Special Interest and Services

Job Fair for Quality Professionals - APRIL 30, 2008 (Wednesday)

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, is holding a Career Open House for quality professionals on Wednesday, April 30, 4-7pm. ASQ members with experience in Supplier Quality (assess adequacy of supplier processes/surveillance/audits), Quality Programs (policies and procedures/internal audits/industry codes and standards), Continuous Improvement (causal and trend analysis/corrective action/assessments), or Project Quality (internal oversight/customer oversight/quality planning) are invited to attend.

This event is for quality professionals only - please bring your resume as proof of quality experience. The Career Open House will be held at the Westinghouse Energy Center - Corporate Office, 4350 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA 15146. For directions or more information, please contact Dick Kish at 412-374-6569 or email kishra@westinghouse.com

Click here for direction to Monroeville - Westinghouse Energy Center

ASQ Pittsburgh Section LeanSigma Focus Group

The ASQ Pittsburgh LeanSigma Focus Group was started in mid-2005 with the mission of encouraging the ASQ membership and interested companies to use Lean, Six Sigma and other continuous improvement techniques to help grow their businesses; stay foreign competition; improve the quality of the workplace environment; and provide a greater return to the community and stakeholders.

This mission is achieved primarily through monthly dinner and networking programs focused on specific continuous improvement topics, such as 5S, Cellular Manufacturing, and Process Mapping. Group members or outside experts present information on the topics of interest during the program. Additionally, the Group sponsors forums, education and training events, and plant-site visits to foster awareness and implementation.

Traditionally, continuous improvement is related to the ‘process view of work’ and process improvement philosophies and methods developed by Shewart, Deming, and Juran, among others. Six Sigma and Lean are more recent developments, but are built on the same process foundation. Six Sigma is heavily focused on reducing process variation, and Lean works to reduce process cycle time and process waste.

Six Sigma and Lean are usually considered manufacturing process improvement methodologies, however, the LeanSigma Group is interested in sharing and development in the service industry, including banking, health care, and retail. The programs are frequently attended by members from these areas. Group members include a mix of experts, having several or more years experience with continuous improvement, and those with little experience but interest or need in learning more about these topics.

The LeanSigma Group is open to any interested member. There is no cost of membership, although membership in the ASQ Pittsburgh Section benefits the Group and the individual through education, communication and awareness. There is a cover fee for the monthly dinner programs.

Individuals or company groups interested in participating as a member or presenting a topic to the Group should contact the co-chairs: William Copeland (wcopeland@hydrogenllc.com), or Don Klesser (don.klesser@ptcalliance.com).

ASQ Pittsburgh Section ISO AUDIT GROUP

The ISO Audit Group helps local area companies by performing a base line ISO-9000:2000 audit with the help of certified volunteers.

The Lead Observing Auditor is an RAB/ANAB certified Lead Auditor who can officially witness the performance of various Team Auditors for their applications to various grades of Audit certifications with RAB/ANAB.

The Team Auditors are either ASQ Certified Quality Auditors or RAB/ANAB certified Provisional Auditors, Auditors or Lead Auditors.

The Auditee organization gets an economical base line audit examining its compliance with ISO 9000:2000 standard and the auditors get the audit experience necessary for maintaining or upgrading their certifications.

The cost to the Auditee organization is the fee for the Observing Lead Auditor, a donation of a hundred dollars to the Section and the travel and meeting expenses for the Audit Team. The Audit Team usually has a planning meeting in which the Audit Plan is developed prior to submission to the Auditee. The total cost comes in around $750. In addition, the auditee organization provides lunch during the audit days and copying facilities and an office etc during the audit.

The documentation, audit report and other details are kept confidential and shared with the Auditee and, if required by, the RAB/ANAB board for certification purposes.

This activity was pioneered by the Pittsburgh Section in the early 90’s and was the reason for a special recognition award by ASQ to the Pittsburgh Section at the Quality Congress held in Dayton in the mid-90’s. There are a number of other Sections that have embarked on similar programs based on the Pittsburgh model.

Should a member wish to volunteer for the Audit Team or an organization desire a base line audit, they should contact the co-chairs: Dick Kish (rakish113@aol.com) or Sailesh Kapadia (skapadia@nauticom.net).