (Recertification Units) de l'ASQ.

For more information on this upcoming event, see our Newsletter, or myASQ.

Next Event | Prochain Événement Read More »

World Conference on Quality & Improvement (May 15-18, 2022)

Section News / / /
Michael Bournazian

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

Just a reminder that the ASQ WCQI for 2022 is coming up this month! The event will be taking place this year in Anaheim, California from May 15-18, 2022, although it is being billed as a “Hybrid” event.

CLICK HERE to get more information and register.

World Conference on Quality & Improvement (May 15-18, 2022) Read More »

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante

Student Outreach / / /
Farnoosh Naderkhani

Farnoosh NaderkhaniBy Jean-Pierre Amiel (Web Committee Chair) for Dr. Farnoosh Naderkhani, ASQ Member, Assistant Professor @ Concordia, Student Outreach Committee Chair

Our next webinar in our series of presentations at Concordia University | Notre prochain webinaire de notre série de présentations à l’Université Concordia

AI Innovations are Revolutionizing the Future of Healthcare!
(Les innovations de l’IA révolutionnent l’avenir des soins de santé !)
May 19, 2022   17:00-18:00 PM

Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations can change patients’ lives by improving diagnosis/treatment methods and assisting clinicians in making informed decisions. In this presentation, we introduce the general applications of AI in healthcare. More specifically, we discuss how AI models can assist radiologists in analyzing medical images for a more accurate and faster diagnosis/prognosis of diseases.

Nastaran EnshaeiAbout the speaker: Nastaran Enshaei is a PhD candidate at Concordia Institute for Information System Engineering (CIISE) and has a Masters’ degree in Quality System Engineering from Concordia University. She has been actively involved in performing research in healthcare domain. In particular, she is working on deep learning-based solutions for analyzing medical images. Nastaran’s research contributions have been published in International Journals and Conferences of high caliber in engineering and healthcare venues including but not limited to Signal Processing magazine and Nature Scientific Reports.

Les innovations de l’Inteligence Artificielle (IA) peuvent changer la vie des patients en améliorant les méthodes de diagnostic/traitement et en aidant les cliniciens à prendre des décisions éclairées. Dans cette présentation, nous introduisons les applications générales de l’IA dans les soins de santé. Plus spécifiquement, nous discutons de la façon dont les modèles d’IA peuvent aider les radiologues à analyser les images médicales pour un diagnostic/pronostic plus précis et plus rapide des maladies.

La conférencière: Nastaran Enshaei est candidate au doctorat à l’Institut Concordia d’ingénierie des systèmes d’information (CIISE) et est titulaire d’une maîtrise en ingénierie des systèmes de qualité de l’Université Concordia. Elle a participé activement à des recherches dans le domaine des soins de santé. En particulier, elle travaille sur des solutions basées sur l’apprentissage profond pour l’analyse d’images médicales. Ses travaux de recherche ont été publiés dans des revues et des conférences internationales de haut niveau dans les domaines de l’ingénierie et des soins de santé, y compris, mais sans s’y limiter, dans le magazine Signal Processing et dans Nature Scientific Reports.

Information | Reservations

If you are part of an educational institution and would like to have more visibility on quality-related topics, please contact us. We have a network of potential speakers that may be of interest to you. Contact Raymond Dyer on LinkedIn .

Si vous faites partie d’un établissement d’enseignement et que vous souhaitez avoir plus de visibilité sur les sujets liés à la qualité, veuillez nous contacter. Nous disposons d’un réseau de conférenciers potentiels qui pourraient vous intéresser. Contactez Raymond Dyer sur LinkedIn.

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante Read More »

N’oubliez Pas De Vous Recertifier | Recertification Is Right Around The Corner

Messages / / /
JP Amiel

By Jean-Pierre Amiel, ASQ Senior, CQA ret., Secretary, Web committee Chair and Audit Chair.

Il est temps de collecter et de documenter vos
unités de recertification pour atteindre les 18 RUs requises afin d’éviter de repasser un examen de certification!

N’oubliez pas que vous disposez d’un “délai de grâce” de 6 mois à compter de votre date de recertification pour vous recertifier par journal. Après cette période, vous ne pourrez plus vous recertifier que par examen.

Si vous détenez plusieurs certifications ASQ, vous pouvez les synchroniser et les renouveler en une seule fois en soumettant un seul journal de recertification au lieu de renouveler séparément différentes certifications avec des dates de recertification différentes. Si vous êtes employé à plein temps et membre de l’ASQ, vous avez déjà atteint 68 % de votre objectif!

Alors n’attendez pas, commencez à faire le point dès aujourd’hui!
Visitez la page RECERTIFICATION de l’ASQ dès maintenant.

(Note : Le site de l’ASQ est seulement en anglais)

Rédiger son Journal en ligne ASQ Recerticiation How to use the Online Journal

It’s time to start collecting and documenting your
recertification units to hit the required 18 RUs in order to avoid retaking a certification exam!

Remember, you have a 6-month “grace period” from your recertification date to recertify by journal. After this period, you can only recertify by exam.

If you hold multiple ASQ certifications, they can be synchronized and renewed at once by submitting a single recertification journal instead of separately renewing different certifications with different recertification dates. If you are fully employed and an ASQ member – you’re already 68% of the way there!

So don’t wait, start keeping track today!
Visit the ASQ RECERTIFICATION page now.

N’oubliez Pas De Vous Recertifier | Recertification Is Right Around The Corner Read More »

Wisdom from our Wisest — Ruth Stanley

Local News / /

Wisdom from our Wisest — Ruth Stanley

Eric Hosking & Samira KazemiBy Eric Hosking, Section Treasurer, Membership Chair, ASQ CQE, CSSBB, CQA and Samira Kazemi, Program Committee Member
Texte en français ICI

Last month, in this column we featured Marcel Charbonneau, a very long time member of the ASQ. Some of our members are not necessarily long time members of the ASQ, but they are long time practitioners of Quality. They also come with a myriad of talents that have helped them have very successful careers inside and outside the Quality domain. We had the pleasure of interviewing Ruth Stanley, former Regional Director for the ASQ Canada and Greenland region. She described her career in Quality and her career as a leader. This is what we learned.

RUTH STANLEY – PRESIDENT, BOANN CONSULTING

Ruth Stanley

Ruth Stanley has 30 plus years in Quality working as a public servant in a number of branches of the Canadian Federal Government. While there she worked with ISO standards: 9001 for quality systems; 14000 for environmental standards; 17025 for laboratory information systems and 31000 for risk management.

Ruth became a member of ASQ in 2014 in the Ottawa Section. In 2017 she took the lead on organizing the first ASQ Canadian National Quality Conference which was hosted by the Ottawa Section. Following that she served as the ASQ Regional Director for Canada Greenland Region in 2019 and 2020, then stepping down to be Deputy Regional Director in 2021. From those positions, she was deeply involved in both the 2020 and 2021 ASQ Canadian National Quality Conferences hosted by Toronto Section and Montreal Section respectively. Now retired from the Federal Government, she is far from retirement. She is an author, presenter, blogger and now founder of Boann Consulting.

Samira had a number of questions for Ruth and you can read the article here.

If you enjoyed this article, send your comments to the Membership Chair.We will share them.

(2022-04-17)

Wisdom from our Wisest — Ruth Stanley Read More »

2022 Prix Denis Pronovost (Award)

Award, Local News / /

2022 Prix Denis Pronovost (Award)

JP AmielMarcel Charbonneau, T.P., ASQ CQA, led the Montreal Section project to create a $500 award in honor of Denis Pronovost, who passed away in June 2015. Through his outstanding contribution to the association, his leadership and his involvement, Denis greatly participated in the promotion of quality in French in Quebec and was a frequent guest and speaker at the Section.

Denis had a career of more than thirty years of work experience mainly in teaching and consulting in the field of management, quality assurance and audits. In 1990, with Pierre Caillibot, he founded Academia Qualitas in Quebec, where they developed courses and trained quality professionals in the manufacturing, service and laboratory sectors. Denis was a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee to ISO/TC 176, particularly active in the Terminology Working Group,the Interpretations Working Group and the joint CAC/ISO/TC 176/CAC/ISO TC 207 Working Group on Auditing and the Future of the ISO 19011 Audit Standard. He was also a lead auditor of quality management systems (QMS) certified by the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) and a senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Denis was an active member and Chair of the ASQ Montreal Francophone Section from 2012-14.

Denis was a speaker and instructor in North America, Central America, Europe and Asia. On more than five occasions, he came to the Montreal Section to present the evolution of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards. In 2000, he authored Internal Quality Auditing, a guide to conducting more effective internal audits, published by ASQ.

Patrick Barnes & Marcel Charbonneau(Photo : Partick Barnes and Marcel Charbonneau) On June 8th, 2022, Marcel presented the award to Patrick Barnes, a student at the Certificat en gestion et assurance de la qualité de l’École de technologie supérieure (Management and Quality Assurance Certificate) of the École de technologie supérieure, a multidisciplinary program that provides training or development in management and quality assurance. Patrick will present a summary of his quality improvement project at the ETS. Award_Prix-Denis-Pronovost-PatrickBarnes_2022

Congratulations to Patrick !!

2022 Prix Denis Pronovost (Award) Read More »

Student Outreach: Sustainability in Supply Chain

Local News, Student Outreach / /

Student Outreach: Sustainability in Supply Chain

Farnoosh NaderkhaniBy Dr. Farnoosh Naderkhani, ASQ Member, Assistant Professor @ Concordia, Student Outreach Committee Chair

In today’s competitive business environment, to stay in business and keep up with competitors, it is of significant importance for a supply chain network to operate at its fullest potential. Increased demand for consumer products, however, has resulted in irreversible negative impacts on the environment. This coupled with increased global pollution rate over recent decades has resulted in an urgent quest to design and develop green and sustainable supply chain network. Generally speaking, sustainability in supply chain management focuses on orchestration and continuous improvement of planning and execution of processes on strategic, tactical and operational levels.

Veronica Marquez in action

As a researcher working on sustainability in supply chain network and as part of the vision to bring industry into classroom, we organized an invited distinguished seminar delivered by Veronica B. Marquez, Social Media Chair at ASQ Montreal. Veronica delivered a unique and an insightful presentation focused on green and sustainable supply chain network. The talk was devoted to strategic vision for advancement of lean and green supply chain networks and how the lean concepts and quality tools can be applied to achieve a sustainable supply chain network.

(2022-04-14)

Student Outreach: Sustainability in Supply Chain Read More »

Wisdom from our Wisest | Sagesse de nos plus sages

Various Articles / / /
Eric Hosking & Samira Kazemi

Eric Hosking & Samira KazemiBy Eric Hosking, Section Treasurer, Membership Chair, ASQ CQE, CSSBB and CQA and Samira Kazemi, Program Committee Member

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Last month, in this column we featured Marcel Charbonneau, a very long time member of the ASQ. This month we are changing speed a bit. Some of our members are not necessarily long time members of the ASQ, but they are long time practitioners of Quality. They also come with a myriad of talents that have helped them have very successful careers inside and outside the Quality domain. Samira and Eric had the pleasure of interviewing Ruth Stanley, the ASQ’s former Regional Director for Canada and Greenland region. She described her career in Quality and her career as a leader. This is what we learned.

RUTH STANLEY – PRESIDENT, BOANN CONSULTING

Ruth Stanley

Ruth Stanley has Ruth Stanley has 30 plus years in Quality working as a public servant in a number of branches of the Canadian Federal Government. While there she worked with ISO standards: 9001 for quality systems; 14000 for environmental standards; 17025 for laboratory information systems and 31000 for risk management.

Ruth became a member of ASQ in 2014 in the Ottawa Section. In 2017 she took the lead on organizing the first ASQ Canadian National Quality Conference which was hosted by the Ottawa Section. Following that she served as the ASQ Regional Director for Canada Greenland Region in 2019 and 2020, then stepping down to be Deputy Regional Director in 2021.  From those positions, she was deeply involved in both the 2020 and 2021 ASQ Canadian National Quality Conferences hosted by Toronto Section and Montreal Section respectively.

Now retired from the Federal Government, she is far from retirement. She is an author, presenter, blogger and now founder of Boann Consulting.

Impressed by Ruth’s resume, Samira had a number of questions for Ruth:

What was the definition of Quality in your industry?
I’m in the Pharmaceutical industry and in my Quality role, the main focus has been mostly on complying with  the requirements of national / foreign regulations. It is always interesting to me to know what Quality is in other industries, regulated or non-regulated. I was in the government industry where Quality was actually referred to as excellence. Quality meant acting with integrity and impartiality in providing the best value to Canadians while acting in accordance with statutes and regulations.

How did you get into Quality and how did your profession in Quality evolve over these many years in your industry?
My role changed over the years. My first role was as a Pensions Officer. I audited financial institutions that reported to the government.  Quality meant compliance with the Income Tax Act. I was assessing pension plans and RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan), RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund) and other financial instruments managed by those institutions.

As an Internal Auditor, I assessed the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of Revenue Canada internal processes. These were the Revenue Canada internal indicators of Quality at the time. Over the course of my time with the government, the tools of quality that we used changed.  As a Planner/ Policy Officer, I followed the PDCA cycle to plan improvement activities, measure execution, assess achievements and update plans, following Treasury Board guidelines.

We introduced other tools along the way. We began with process mapping and triage for risk levels, then used a balanced scorecard and key outputs, then we moved to outcome-based key indicators with Canadians as the focus and a Baldridge-inspired excellence framework with elements of ISO standards. Later we changed our focus to risk-based thinking. Lean thinking, along with the move to value-stream mapping and a customer focus, was just getting going in 2016 when I left.

Did you always stay in the same industry?
More or less. I was with the government for a large part of my career, but in the different branches I dealt with different industries. I then devoted myself to service through ASQ and now I am in consulting. I have also authored a published book and I am working on my second book.

What made you successful in your Quality role?
I am a natural connector – ideas, things and people. I was able to distill large amounts of information into bite-sized pieces.  I could facilitate and pull information out of people that they didn’t know they knew.

How long have you been with the ASQ and what kept you as a member for such a long time?
Since 2014, almost 8 years. I came to it late in my career. I was still learning about leadership outside the government and deepening my knowledge of quality methods and other very interesting topics. The ASQ gave me a chance to serve in a different way. I am very pleased with the friendships and contacts that I have made along the way.

How has ASQ membership helped or played a role in your career advancement and how have you benefited from being a member?
I really grew as a person and a leader/mentor and I got to try things that I would never have done in the government. The support I got from other people, encouraged me to become a writer, blogger and presenter.

What do you suggest could work / serve members better?
The real magic in ASQ Sections is the support that we give each other as members. Mentoring or twinning is something that the Sections should do more of.  This is more personal than a webinar or a workshop.  It could be an ongoing relationship, a sounding board for new members. This is something that I would have benefited from in my career.

You have worked with ASQ HQ.  What are your impressions of that organization?
Staff are very dedicated and work hard. They are not on the ground, so they need our insights on current needs. They cannot be everywhere at once.

What would you say to any aspiring Regional Director candidate?
As a Regional Director, I was a therapist, problem fixer and sometimes an enforcer, but I would encourage an aspiring candidate to:

  • Stay open to new ideas. Don’t get into a rut. Always push forward with something new.
  • Don’t try to know everything or do it all yourself. You have a team. Listen to them and cherish them.
  • Build others up. Let them try something. Provide opportunities for everyone to push themselves and practice. learning is never “one and done”.
  • Be kind but don’t be afraid to “put the skunk out on the porch.” Sometimes it is necessary to address something uncomfortable
  • If you don’t measure up to your own ideals, be kind to yourself. You are going to mess up sometimes.  You are still human.

If you enjoyed this article, send your comments to the Membership Chair, and we will share them with the author.

Wisdom from our Wisest | Sagesse de nos plus sages Read More »

Voice of The Customer | Voix du Client

Voice of the Customer / / /
Tooraj Khalili 2022

Tooraj Khalili 2022By Tooraj Khalili, ASQ member  (French text follows)

Split personalities of QMS under FDA QSR, ISO 13485, & MDSAP – Medical devices industry regulations
(Les dualités d’un système QMS dans l’industrie d’appareils médicaux) with Michelle Lott on 30 March, 2022.

You were 47 participants to respond to our closing survey. It had an overall satisfaction rating of 98% and participants particularly appreciated the exchange with 98% satisfaction. As for the subject, the approach and the speaker, the satisfaction rate was 97% each.

The webinar began with a 30-minute networking period. In the webinar, Michelle discussed the strategies to manage regulations, risks, and audits in the medical device industry for the US & Canada. Also, there was exploration on the differences between ISO 13485, FDA and MDSAP audits and the impact on audit management and the structure of the quality management system.

It is important to note that this English webinar attracted people from Montreal and its surroundings (32%), while the rest of the participants were from the United States (42%), Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Kingston), Brazil, Denmark, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway. I take this opportunity to tell you that it’s always a pleasure for the whole team to have such a diverse crowd.

A large majority of you would attend another event, which is why we invite you to our next bilingual event, the return of Pecha Kucha Night, hosted by Michael Bournazian on 27 April, 2022 at 19:00 with a Networking Opportnity starting at 18:30. Information | Reservations.

Vous étiez 47 participants à répondre à notre sondage de fermeture qui a obtenu un taux de satisfaction global de 98%. Les participants ont particulièrement apprécié l’échange avec 98% de satisfaction. Quant au sujet, l’approche et le présentateur, le taux de satisfaction était de 97% pour chacun.

Le webinaire a débuté par une période de réseautage de 30 minutes. Au cours du webinaire, Michelle a abordé les stratégies de gestion des réglementations, des risques et des audits dans l’industrie des dispositifs médicaux pour les États-Unis et le Canada. Elle a également exploré les différences entre les audits ISO 13485, FDA et MDSAP et leur impact sur la gestion des audits et la structure du système de gestion de la qualité.

Il est important de noter que ce webinaire en anglais a attiré des personnes de Montréal et de ses environs (32%), alors que le reste des participants provenaient des États-Unis (42%), Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Kingston), du Brésil, du Danemark, du Mexique, de la Nouvelle-Zélande et de la Norvège. Je profite de l’occasion pour vous dire que c’est toujours un plaisir pour toute l’équipe d’avoir une participation aussi diversifiée.

Une grande majorité voudrait participer à un autre webinaire et c’est pour cela que nous vous invitons à notre prochain événement bilingue du retour de notre Nuit Pecha Kucha avec votre hôte Michael Bournazian, le 27 Avril, 2022 à 19:00 avec une opportunité de réseautage débutant à 18:30. Informations | Réservations.

Voici quelques prochains événements | Here are some future events:
♦  25 May | Mai: “B Corp” certifications (Les certifications “B Corp”) with Dr Carolee Rigsbee (Webinaire en anglais | Webinar in English) Information.
♦ 15 Juin | June: Bilingual Networking event | Activité de réseautage bilingue.

Voice of The Customer | Voix du Client Read More »

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante

Student Outreach / / /
Raymond Dyer

Farnoosh NaderkhaniBy Raymond Dyer (committee member) for Dr. Farnoosh Naderkhani, ASQ Member, Assistant Professor @ Concordia, Student Outreach Committee Chair

Veronica Marquez, MSc, CSSBB, our past Student Outreach Committee Chair before Farnoosh, delivered an exciting presentation to university students at Concordia on the topic of green and sustainable supply chain design. This was part of a vision to bring industry experience into the classroom setting. Well done Veronica! For more information, see the LinkedIn posting by Farnoosh.

If you are from an educational setting and would like to have more industry exposure on Quality related topics, please reach out to us. We have a network of potential speakers that could interest you. I (Raymond Dyer) can also be reached directly in LinkedIn. Thanks!

Veronica Marquez in actionVeronica Marquez, MSc, CSSBB, notre ancienne présidente du comité de sensibilisation des étudiants avant Farnoosh, a fait une présentation passionnante à des étudiants universitaires à Concordia sur le thème de la conception d’une chaîne d’approvisionnement verte et durable. Cette présentation s’inscrivait dans le cadre d’une vision visant à apporter l’expérience de l’industrie dans les salles de classe. Bravo Veronica! Pour plus d’informations, consultez la publication sur LinkedIn de Farnoosh.

Si vous faites partie d’un établissement d’enseignement et que vous souhaitez avoir plus de visibilité sur des sujets reliés à la qualité, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter. Nous disposons d’un réseau d’intervenants potentiels qui pourraient vous intéresser. Vous pouvez également me joindre directement sur LinkedIn (Raymond Dyer). Merci!

Student Outreach | Sensibilisation étudiante Read More »

Prix Denis Pronovost | Denis Pronovost Award

Messages / / /
Denis Pronovost

JP AmielPar Jean-Pierre Amiel, ASQ Senior, CQA Retraité, Secrétaire, Audits, Sites web (English text follows)

La section de Montréal de l’ASQ a créé un prix de 500$ en l’honneur de Denis Pronovost, décédé en juin 2015. Par sa contribution exceptionnelle à l’association, par son leadership et son implication, il a grandement participé à la promotion de la qualité en français au Québec.

Ce prix sera remis à un étudiant du Certificat gestion et assurance de la qualité de l’École de technologie supérieure, un programme multidisciplinaire qui permet d’acquérir une formation ou un perfectionnement en gestion et assurance de la qualité. Il permettra à un(e) candidat(e) de présenter des références tangibles telles que:

1. La constance de ses résultats académiques;
2. La présentation d’un sujet relié à la gestion de la qualité (ex. un stage relié aux techniques et outils de la qualité, un travail de recherche, d’étude de cas d’amélioration d’un processus, ou autre);
3. Sa participation, son attitude, son esprit d’équipe et son implication;
4. Le respect de la langue française dans ses textes et présentations orales.

Rappellons que Denis avait une carrière de plus de trente années d’expérience de travail principalement en enseignement et consultation dans le domaine de la gestion, de l’assurance qualité et des audits. En 1990, avec Pierre Caillibot, il a fondé Academia Qualitas au Québec, où ils ont élaborés des cours et formé des professionnels de la qualité dans les secteurs de la fabrication, des services et des laboratoires. Denis a été membre du Comité consultatif canadien de l’ISO/TC 176, particulièrement actif dans le groupe de travail sur la terminologie, dans le groupe de travail sur les interprétations et dans le groupe de travail conjoint CCC/ISO/TC 176/CAC/ISO TC 207 sur l’audit et sur l’avenir de la norme d’audit ISO 19011.

Il était aussi auditeur principal de systèmes de management de qualité (SMQ) certifié par le Registrar Accreditation Board (Conseil d’accréditation des bureaux d’enregistrement, RAB) et membre senior de l’American Society for Quality (ASQ). Denis a été membre actif et président de la Section Montréal francophone de l’ASQ de 2012-14. Il a été conférencier et instructeur en Amérique du nord, Amérique centrale, Europe et Asie. Plus de cinq fois, il est venu à la section de Montréal nous présenter l’évolution du dossier des normes ISO 9000 et ISO 14000. En 2000, il a publié Internal Quality Auditing (Les audits internes de qualité), un guide pour réaliser des audits internes efficaces, édité par l’ASQ.

Nous avons hâte de vous présenter le gagnant de ce prix lors d’une prochaine activité de la section.

The ASQ Montreal Section has established a $500 award in honor of Denis Pronovost, who passed away in June 2015. Through his outstanding contribution to the association, his leadership and his involvement, he greatly participated in the promotion of quality in French in Quebec.

This award will be presented to a student in the Certificat en gestion et assurance de la qualité (Management and Quality Assurance Certificate) of the École de technologie supérieure, a multidisciplinary program that provides training or development in management and quality assurance. It will allow a candidate to present tangible references such as:

1. Consistency of academic performance;
2. Presentation of a subject related to quality management (e.g., an internship related to quality techniques and tools, a research project, a process improvement case study, or other);
3. His/her participation, attitude, team spirit and involvement;
4. Respect for the French language in the texts and oral presentations.

Denis had a career of more than thirty years, mainly in teaching and consulting in the field of management, quality assurance and audits. In 1990, with Pierre Caillibot, he founded Academia Qualitas in Quebec, where they developed courses and trained quality professionals in the manufacturing, service and laboratory sectors. Denis was a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee to ISO/TC 176, particularly active in the Terminology Working Group, the Interpretations Working Group and the joint CAC/ISO/TC 176/CAC/ISO TC 207 Working Group on Auditing and the Future of the ISO 19011 Audit Standard.

He was also a lead auditor of quality management systems (QMS) certified by the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) and a senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Denis was an active member and Chair of the ASQ Montreal Francophone Section from 2012-14. Denis has been a speaker and instructor in North America, Central America, Europe and Asia. On more than five occasions, he came to the Montreal Section to present the evolution of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards. In 2000, he authored Internal Quality Auditing, a guide to conducting effective internal audits, published by ASQ.

We look forward to introducing you to the winner of this award at an upcoming section event.

Prix Denis Pronovost | Denis Pronovost Award Read More »

Had You Been There | Si vous étiez présent

Last Event Review / / /
Raymond Dyer

Raymond DyerSplit Personalities of the QMS Under FDA QSR, ISO 13485, and MDSAP

(Les dualités d’un SMQ aux normes d’appareils médicaux FDA QSR, ISO 13485 et MDSAP)
By Raymond E. Dyer (Ray), ASQ Senior Member, CMQ/OE, & CQA (un texte en français suit)

Michelle Lott’s presentation on “Split Personalities of the QMS Under FDA QSR, ISO 13485, and MDSAP” on March 30th, 2022 was an excellent event. It was very well rated and for good reason. Michelle’s humour, delivery, evident expertise, and brutal honesty easily explained the satisfaction results.

Michelle explained the challenges of dealing with the FDA where medical devices almost seen as an afterthought compared to food and drug. She then discussed the ISO 13485:2016 Quality Management System certification for Medical Devices process and how that differed from the FDA approach. Then Michelle described the MDSAP (Medical Device Single Audit Program), its audit model, and how that compared to the FDA approach. Michelle ended the sessions with a very amusing discussion of Dos and Don’ts during an audit.

There were lots of good questions and exchanges from what was visibly a significant collection of Quality professionals from the Medical Device industry. It was easy to see how the expertise behind and the directness of Michelle’s responses led to such high satisfaction results.

Michelle showed great humour, e.g. when introducing her executive team of Morty the CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer), Chopper the CFO (Chief Fun Officer), and Lucy the CTO (Chief Therapy Officer). [Note to those that did not attend, these are Michelle’s dogs.] On the other hand, Michelle also demonstrated very obvious knowledge and shared extremely pertinent concerns and considerations regarding the medical device industry with the participants.

One of the participants I know very well, a francophone friend that can at times be a little critical and who was less familiar with this domain shared with me an excellent review of Michelle and her presentation. Just that alone is enough for me to confidently state, had you been there, you really would have enjoyed the learning experience.

La présentation de Michelle Lott intitulée “Split Personalities of the QMS Under FDA QSR, ISO 13485, and MDSAP” le 30 mars 2022 a été un excellent événement. Il a été très bien noté et pour de bonnes raisons. L’humour de Michelle, sa prestation, son expertise évidente et son honnêteté brutale expliquent aisément les résultats de satisfaction.

Michelle a expliqué les défis rencontrées pour traiter avec la FDA, où les dispositifs médicaux semblaient presque être considérés après coup par rapport aux aliments et aux médicaments. Elle a ensuite abordé le processus de certification du système de gestion de la qualité pour les dispositifs médicaux ISO 13485:2016 et la manière dont il diffère de l’approche de la FDA. Elle a ensuite décrit le MDSAP (Medical Device Single Audit Program), son modèle d’audit, et comment il se compare à l’approche de la FDA. Michelle a terminé les sessions par une discussion très amusante sur les choses à faire et à ne pas faire pendant un audit.

Il y a eu beaucoup de bonnes questions et d’échanges de la part de ce qui était visiblement une collection importante de professionnels de la qualité de l’industrie des dispositifs médicaux. Il était facile de voir comment l’expertise et la franchise des réponses de Michelle ont conduit à des résultats de satisfaction aussi élevés.

Michelle a fait preuve d’un grand sens de l’humour, par exemple lorsqu’elle a présenté son équipe de direction composée de Morty, le CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer), Chopper, le CFO (Chief Fun Officer) et Lucy, la CTO (Chief Therapy Officer). [Note à ceux qui n’ont pas assisté à l’événement: ce sont les chiens de Michelle.] D’autre part, Michelle a également fait preuve d’une connaissance très évidente et a partagé avec les participants des préoccupations et des considérations extrêmement pertinentes concernant l’industrie des dispositifs médicaux.

L’un des participants que je connais très bien, un ami francophone qui peut parfois être un peu critique et qui était moins familier avec ce domaine, m’a fait part d’une excellente critique de Michelle et de sa présentation. Ce seul fait me suffit pour affirmer en toute confiance que si vous aviez été là, vous auriez vraiment apprécié cette expérience d’apprentissage.

Our next webinar: ASQ Montreal: Pecha Kucha evening|soirée, 2022.04.27, 18h30 moderated by Michael Bournazian. Réservations

Had You Been There | Si vous étiez présent Read More »

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