PODCAST | Quality and Deming in Outer Space

Michelle Bangert talks with Bill Soller, President and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt of the Corporate Advantage Network. He's also a Senior Facilitator for the Deming Institute.

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Michelle: We were talking about a very long career in quality, but can you tell us, just to get started, how did you first become involved in quality?

Bill: Well, it's kind of interesting because I went to school for electronics engineering. So, I'm an electronics engineer by schooling. And then I had two job offers right out of school at Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles. One was a test engineer and the other was a quality assurance engineer. The quality position sounded more well-rounded. So, I decided to take that position because that way I get involved with suppliers and customers and in every department. So that got me involved. And I was in QA ever since.

And I kind of like it. Right now, I am the chair for American Society for Quality. So, I do a lot of programming for them and do a lot of speaking engagements and those kinds of things. I learned about SPC, Statistical Process Control, back in those days at Hughes. And then from there, I went to ITT Aerospace in Fort Wayne, focusing on weather satellites with NASA and in the quality field. I learned a lot about Dr. Taguchi and a lot about ongoing quality improvements because when you send a satellite up in orbit, you cannot go up there and fix it.

So, we had to make sure it was right the first time, with all the redundancies and all the quality principles we had to know and learn to use for those satellites. So that kind of got me started. I've kind of been in the quality field ever since.

Michelle: Is your work today focused on a particular field? Do you have an aerospace focus or is it everything now?

Bill: Quite a few different industries. I do some stuff in aerospace. I also work in a lot of quality management systems like ISO 9001 and for automotive, IATF 16949. And I get into medical. So, I am involved in all those different areas including environmental and safety. I try to integrate all the Deming methods and theories into those quality management systems. So, I think you asked me for my specific, one area. One specific area, probably more manufacturing than anything, but I do work in insurance, healthcare and am involved with a nonprofit right now.

They do Meals on Wheels and they want to set up another production line to increase their food offerings to their clients. So, I am working with them to include another meal choice, another production line, help them be more efficient because they use volunteers and it is a non-profit. They don't have as much money coming in so we must be more productive and efficient. So, lot of different areas but the quality tools, the quality engineering, the Deming methods, and theories apply across the board to all industries and all companies.