Pass/fail quality testing is the de facto standard for many manufacturers. But when you use only these basic tests, you miss out on some of the greatest opportunities for continuous improvement in your business. 

Statistical process control (SPC) charts are used in quality-focused facilities to monitor process output on a continual basis and alert process operators, managers and the support staff in real-time when the process is shifting towards an undesirable condition.

Discovering the underlying factors that influence compliance, product quality, production efficiency and your performance as a supplier requires greater accuracy and precision than many manufacturing metrics provide.

Although he seems like the consummate quality professional, James Bossert ended up in the quality profession by chance. Today he’s spent more than 35 years in industries from automotive to cell phones to healthcare and consulting. His career has brought him around the country, and around the world. He’s worked in Texas, Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina and New York. Along the way, he’s written two books and edited four. 

Quality sat down with Eric Hayler, past chair of ASQ and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, BMW Manufacturing, to discuss his work as ASQ’s 2017 chair and his work now as past chair.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew, and really understand the methodology before attempting a large Six Sigma project. Those are the first words of advice for a Six Sigma novice from Six Sigma Master Black Belt John Vandenbemden.

Six Sigma training produces significant pay gap between those who have it, those who don’t.

Ask a quality engineer how they were introduced to metrology or inspection, and they’ll often answer that it wasn’t during their coursework, but in the field. It reflects the manufacturing world’s problem with visibility and messaging, and an important insight into why the term “skills gap” has been a buzzword for several years.

It did not happen quickly but advocates of Six Sigma and lean methodologies have worked together to achieve a partnership of both approaches.