ASQ 1106 Section Meeting
Thursday August 15, 2024 (Virtual with Zoom)
Agenda (Eastern time zone):
5:30 - 5:45 Log in and socialize time
5:45 – 6:45 Applying Dr. Deming's Methods to Current Quality, Safety, and Health Issues. by Steven Prevette
6:45 – 7:00 Break
7:00 – 8:00 Generative AI by Andrew Ervin
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For questions or reservation issues contact Arved Harding (423) 765-5382. aharding@eastman.com
Topic: Applying Dr. Deming's Methods to Current Quality, Safety, and Health Issues
This presentation will introduce you to Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. This is an interesting mix of the "hard side" such as statistical analysis and understanding systems, with the "soft side" of psychology and culture. We will discuss how Statistical Process Control interacts with Human Performance, Theory of Knowledge (how do I know what I know) with Operational Definitions and System Thinking.
Steve will relate personal stories, and stories from his mentors who worked with Dr. Deming, as well as his experience with Nuclear Safety and teaching college students about quality assurance. This will be a lively presentation, as Steve was known as the "passionate statistician" on Nuclear Sites, and is a great story teller. Come and participate in an ongoing Quality Story.
Steven Prevette Bio
Steve Prevette is an advocate of Dr. Deming’s management methods and applies Statistical Process Control to performance metrics. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality, and also an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer.
Steve currently teaches courses for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for Information Technology. Courses include Statistics, Python programming, and Structured Query Language (SQL). He has been active with the American Society for Quality since 1996. His home is in Graniteville South Carolina, with his wife Jennie, two dogs, and the “train room.” Steve is a past chair of the Columbia Basin ASQ section and has maintained ties with the Section since moving to South Carolina in 2009, acting as its current webmaster.
He retired in 2021 from Fluor corporation’s “Government Group.” In his role, he supported nuclear sites in Ontario Canada, Ohio, South Carolina, and Idaho with statistical performance analyses. This included development and oversight of Statistical Process Control based Contractor Assurance and other performance metrics at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Savannah River National Laboratory.
Steve started his career as a US Navy nuclear submarine officer. At the end of the Cold War, he left the Navy and was hired by Westinghouse Hanford as a Tank Farms Maintenance Supervisor. He was transferred to the desk job of running performance indicators in June of 1993 and has fulfilled that function for various Department of Energy contractors ever since.
Steve taught evening courses at the former City University campus in Richland and developed courses as an adjunct instructor for Aiken Technical College for Nuclear Quality Assurance. His statistics course has been popular with the students as it focuses on management use of data, including from a Deming and Statistical Process Control perspective.
Steve was published in Kalmbach’s “Great Model Railroads 2015” and frequently gives presentations on applications of statistics in the hobby of model railroading. A dozen people descend upon the “Burnt Hills and Big Flats Railroad” every three weeks to operate the model railroad as if it were a real railroad, complete with “timetable and train order” dispatching.
Burnt Hills and Big Flats Railroad Website: Burnt Hills and Big Flats Railroad An N Scale Model Railroad - Welcome (weebly.com)
2nd Presentation: Generative AI
Abstract:
This presentation will explore the transformative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as GPT and Claude in the realms of statistics, data science, and analytical fieldwork. With the rapid advancement of generative AI, professionals in these fields are uniquely positioned to enhance their workflows through innovative applications of these technologies.
Key Topics Covered:
- Code Generation and Automation: Discover how LLMs can streamline coding tasks, from writing complex scripts to automating repetitive processes, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing human error.
- Advanced Data Analysis: Learn how generative AI can assist in uncovering patterns, generating hypotheses, and performing sophisticated data manipulations, enabling deeper insights and more robust analyses.
- Brainstorming and Ideation: Explore the capabilities of LLMs in facilitating creative problem-solving and idea generation, making them invaluable tools for brainstorming sessions and exploratory data analysis.
- Security and Ethical Considerations: Address common concerns related to the use of generative AI, including data security, the risk of hallucinations (AI-generated false information), and maintaining information integrity. Strategies for mitigating these risks will be discussed.
- Practical Integration: Gain practical insights into effectively incorporating these tools into modern analysis workflows. This includes leveraging web-based tools, enterprise cloud solutions, and edge computing to maximize the benefits of generative AI.
Andrew Ervin Bio:
Andrew is a manager for the Generative AI team at Eastman, responsible for leading AI Governance, Cloud AI implementations, and AI software evaluations at Eastman. He has been at Eastman for 6 years developing solutions including production scheduling, contract optimization, pricing excellence and AI initiatives for sales, R&D, and contracting.