The Hamilton Section of the American Society for Quality
http://www.asqhamilton.com
 

NOTICE OF MEMBERSHIP MEETING

DATE:  Thursday, September 25, 2008

Note New Location: 

Chan's Buffet Restaurant, 1400 Upper James St. Hamilton(Just South of Stone Church Road)
(See map below)

Agenda:

Message from the Chair

 Welcome to ASQ Hamilton’s 2008/2009 season. I would like to introduce myself as your new Section Chair. My name is Jeff Race. Not only am I honored to be your Section Chair for the next 2 years; I am also very excited with our plans for this season. As your section Chair, I will strive to be as energetic as those who came before me and that we continue on the path of excellence we have been traveling. This path has earned our section several awards of distinction for SMP excellence over the last two years!

Last season was a very productive year with some great speakers, tours and the finale of a wine tour/social at Vineland Estate Winery. This season we have yet another promising and ambitious schedule. Therefore I encourage all of our members to mark your calendars for this year’s events so that you won’t miss out on any of this season’s wonderful presentations or tours we have planned.

I would also like to thank everyone on the executive team for the fantastic job each of them did. We had several curve balls thrown our way and our executives stepped up to the plate to ensure another great season. I would also like to thank a few new members of the executive for volunteering their time and effort; Kris Krishnamoorthy, Education/Certification chair, Carl Weidhaas, Secretary and Jane Devries for volunteering to be Chair-Elect.

While I was in Houston this past May for the conference, I attended ASQ President Roberto M. Saco’s inaugural speech. I found his speech to be insightful and inspirational at the same time. The following are a few excerpts from his speech that I would like to draw your attention to;

“…Quality, I propose, is a calling—a calling which transcends whatever happened to be your professional entry point. We are honor bound to improve things. It’s in our nature. And when someone asks what we do…I believe we should justifiably say that we’re making the world a better place to live in.”…

“Following Juran, I would offer that nowadays we in turn have to make yet another distinction, what I’m naming “really big Q” for lack of a better term. What is “really big Q”? Beyond quality control, and quality management, we need a better, a more coherent conversation around sustainability and responsibility and we need to do so at a higher level than the organization or the firm”….

“We need to make room for a third conversation. And just like little q and big Q, really big Q doesn’t negate the other conversations we’ve had and are having on quality.”…

“Think of it as a progression from the quality of products and services, to the quality of management, and now to the quality of life itself.”

In my opinion, I believe Mr. Saco is providing us a challenge; a challenge to become engaged in matters that are beyond the usual scope of our jobs and personal life. Each of us has a responsibility to get involved in some manner regardless of our job, income or education. Getting involved, actively participating or being engaged on today’s issues at any level of society whether you volunteer on the parent’s council at your children’s school or at the local charities or governments means having a voice in the process and having a positive influence on the outcome. This reminds us of the interdependence we have with each other around the world and with our planet too!

With this in mind I goad each of you to become more involved in your communities, to improve the quality of life itself; communities such your neighborhoods, townships, charity events or not for profit organizations such as ASQ. I challenge you to attend 2 more ASQ presentations than you did last year or volunteer 1-2 hours per month of your time. Network with your peers or colleagues, mentor or share your knowledge with others.

In closing, when future generations ask “What did your generation do for society?” the list will be long, the items ambitious but the fruits obvious. I encourage all to get involved and participate in as many “really big Q” conversations as you can.

I look forward to meeting each of you, our members over the next few years.

Sincerely,

Jeff Race, 
Chair, ASQ Hamilton Section 400

Topic: ISO 14001

As companies struggle to do more with less, Quality managers are constantly being pressured to demonstrate their value and to expand their responsibilities into new disciplines such as environmental or sustainability. The goal of this presentation is to brief you on these new disciplines so that you are prepared when the call comes.  This presentation will provide Quality managers baseline information on ISO 14001, how to implement the standard, and how your QMS, EMS, and sustainability are connected.  Topics include the following:

     1.       The scope of ISO 14001 and how it differs from a QMS

     2.       Reader’s Digest version of ISO 14001 requirements

     3.       Implement by integrating your management systems

     4.       Tips on cost-effective implementation

     5.       Benefits of an EMS.

     6.       The surprising links between quality, the environment, and sustainability.

Speaker: James Cuff, NSF Registrar

James Cuff has been the General Manager of NSF-ISR Canada for 3 years.  In his current position, Cuff heads the expansion of the ISO business throughout Canada and institutes new strategies to enhance registration services provided to NSF-ISR Canadian clients.

Cuff has been working in the international registration industry since 1996 and has 12 years of management experience. He has held various senior positions in which he was responsible for quality and environmental management systems registration services.  During this time he led management teams that substantially increased and expanded market share, dealing with thousands of organizations as they achieved their ISO registrations.

Cuff has a B.Sc. from Elmira College.  He also has additional training as an ISO 14000 Auditor, ISO 9000 Auditor, ISO 27000 Auditor, ISO 20000, SQF Food Safety Auditor, Global 8D, Lean Manufacturing.

ASQ Classroom Training

ASQ offers classroom training in Toronto periodically on a variety of topics.  Current offerings include:

• Introduction to Quality Management—Toronto, ON • September 8–12, 2008
   
• Root Cause Analysis—Toronto, ON • September 17–19, 2008
   
• Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Refresher—Toronto, ON • September 24–26, 2008
   
• Lean Enterprise—Toronto, ON • September 29–30, 2008

Congratulations to ASQ Certification Achievers

The following Hamilton Section members were successful in the ASQ certification exams 
held in Hamilton in May 2008:

Certified Quality Auditor:
Sunil Desai, Alex Quitazol

Certified Quality Engineer:

David Chen, Michal Kuzma

Certified Quality Improvement Associate:
Quang Nguyen

Certified Six Sigma Green Belt:
Harish Vasudevasarma

NOTE:  If you have passed an ASQ certification exam that you wrote at a location other than Hamilton, please e-mail the Section Chair Jeff Race at  j.race@palfingerna.com  with the information.

Jobs and Ads Web Page

Check out our Jobs & Ads web page - link on side bar
- for employment opportunities in the quality field.  
ASQ Hamilton members seeking employment or a career change can also have their resumes posted in the Classified section of our Jobs and Ads web page. There is no charge for this service to our members.  Resumes (MS Word preferred) should be sent to the section webmaster Bob Mok at isqas@yahoo.ca

Web-based CQE Practice Exams

The Hamilton ASQ section recently launched a complimentary web-based e-learning solution for candidates wishing to become ASQ-Certified Quality Engineers (CQE). For further details, click :  http://www.asqhamilton.com/cqepexam.htm

 

ASQ Certification Study Materials Available for Loan

The Hamilton Section Executive is pleased to make Certification Examination preparation materials available to our membership. Section members can sign-out these resources, free of charge. Resources include study materials for: CQT, CQM, CQA, CQIA, CRE, CMI, and CSQ. These are not the ASQ's latest versions of the certification body of knowledge, but they will serve to give a good overview of the material and help members determine the scope and focus of each certification. (Members are encouraged to obtain the latest versions prior to completing their studies in order to ensure that they are completely up-to-date.)

To borrow these materials, please contact Jane Devries jdevrie@mcmaster.ca. The materials will be available for 3-month loans on a first come, first served basis, and can be picked up at section meetings.

If you have materials that you would like to offer for the Section library, please also contact Jane.

The ASQ Hamilton Section Newsletter is posted online about six times per year
to announce upcoming section meetings, plant tours and other events of interest to members.

The newsletter will be sent electronically only to those members who have agreed
to receive Section information by e-mail. Except for the September issue, the newsletter is no longer sent out by regular mail.

 IMPORTANT: To ensure that you receive your copy, as well as special announcements of ASQ events in between issues, check your ASQ profile at www.asq.org. Log in and type the word profile in the search box.  Select My Account: Update Your My ASQ Profile, and verify that your correct e-mail address is included in your profile.

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS, PLEASE UPDATE IT AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.
WE CANNOT UPDATE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS AT THE SECTION LEVEL.