The Hamilton Section Of The
 American Society For Quality

 Newsletter – November 2004

Newsletter Editor-

NOTICE OF MEMBERSHIP MEETING

DATE:  Thursday, November 18, 2004

PLACE:

The Plainsman Restaurant

TIME:

6:00 pm

Cash Bar, Networking and Registration

Highway 5, 3 km west of Hwy. 6 in Dundas

7:00 pm

Buffet Dinner

8:00 pm

Welcoming & Presentation

Charge for the buffet dinner is $25.00.  
There is no charge for the presentation. Non-member guests are welcome.

SUBJECT:                       Gaining Top Management Commitment                 

There is very clear evidence that organizations that have prepared for the future through investing in organizational excellence build shareholder and stakeholder value, build employee commitment, build strong customer/client relations and are better prepared for the longer term. The difference is that leaders in these organizations see that a commitment to organizational excellence, through the application of excellence criteria, is an investment in the future rather than a cost.  

The National Quality Institute (NQI) works with many organizations that have a strategic leadership focus on organizational improvement utilizing the criteria in the NQI Canadian Excellence Frameworks for Quality and for Healthy Workplace.

SPEAKER:                Dan Corbett – President, National Quality Institute                 

As President of the National Quality Institute, Dan Corbett's mandate is to realize the vision of the Institute "to inspire organizational excellence" in Canadian organizations through the strategic application of the principles and practices contained in the Excellence Framework. The Institute is a unique, not-for-profit organization that has a national reach in terms of educational programs, membership services and certification processes. The Institute's role is to work with organizations, in both the public sector and the private sector, who are committed to achieving organizational excellence through the strategic application of quality and healthy workplace practices.  

The Institute convenes the annual Canada Awards for Excellence program. In the last seventeen years the Awards program has recognized over 250 organizations that have demonstrated world-class practices based on internationally recognized criteria. The Institute also operates certification services through a national certification system called the Progressive Excellence Program. 

In his career, Dan followed the quality journey in the private sector and in the public sector. In the private sector he gained considerable experience starting with a chemical plant in Newfoundland, progressing to senior corporate offices in Toronto, London, England and Virginia.

If attending the dinner, please notify one of the following executive members  
by noon on Friday, November 12, 2004:

Hank Verspagen at 905-575-2375 ext 3091, or Olga Delvecchio at 905-335-4788

Hamilton Section of ASQ Earns Top Honours

The Hamilton Section of ASQ has earned the 2003-04 Section Management Process Total Quality Award, one of the highest honours a section can earn in the Society. Only 72 of 252 ASQ sections earned this award for the 2003-04 year!  

The Hamilton Section will be honoured at ASQ’s 59^th annual conference, the World Conference on Quality and Improvement (formerly AQC), on May 14, 2005 in Seattle, Washington. Members of the ASQ Board of Directors will present the award to the section.

The Section Management Process (SMP) Total Quality Award is awarded to sections that have proven their commitment and ability to serving local ASQ members and the community. SMP is a management model and planning tool that assists sections in their planning and implementation of programs and services that will meet the needs of current and future ASQ members. The model is based on the plan-do-check-act cycle of continuous improvement and is proven to aid the sections in delivering superior value to their members.

SHOWCASE YOUR TEAM OR BECOME A JUDGE AT

THE 2005 INTERNATIONAL TEAM EXCELLENCE COMPETITION

Note: For those who are reading a paper copy of this newsletter – go to the Hamilton Section website at

http://www.asqhamilton.com/index.html in order to download the items via the links shown in this news item

Be a part of this exciting team competition. The International Team Excellence Competition is the only international team recognition process of its kind in the country! It is as coveted by teams as the Baldrige Award is coveted by companies. Since 1985, 719 teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and China have participated in this outstanding process.

Why teams participate in the International Team Excellence Award Process

• Recognition
• Self-Assessment and Improvement
• Benchmarking
• Encouraging Excellence
• The Competition Process

The deadline to enter a team is December 17, 2004. Qualifying teams (finalists) will be selected for live presentations at the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement in Seattle Washington. Download the team guidelines and criteria.

Judging
Applications are due November 12. Judging will be held in 7 different sites across the country in January & February 2005. Download the application or complete an application online.

For more information contact Geetha Balagopal, ASQ Team Excellence Administrator at 800-248-1946 extension 7303, or e-mail gbalagopal@asq.org.