This Monday, May 24, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) brings its annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement to St. Louis, Missouri. For three-plus days, some of the “best and brightest” in the field of quality are coming to one place to share their insights, real-life successes, and some of the challenges in developing, implementing, and maintaining quality management systems.

The WCQI agenda looks like this:

• Thursday-Sunday, May 20-23 – Preconference courses, such as the CQA exam refresher, and leadership meetings;
• Monday, May 24 – Conference opens; keynote address; lectures, presentations, and networking;
• Tuesday, May 25 – Keynote speech; lectures and workshops; and
• Wednesday, May 26 – Workshops, a Six Sigma Forum panel discussion, networking, and the closing session, which includes the presentation of the International Team Excellence Award.

There are presentations and workshops for everyone, from those who are just getting acquainted with quality to those who want to add to their already extensive knowledge of quality concepts and techniques.

Sponsors and exhibitors at the World Conference include:

• Bizmanualz;
  
• Abbott;
• Boeing;
• GE Healthcare;
• The Juran Institute;
• Minitab; and
• Northrup Grumman.

Coincidentally (or not), the ASQ’s event takes place at the same time as National Small Business Week in the U.S. (Wouldn’t it be great to get some cross-pollination of ideas between these two outstanding events?)

If you’re going to be at the WCQI, please look us up; we’re at booth #1013. If you can’t make it, keep watching our blog. We’ll be giving our take on the World Conference in the coming days.

Here are ten great reasons to attend the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement, coming to St. Louis, Missouri, this May:

1. Bizmanualz will be there! Look for our booth, where we’ll be showing off our new policies and procedures management software.

2. One of the strongest ASQ sections (#1304) in the country is here. Any of our knowledgeable and personable members will be more than happy to assist you while you’re here.

3. The largest gathering of quality professionals in one place means a myriad of opportunities for exchanging quality information and ideas.  A wise dude once said, “Ideas flourish best in the light of day.”

4. There will be dozens of quality training opportunities. Register early for a seminar…or two…or more!

5. The ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement takes place in late May. That’s generally one of the best times of year — weatherwise — in St. Louis, though as someone once said about St. Louis weather, “If you don’t like (it), wait a while…it’ll change.”

6. St. Louis is home to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, Crown Candy Kitchen, Forest Park (one of the largest city parks in the nation), and the St. Louis Cardinals.

7. Arm+Leg > Cost of Parking. Same goes for the cost of meals, lodging, entertainment, and just about anything else you can think of.

8. The Cardinals aren’t in town (they’ll be in San Diego), so you’ll be spared the huge crowds. On the other hand, you’ll miss the game-day sea of red shirts and caps that washes into downtown. (More than awe-inspiring, it’s scary!)

9. Quality speakers like:

• Alan Mulally, Ford CEO;
• Robert Stephens, “Geek Squad” founder; and
• Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.

10. First one to register for the Quality Conference after March 24 AND send me their proof of registration gets me as a guide for the evening of May 24. (We’ll work out the details.)

There are many, many more outstanding reasons to be here! Don’t miss this event! The World Conference on Quality and Improvement is only two months away, so make your plans!

See you in St. Louis!

Delivering Global Value and Excellence through Lean and Six Sigma

The ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference will be March 8-9, 2010, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Delivering Global Value and Excellence Through Lean and Six Sigma.” Register Now

Preceding the conference (on the evening of March 7), the Six Sigma Forum is hosting a reception, at which attendees can meet the keynote speakers: Roger Hoerl, Ronald Snee, Rob Bryant, and Forrest Breyfogle III.

Leaning Out Your ISO 9001 QMS

Chris Anderson from Bizmanualz will be speaking on how to lean out your ISO 9001 QMS to ensure your ISO 9001 QMS is reducing your cost of poor quality.  At the conference, you’ll learn how to use lean principles to:

• Continually improve the effectiveness of your organization;
• Continually improve the capability of your workforce; and
• Reduce your organization’s reliance on procedure documentation.

See how the minimum requirements of ISO 9001 can be met using lean visual management techniques.

Keep those dates (March 8-9, 2010) open!

2009 ASQ WCQI Progam

It’s that time again for the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement (WCQI).  This year, it is in Minneapolis with the theme The Culture of Quality: Serving Customers, Organizations, and Communities.  I have attended the last three conferences in Houston, Orlando, and Milwaukee.  The show goes from Monday through Wednesday but there are a lot more events going on both before and after the show.

The week before the conference, you have an opportunity to attend the annual board meetings where they discuss the budget, programs, and strategy for the coming year.  You can learn a lot about ASQ’s inner workings by attending the board meetings.

The last few years I have gone to the show as the Section chair for the ASQ St. Louis section.  Each year I have participated in the leadership sessions on Saturday, and the Section Affairs Council (SAC) Meeting and Division Meetings on Sunday. This year I am helping out our region as the Deputy Regional Director.  I have also joined the Lean Enterprise Division as the Internet Liaison, the membership and Education committees.

The leadership sessions provide leadership training and presentations about new ASQ strategies.  I have learned a lot at these sessions.  On Sunday it is more about leadership business for divisions or HQ committees.

The main conference starts on Monday.  I am always able to take back a few new ideas from the presentations that I can incorporate into our business at Bizmanualz.  Presenters come from all over to present quality and improvement practices.

I usually leave on Wednesday when the show is over.  But there are post show training events too.  If you are interested in quality then this is the biggest Quality show of the year.  This year the program is partnering with three other shows – The Quality Institute for Healthcare, The Institute for Software Excellence, and Quality in Sustainability.

You can follow the event on twitter, linkedin, or other ASQ networks.  Next year, the ASQ 2010 WCQI show is in St. Louis and will be hosted by ASQ St. Louis Section 1304.  I know it will be one of ASQ’s best shows ever.  After all, I will be the local site chair responsible for manpower and show staffing, and I am confident that it will turn out well.

Have you ever wondered how to get rid of old ISO quality procedures originally designed for ISO 9000:1994?  Many of those old legacy procedures are no longer required by ISO 9001:2000 or the current ISO 9001:2008 standard.  In fact, those procedures may be so out of date that many people aren’t following them, anyway.  If your ISO 9001 QMS contains too much documentation and/or much of it is outdated, this workshop is for you. 

Using Lean Thinking, you can reduce your organization’s reliance on procedure documentation.  Using a visual workplace you can perform trending and analysis that generates buy-in for change.  How about a lean Corrective & Preventive Action Kaizen Process that engages your workforce and communicates the latest improvements to your employees? 

Using lean, you’ll understand how to conform to the minimum document and record requirements and reduce the bureaucratic waste commonly (and unfairly) associated with ISO 9001.  Now’s the time to learn how to “lean out” your ISO 9001 Quality Management System.  Attend the ASQ St. Louis Spring Quality Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Clayton on April 2-3, 2009, to learn about lean and other great quality topics.

I will be leaving to speak at and attend the ASQ Lean Six Sigma Conference on Mar 2-3, 2009 in Phoenix, AZ.  If you are in the area then stop by to hear about Setting Goals with Lean Thinking.  You will learn the importance of position goals for lean thinking, finding your lean goals/metrics or what success will look like. Many people wonder about what lean tools are used to determine where to start your lean journey. I will be talking about using Value stream, Visual space, and Material flow analysis to create your lean improvement opportunities plan.  Stop by the Lean Six Sigma conference to learn about Setting Goals with Lean Thinking.