ASQ East South-Central Region - April 2025 Newsletter

By Arved Harding posted 13 days ago

Recommend

ASQ East South-Central Region - April 2025 Newsletter

Content

· 2025 World Conference on Quality and Improvement – May 4-7, 2025 Denver, CO
· Lexington Section Meeting - Thursday, April 17, 2025 @12:00-1 EST What are the best practices or procedures for next steps for a company nonconformances? by Denis Devos
· ASQ1106 Section Meeting – Thursday, April 17, 2025 @5:30-8:00 EST - Video and Discussion on Leveraging AI in Audits + Strategic Planning for career enhancement and personal gain by David Auda
· Other Online Education Opportunities in April

2025 World Conference on Quality and Improvement | ASQ

WCQI attendees will join passionate professionals to take quality to new heights. This event is more than just a meeting point; it's a gateway to using quality concepts and tools in new and unique ways every day and expanding the reach of quality practices into non-traditional industries and environments.

Through WCQI’s captivating sessions and thought-provoking discussions, attendees will:

· Elevate human performance within the context of quality by learning how to motivate your workforce to take production from mediocre to extraordinary.

· Mapping existing processes to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. Processes define everything we do in an organization.

· Delve into the use of data analytics tools and dashboards to gain insights, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions for quality improvement.

ASQ Lexington Section Meeting on Thursday, April 17, 2025 @12-1pm EST

For this month’s Lexington Section meeting we have a live webinar presentation by Denis Devos, a speaker at 2024 ASQ Audit Conference:

Live presentation by Denis Devos, PE from Devos Associates, Inc. on What are the best practices or procedures for next steps for a company nonconformances?

Section hosts- Steve Ross and John Simson, ASQ Lexington, KY

This ASQLEX 0911 section monthly meeting is a prerecorded webcast meeting that begins at 12PM EST on Thursday, April 17th.

If you plan to attend, please email reservation to Mark McDonald (Mmcdonald@hendrickson-intl.com) by noon Tuesday, April 15th.

For the April meeting, we will have extended invitation to all ASQ Sections in the East South-Central Region. In addition, we have extended an invitation to Maritimes, Canada section 0411.

The Zoom virtual Meeting link for this recorded webcast meeting will be sent out to those who register with Mark McDonald. Note: A 0.1 RU will be given for section meetings that you attend. However, please use the email registration so that the Section has an attendance record for sending our RU credits. When you join the zoom meeting mute your computer microphone during the presentation.

Door Prize: A random number is selected from the people attending the section webinar meeting. The winner will be able to choose a book or standard from the ASQ Quality Press with member cost of $50 or less. Doug Howard, Treasurer, will purchase item and send to member mailing address. In March 2025, congratulations to Ngoc Do who won the door prize.

Meeting Agenda:

11:50 -12:05 pm Log in and Section welcome, webinar and speaker intro

12:05 – 1:00 pm Presentation and then Q&A with members.

Section Leadership is proposing we have about 5 minutes of member engagement before we start our webcast.

ASQ 1106 Section Meeting

Thursday April 17, 2025 (Virtual with Zoom)

Agenda (Eastern time zone):

5:30 - 5:45 Log in and socialize time

5:45 – 6:45 Video + Discussion: Leveraging AI in Audits by Mary Breslin

6:45-7:00 Break

7:00-8:00 Strategic Planning for career enhancement and personal gain by David Auda

Register https://mp.gg/s2ljfpjf or at the URL below.

https://app.memberplanet.com/#/event/asqnortheasttennesseesection/asq1106aprilsectionmeeting

If clicking on this link does not work, put the URL into your browser.

If you have trouble registering with this URL, try a different internet browser.

For questions or reservation issues contact Arved Harding (423) 765-5382. aharding@eastman.com

Presentation 1

Topic: Video + Discussion: Leveraging AI in Audits

AI technology such as ChatGPT provides auditors many opportunities to accelerate the processes of planning, conducting and reporting audits. Whether it’s working with text or data, AI can help in checking compliance and operational performance. While this recorded presentation is based on financial audits, it should be of interest to auditors of any type management system. After the video, we will discuss participant experiences and ideas.

Speaker Bio:

Mary Breslin, MBA, CIA, CFE

FOUNDER and MANAGING PARTNER of Verracy

Mary Breslin is the Founder of Verracy and specializes in Internal Audit transformations, Operational and Financial Auditing, Fraud Auditing and Investigations, and Corporate Accounting.

Ms. Breslin’s career spans over 20 years in Internal Auditing, Management and Accounting for companies such as ConocoPhillips, Barclays Capital, Costco Wholesale, Jefferson Wells and Boart Longyear. With significant International experience, she has managed audit programs in more than 50 countries. Most recently, Ms. Breslin held the title of Vice President and Chief Audit Executive where she transformed a checklist audit function into a value-add audit department which regularly delivered measurable business results through the use of risk-based auditing, data analytics, continuous education and skill development for her leadership team and staff.

Additionally, Ms. Breslin has extensive Fraud Audit and Investigation experience and has conducted major fraud investigations on multiple continents including large scale federal cases domestically. She has developed and implemented fraud auditing programs in various industries focused on both accounting and operations.

Ms. Breslin attended Rutgers University and received her BS in accounting, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix while living and working overseas. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She maintains memberships in the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), ISACA, the Society of Corporate Compliance (SCCE), and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and is currently an instructor and conference speaker for the IIA, The ACFE and ISACA.

Presentation 2 – Strategic Planning

Title: Strategic Planning for career enhancement and personal gain.

I have been delivering training on strategic planning to a wide variety of audiences over several years. For example, a variation of this material was delivered to a nonprofit consortium, the corporate Quality department of a global enterprise, a graduate class at university, a professional association, a business solutions center, etc. During covid I enhanced the training to help support those who found themselves going out of business due to the lack of a strategic plan for disaster and business interruptions. It focused on what a planner could do in the midst of a business disruption to minimize loss and sustain the business entity. I would not be surprised to discover that given our current global instability (tariffs, wars, politics, etc.) many are still operating without a well thought out plan. Strategic plans are extremely useful under such conditions but are also very beneficial in improving the capability maturity of a business unit, developing a personal development plan to improve ones’ Quality of life, enhance interpersonal relationships (professional networking, relationship enhancement), and personal health improvement, to mention a few. Yet, the plan is one step in the process. If the necessary commitment(s) have not be formalized there is a high likelihood that the plan will have been developed in vain. Some discussion on commitment is necessary but due to its entanglement with the complexities of consciousness, emotions, heredity, etc. only a cursory treatment will be provided. Those who were fortunate enough to make it through a disruptive event, dodging the proverbial bullets of disaster, have likely convinced themselves that they are simply lucky. Luck is not a strategy, and “luck always seems to be against the man who depends on it.” – Anonymous. Whether you are a certified strategic planning facilitator, engineer, manager, technologist, office staff, maintenance crew member, or just curious about the topic, I can guarantee that every attendee will find something of value in this webinar.

Speaker Bio

David Auda is an ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer and Certified Quality Manager who has worked in a wide variety of industries, to include but is not limited to sensitized products manufacture, energy generation, automotive design, heavy vehicle manufacture, aerospace, medical and high-volume consumable goods manufacture. David’s experience includes, but is not limited to, product design, instrumentation design, medical device design, aerospace systems design, information systems management, infrastructure network management, programming, etc. David has worked extensively in the areas of risk analysis, failure prevention, root cause analysis, problem solving, strategic planning and safety engineering as well as numerous other related disciplines. David has a BSEE from the Rochester Institute of Technology, with honors, Tau Beta Pi, and pursued his master level reliability studies at the RIT Center for Quality and Applied Statistics. David is a frequent presenter at international conferences and symposia, a competent speaker and validated ASQ trainer, delivering presentations and workshops on a wide variety of topics essential to the effective and efficient performance of Reliability and Quality practitioners. David’s most recent deployment was a Reliability and Maintainability Manager at Georgia Pacific’s Dixie works in Darlington South Carolina supporting their $350M+ expansion. David is presently semi-retired, providing consulting and training through a variety of channels.

Join Us for an Insightful Panel Discussion on the Design of Experiments

Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Time: 10:00 AM Central Daylight Time

Register at Stat-Ease

What is Design of Experiments (DOE)?
Design of Experiments (DOE) is a systematic approach used to plan, conduct, and analyze experiments efficiently. It allows researchers and engineers to understand the relationships between multiple variables and their effects on outcomes. By strategically varying inputs, DOE helps identify optimal conditions and improve processes, leading to better decision-making and innovation.

We are excited to announce an upcoming panel discussion titled "Developments in Design of Experiments," presented by StatEase®. This engaging event will feature a distinguished panel of experts, including Arved Harding, Senior Associate Data Scientist, of the Northeast TN Section of ASQ.

Meet Our Expert Panel:

Márcia Cristina Breitkreitz (Unicamp)
Arved Harding (Eastman Chemical Company)
Drew Landman (Old Dominion University)
Geoff Vining (Virginia Tech)
Gamal Weheba (Wichita State University)

In the nearly 100 years since Ronald Fisher first published The Design of Experiments, the field has evolved significantly. Statisticians and engineers alike have pioneered innovative applications and methodologies, integrating planned experimentation into their work like never before.

During this panel, our experts will explore modern Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques that are gaining traction within research and development communities. Participants will gain insights into what has been effective in the field and what the future holds for DOE practices.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from industry leaders and enhance your understanding of Design of Experiments!

Other Education Opportunities

AI Adoption Journey: Governance, Challenges and Strategies

When: Apr 9, 2025 from 05:00 PM to 06:00 PM (CT)

Community: Quality Management Division (QMD)

ASQ Phoenix April 10 2025 Virtual Meeting-Climate Change-ISO 9001& Management System Standards

When: Apr 10, 2025 from 06:00 PM to 08:00 PM (MT)

Community: Phoenix Section

5S Reimagined

When: Apr 10, 2025 from 06:30 PM to 08:00 PM (ET)

Community: Louisville Section

Joint ASCM / ASQ Section Meeting: Managing Organizational Silos: A Puzzle You Can Solve