News

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

March 2017 Member Gift Bundle: Lean Culture 

Lean Culture

The Joy of Lean Webcast (WebEx, 48 min)

• In this new webcast, Dodd Starbird, the author of the recently published book “The Joy of Lean”, will share how to cultivate a positive Lean Culture of excellence that creates value for customers, profitable growth for businesses, sustainable cost reduction, and fulfilling jobs for employees.

Full E-book: Lean Acres: A Tale of Strategic Innovation and Improvement in a Farm-iliar Setting (224 pp)

• This book uses as its basis a fable in which the group dynamics are real, the problems are valid, and the solutions legitimate.
• It asks you to consider a complex environment with multiple classes interacting between functional units with requirements that are perceived as exclusive and unique, and personalities that reinforce presumed boundaries.
• It asks you to follow along as all these individuals work together using the basics of four quality methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, and Business Process Reengineering) to address the problems they face, discover solutions together, and move forward in their continuous performance improvement journey.

Bonus: Lean Acres Webcast (WebEx, 45 min)

• Jim Bowie, a strategic performance improvement expert and author of Lean Acres, provides an introduction to his book and shares how the basics of lean, Six Sigma, theory of constraints, and business process reengineering fit into the continuous improvement journey in a complex environment.

Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Quality (Video, 7 min)

• Culture is the driving force of quality. Creating and sustaining a quality culture are much-discussed topics in the quality community.
• In this episode, we explore the ways that quality culture contributes to organizational performance. We’ll also learn what quality leaders can do to take organizational culture into their own hands.

Articles, Case Studies, Webinars on Lean Culture

Below is a list of great case studies, articles, and videos to further your knowledge on implementing lean and creating a culture that supports it.

• The Value of a Lean Culture
• Positively Changing the Culture
• Quality in the First Person: Culture Shock
• The Culture of Safety and the Unconscious Mind
• Does Your Organizational Culture Support Your Business Strategy?
• Culture of Quality: Accelerating Growth and Performance in the Enterprise
• Clues About Culture
• Lean Thinking: Kata Culture
• Webcast – How to Create a Vibrant, Thriving Culture Webcast
• Webinar – Culture of Quality: Establish an Environment Where Employees “Live” Quality

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus
Download and view your bonus today
February 2017 Member Gift Bundle: Kaizen

Enjoy the following exclusive Kaizen gift.

Intro to Kaizen Kanban Webcast (WebEx, 40 min)

• In this ASQ webcast, author and quality expert Fabrice Bouchereau discusses his new book, Kaizen Kanban, and shares a visual approach to creating project improvement pipelines that maximize success. You’ll learn:
• How to leverage fundamental tools to identify opportunities for improvement
• The difference between the five types of kaizen
• How to create a prioritized project pipeline
• And more …

Modular Kaizen: Continuous and Breakthrough Improvement (224 pp)

• Modular kaizen is an improvement approach that integrates quality techniques into the busy schedule of everyday activities. All of the components of an effective kaizen event are planned; however, the activities are scheduled in small segments, or “modules” that fit the rapidly changing time demands of team members and subject matter experts.
• This approach is complementary to the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) and define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) models of quality improvement.
• Modular Kaizen Webcast (WebEx, 44 min)
• ASQ author and quality expert Grace Duffy introduces us to her new book and draws on 40 years of experience to incorporate techniques, innovations, and lessons learned in pursuit of effective continuous and breakthrough improvement.
• Duffy also shares her “school of Fishbones” tools that you can use to guide your team from initial observations to root causes, potential solutions, and eventual implementation – don’t miss it!

Short Intro to Kaizen and Kaizen Events (Video, 1 min)

• Kaizen and kaizen events prove to be popular means of continuous improvement, both in the long- and short-term.
• Kaizen Kanban: Getting Everyone on the Same Page (Video, 6 min)
• Fabrice Bouchereau discusses how organizations should implement kaizen kanban to create a manageable and effective project pipeline everyone can immediately review and contribute to.

Case Studies and Articles on Applying Kaizen

• Road Map – The Kaizen Blitz Road Map
• Case Study – Taking Process Improvement Beyond the Quality Department
• Case Study – Striking Pay Dirt: Kaizen to Unearth the Power of Process Orientation in Complex Mining Operations
• Case Study – Systematically Improving Operating Room Patient Flow Through Value Stream Mapping and Kaizen Events
• Article: A Mindset to Continuous Improvement

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

January 2017 Member Gift Bundle: ASQ Career-Building Resources

The 2016 SALARY SURVEY

See where you stand and where your next best opportunities might be if you’re planning your next career move.

WEBCAST – Choosing the Right Path to Career Success

• Listen in as the lead researcher and author of the article introducing the survey, Max Christian Hansen, shares insights on the new survey results.

ARTICLE – “Follow the Signs”

• Read the feature article introducing the report for a thorough review of
  trends over the last five years of the survey. (2140 KB)

FULL REPORT – Download the full 2016 member exclusive report 

QP’s Salary Calculator

• Try our salary calculator for quick results and comparisons. The salary calculator lets ASQ members choose from a number of variables so you can pinpoint a specific salary figure.

Free E-Books on Team, Process, and Innovation!

Continuous learning and education play a critical role in your career, whether in your current position or your next opportunity.

Three areas you will want to continue to develop your expertise in are team management, process improvement, and innovation.

• Best Practice in Team Excellence (PDF, 230pp, 4070 KB)
• The Executive Guide to Innovation (PDF, 164pp, 2500 KB)
• Process Improvement Simplified (PDF, 176pp, 2330 KB)

New ASQTV Episodes on Careers and the Quality Profession

Episode: Career Outlook

Episode: QP Salary Survey Highlights

Prepare for Your Next Certification!

The ASQ Salary Survey showed that the right certifications can provide a substantial boost to salaries and influence.

In the ASQ October 2016 Member Gift we shared lots of resources to prepare you for your next quality certification. If you missed it, no worries, we’ve reopened it for you.

Access it here and enjoy it for the next month!

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

December 2016 Member Gift Bundle: Year-End recap

A Special ASQ December Gift!

Last year we did the year-end recap in December, and it was so popular we thought we’d doing it again. Why? Because we shared so many exclusive resources we know many missed, in their flurry of emails and busy inboxes. So make sure to save this one, and consider this our way of saying thanks for your ongoing commitment to quality. We’re proud to have you as a member of our ASQ community.

From all of us at ASQ to all of you, thank you for a great year!

January – Career Resources

Featured items:

• The ASQ 2015 Salary Survey Results
• The Quality Improvement Handbook (E-book, 262 pp)
• Articles on how to increase your value and marketability, and preparing for a career transition

Feb – Corrective and Preventative Action 

Featured items:

• A Risk-Based Corrective-Preventative Action Strategy (Webcast, 55 min.)
• Correct! Prevent! Improve! (E-book, 113 pp)
• Additional CAPA Webcasts

Mar – Organizational Performance Excellence 

Featured items:

• Insights to Performance Excellence: Understanding the Integrated Management System and the Baldrige Criteria* (E-book, 988 pp)
• Baldrige in Healthcare: Journey to Excellence (Webcast Series)
• Baldrige in Manufacturing: The Making of a World-Class Organization (Webcast, 22 min)

Apr – Systemic Process Improvement 

Featured items:

• Intro to TOC from The Logical Thinking Process (PDF, 62 pp)
• Managing External Supplier Quality (Webcast, 24 min)
• Mapping Work Processes eBook, First Edition (PDF, 92 pp)
• Flowchart Template (Excel, 125 KB)

May – Auditing 

Featured items:

• Internal Auditing Process Maps, Models, and Checklists
• E-Auditing Fundamentals: Virtual Communication and Remote Auditing (PDF, 3.5MB)
• The Art of Integrating Strategic Planning, Process Metrics, Risk Mitigation, and Auditing (WebEx, 26 min)
• Auditing Process Based Quality Management Systems (WebEx, 125 min)

Jun – ISO 9001:2015 Transition 

Featured items:

• Document Control System Compliance (Webcast, 33 min)
• ISO 9001:2015 for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (Webcast, 40 min)
• 5 ways we can help you prepare (Infographic)
• Standards connection newsletter(Exclusive articles)

Jul – Change Management 

Featured items:

• Making Change Work (E-book, 104 pp)
• Making Change in Complex Organizations (Webcast, 56 min.)
• Do It Right the Second Time: Benchmarking Best Practices in the Quality Change Process (E-book, 200 pp)
• Managing Change and Motivating Employees: A Modern Day Oxymoron (Webcast, 47 min.)

 Aug – Cost of Quality 

Featured items:

• The Cost of Quality (ASQ TV Episode)
• The Executive Guide to Understanding and Implementing Quality Cost Programs (E-book, 128 pp)
• The Hidden Factory (Webcast, 18 min.)
• An Introduction to the Cost of Quality (Webcast, 24 min)

Sep – Statistics and Six Sigma 

Featured items:

• The ASQ Pocket Guide to Statistics for Six Sigma Black Belts (E-book, 177 pp)
• Control Chart Template (Excel, 973 KB)
• Practical Design of Experiments (DOE) (PDF, 26 pp)
• Supply Chain Techniques Applied to Six Sigma Saves SeaDek Marine Products $250,000 (PDF, 6 pp)

Oct – ASQ Certification Prep Resources 

Featured items:

• Certification Journey: Your 8-Step Guide (Video, 2 min.)
• Preparing for a Certification Examination (Webcast, 31 min.)
• The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, Third Edition (E-boo, 722 pp)
• The Quality Improvement Handbook, Second Edition (E-book, 262 pp)

Nov – ISO 9001:2015 and Risk-Based Thinking 

Featured items:

• ISO 9001:2015 – Elevating quality with risk- based thinking(Webcast, 50 min.)
• Lean ISO 9001: Adding spark to your ISO 9001 QMS and sustainability to your lean efforts(E-book 248 pp, and Webcast, 54 minutes)
• Eight articles on ISO and risk including – Running a Risk: A process for seeing decisions’ potential risks and adverse effects
• Nine Standards Channel expert videos on ISO 9001 and risk.

Happy holidays and thanks again for your ongoing commitment to quality and ASQ!

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

November 2016 Member Gift Bundle: ISO 9001:2015 and Risk-Based Thinking

Featured Webcasts

• ISO 9001:2015 – Elevating Quality With Risk Based Thinking Webcast (50 minutes)
• Guidance on Conforming to ISO 9001:2015 – Advice and Examples from an Auditor Webcast (38 minutes)
• Document Control System Compliance (33 minutes)
• ISO 9001:2015 for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (40 minutes)
• The Art of Integrating Strategic Planning, Process Metrics, Risk Mitigation, and Auditing (26 minutes)
• The Expanding Role of Risk Management in Compliance (45 minutes)

Free E-Book and WebCast

• Lean ISO 9001: Adding Spark to your ISO 9001 QMS and Sustainability to your
  Lean Efforts. Full E-book (248 pp, 4.5 MB) and webcast (54 minutes)

Standards Connection Newsletter – Exclusive Articles

• Risky Business
• Chain Challenges
• Making Business Sense of Risk

Standards Channel Expert Videos

• ASQ® TV: ISO 9001 Check-in
• Risk and ISO 9001: 2015 – Risk-based thinking in the 2015 revision of ISO 9001
• Risk, Organizational Culture and Small Business
• A New Look at Risk Management
• Risk Management and the Quality Community
• Risk Management and Quality
• A Formula for Managing Risk
• Risk Management and FMEA

Articles and Case Studies on Risk-Based Thinking

• Where Is Preventive Action? Prevention emphasized through risk-based thinking
• Small Change, Big Impact: Clause 5.3 of ISO 9001:2015 offers new benefits – Adding risk-based thinking
• Putting Things in Context: Implementing new requirements in ISO 9001:2015
• Running a Risk: A process for seeing decisions’ potential risks and adverse effects
• The Expanding Role of Quality Professionals Under 9001:2015

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

October 2016 Member Gift Bundle: ASQ Certification Prep Resources

Certification Journey: Your 8-Step Guide

Certification Preparation Webcasts

• Preparing for a Certification Examination Webcast (31 minutes)
• Tips, Tricks, and Traps Webcast (43 minutes)

Certification Preparation Handbooks

• The Quality Improvement Handbook, Second Edition* (PDF, 262pp
• The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, Third Edition* (PDF, 722pp)
• Note: A 3rd edition of the QI Handbook and a 4th edition of the CMQ/OE handbook are available for purchase.

Getting Your Certification Journey Started

• How to select and apply for the right certification
• Prepare for your exam in any format that works for you
• Exam dates
• Exam fees

Certification Handbooks and Study Guides

Enjoy free downloadable (PDF) sample chapters and peruse their first chapters, tables of contents, and indexes.

• The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 600 KB)
• The Metrology Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 1500 KB)
• The Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Handbook (PDF, 1400 KB)
• The Certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt Handbook (PDF, 2400 KB)
• The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, Fourth Edition (PDF, 950 KB)
• The Certified Pharmaceutical GMP Professional Handbook, Second Edition
  (PDF, 1150 KB)
• The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook, Third Edition (PDF, 450 KB)
• The ASQ CQE Study Guide (PDF, 550 KB)
• The Certified Quality Process Analyst Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 1050
  KB)
• The Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 1250 KB)
• The Certified HACCP Auditor Handbook, Third Edition (PDF, 1350 KB)
• The Certified Quality Inspector Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 1450 KB)
• The Certified Reliability Engineer Handbook, Second Edition (PDF, 950 KB)
• The Certified Quality Improvement Associate Handbook, Third Edition (PDF, 1250 KB)
• The Lean Handbook (PDF, 1650 KB)

ASQ Certification Exams Are Moving to Computer-Based Testing

• Put down the pencil; ASQ certification exams are moving to computer-based testing.
• This will allow ASQ to increase the number available exam days from four per year to 102.
• It also will make it easier for members around the global to access the exam by adding 7,650 testing sites.
• Get all the details here!

Try a Demo Computer-Based Test

• Want to know how easy and user-friendly the exams can be?
• Demo the process and learn all the cool features included with computer-based testing.

Local Section and Online Study Groups

• Go here to connect with your local section or
• Check out ASQ’s LinkedIn groups for existing online groups
• Check out LinkedIn’s Study Group Topic

Free Sample Exams With Past Test Questions

• Take an interactive sample exam to receive additional feedback on the questions that appear in the sample exam.
• Print out the paper-and-pencil sample exam (PDF, 600 KB) of the CMQ/OE in this example, to see the actual test format, including instructions and test questions from past exams.
• These online sample exams provide examples of the types of test questions that appear on ASQ certification examinations.
• Taking these sample exams may help you determine which areas of the ASQ Body of Knowledge (BoK) you want to emphasize as you study for taking the actual exams.

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

September 2016 Member Gift Bundle: Statistics and Six Sigma

• E-book – The ASQ Pocket Guide to Statistics for Six Sigma Black Belts (PDF, 177pp)
• E-book – The Desk Reference of Statistical Quality Methods, Second Edition (PDF, 560pp)
• The following collection of ASQ® TV episodes introduce Six Sigma and Statistics.
  • What is Six Sigma?
  • Six Sigma Practitioners, Make Use of Survival Regression
  • Making Beer Better With Quality and statistics
  • DOE: There’s No Need to Randomize, Use Split-Plot
  • Four Data Analysis Basics
  • Control Charts
• Learn About Quality: Six Sigma, Statistics, and Quality Tools
  • Need a refresher on the basics of Six Sigma or statistics? Here are lots of resources from our Learn About Quality area that will get you back up to speed!
  • Intro to Six Sigma
  • Intro to DMAIC
  • Statistical Methods in Quality Improvement
  • Six Sigma Tools
    • Statistical Process Control (SPC)
    • Statistical Quality Control Versus Statistical Process Control
    • Control Charts
    • Failure Mode And Effects Analysis
    • Process Mapping
    • Control Chart Template (Excel, 973 KB)
• Six Sigma and Statistics Reference Books!
  • Enjoy free downloadable (PDF) sample chapters from these great reference manuals that often line the shelves of top Six Sigma practitioners and professionals.
  • The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, Second Edition
  • The Metrology Handbook, Second Edition
  • The Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Handbook
  • Practical Design of Experiments (DOE)
  • Statistical Quality Control for the Six Sigma Green Belt
  • The Certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt Handbook
• New Case Studies and Articles
  • The ASQ article and case study collection contains thousands of examples of quality solutions to real-world problems. Here’s just a sampling available to you through the ASQ Knowledge Center.
  • Supply Chain Techniques Applied to Six Sigma Saves SeaDek Marine Products $250,000
  • Train and Deliver
  • Getting the Whole Picture: Effective presentations explain recommendations to managers
  • Faster Lean and Six Sigma Project Completion via TRIZ
  • One Good Idea: FMEA to the Rescue

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

August 2016 Member Gift Bundle: Cost of Quality

• The Cost of Quality (ASQ® TV)
  • This episode defines and explains cost of quality, identifies its link with pricing, and shows “unquality” at its finest.
• The Cost of Poor Quality (ASQ® TV)
  • Maybe the best way to show what a difference quality can make in your workplace would be to show your colleagues what occurs when quality wasn’t good enough.
• An Introduction to the Cost of Quality Webcast (24 min)
  • In this webcast, expert and author Dr. Jack ReVelle walks us through a great introduction to CoQ and CoPQ.
• The Hidden Factory – Article and Webcast
  • Article: Out of Hiding: Uncover the true costs of not getting it right the
    first time (PDF 130 KB)
  • Webcast: The Hidden Factory Webcast (18 min)
• The Executive Guide to Understanding and Implementing Quality Cost Programs
  (e-book, 128 pages, 1054 KB )
  • This book provides a fundamental introduction to cost of quality (CoQ) concepts (often simply referred to as quality costs) for executives or those individuals new to quality concepts.
  • In addition, it can help anyone in an organization interested in how this measurement methodology links to business costs.
• Principles of Quality Costs, 3rd Edition – Principles, Implementation, and
  Use (e-book, 219 pages, 22000 KB )
  • A valuable reference, this book provides you with an introduction to the principles of quality costs and then guides you through the implementation of a quality cost system.
• To get connected to the ASQ Quality Management Division and their
  publications, check out their website at http://www.asq-qm.org/
• Great articles and resources to get you started understanding and applying CoQ principles and practices:
  • Using Cost of Quality to Improve Business Results
  • Out of Hiding: Uncover the true costs of not getting it right the first time (PDF)
  • Measuring the Cost of Quality for Management
  • Selling Quality Ideas to Management
  • How to Speak the Language of Senior Management (115 KB PDF)
  • The Cost of Poor Quality – A video presentation from the ASQ Audit Division

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

July 2016 Member Gift Bundle: Change Management

• Making Change Work E-Book (PDF, 104pp)
  • Bonus Article: Measure Your Organization’s Readiness for Change
• Making Change in Complex Organizations Webcast
• Do It Right the Second Time: Benchmarking Best Practices in the Quality Change Process E-Book (PDF, 200pp)
• Employee Engagement and Change Management
  • Webcast: Managing Change and Motivating Employees: A Modern Day Oxymoron (47 min)
  • ASQ TV Video: Change Management
  • ASQ TV Video: Employee Engagement
  • Article: Is the Workplace a Zombie Breeding Ground?
  • Ask the Expert Blog: To what extent do organizations engage employees on the importance of quality
  • Bonus Webcast: Managing Change and ISO 9001:2015

ASQ National Members only – Free Monthly bonus

Download and view your bonus today

June 2016 Member Gift Bundle: ISO 9001:2015 Transition

• 5 Ways ASQ Can Help You Prepare – Infographic
  • Get your copy of ISO 9001:2015
  • Get Training
  • Books, Newsletters, Case Studies, and Articles
  • ASQ Standards Channel
  • Standards Central
• Document Control System Compliance Webcast (33 minutes)
  • Bonus: Document Control Policy.docx
  • Bonus: Document Control Process.docx
  • Controlled Document Content Format and Style Requirements.docx
• ISO 9001:2015 for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Webcasts (40 minutes)
  • Bonus: Free sample chapter of this new publication
• Articles And Case Studies
  • Keep Calm and Prepare for ISO 9001:2015
  • Small Change, Big Impact: Clause 5.3 of ISO 9001:2015 offers new benefits
  • ISO 9001:2015 Transition Starts With Top Management
  • Innovation and ISO 9001:2015
  • Where Is Preventive Action?
  • Putting Things in Context: Implementing new requirements in ISO 9001:2015
  • Business Success with ISO 9001: From first steps to choosing a consultant or registrar
  • Standards Outlook: Systems That Go the Distance
  • Standards Outlook: On-Time Departure
  • Bonus: Check out the full digital issue of Quality Progress on preparing for and transitioning to ISO 9001:2015.
• Standards Connection Newsletter – Exclusive Articles
  • Relating Evidence to Conclusions
  • Avoiding Misinterpretation Quicksand
  • To Document, or Not to Document?
  • Making Business Sense of Risk
• Free For Members – Standards Channel Expert Videos
  • ASQ TV: Selecting an ISO 9001 Registrar and Consultant
  • Planning Your Three-Year Transition
  • Transitioning: Advantages, Expected Investment and Advice
  • Transitioning: Auditing Considerations
  • The Alignment of Management System Standards
  • Revision Presents Business Opportunity
  • ISO 9001:2015 15 Things You Must Know Now
  • ISO 9001:2015: Your Big Questions Answered