ASQ Phoenix December 11, 2025 Program Meeting – Virtual
6:00pm – 8:00pm Phoenix (UTC: -7)
AGENDA: All times are Phoenix (MST):
6:00 PM – Welcome
6:05 PM – Brief Announcements
6: 15 PM – Guest Speaker Presentation
7:15 PM – Q&A and Networking
7:45 PM – Phoenix Section Business
8:00 PM – Adjourn
SPEAKER: Rick Hefner, PhD, Executive Director, Center for Technology and Management Education, California Institute of Technology
TOPIC: AI Essentials for Quality Leaders: Tools, Trends, and Tactics
ABSTRACT: The rapid and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) requires today’s quality leaders to understand both its potential and its limitations. This talk will explore the dual mandate facing modern quality professionals: leveraging AI to enhance quality and ensuring the quality of AI systems themselves. We will demystify the core principles and profound implications of AI for Quality (AI4Q), where AI is used to improve quality management practices. Additionally, we will cover the emerging discipline of Quality for AI (Q4AI), which applies quality principles to the development of systems and services with AI components.
This session will go beyond the buzzwords to provide a concrete roadmap for integrating AI into your quality workflows. We will discuss critical tactical considerations, including how to identify high-impact use cases, assess your organization's data readiness, and pilot AI quality management projects to demonstrate tangible ROI. Attendees will learn to navigate the challenges of AI implementation, from data security and bias to the cultural shift required to embrace a new era of quality control. Quality leaders will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to strategically adopt AI, not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a powerful amplifier of their core mission: to deliver superior products and services.
BIO: Dr. Rick Hefner is Executive Director of Caltech’s Center for Technology & Management Education (CTME) where he designs and delivers professional and executive training to technology-driven organizations and individuals. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Black Belt with over 40 years of data-driven systems-improvement experience. He has guided over 20 Fortune 500 organizations through transformations that link quality management to strategic value.
Hefner earned his reputation in high-reliability domains. As Director of Process Management at Northrop Grumman Corporation, he led the LSS program and was responsible for training over 20,000 Green Belts and 1,000 Black Belts. Today, he personally designs and delivers training on all aspects of LSS and Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Hefner is a frequent speaker at ASQ and other professional conferences, with over 200 presentations and publications.
LOCATION: via Zoom
COST: Free. Open to all.
We will be using Zoom Meeting to broadcast the December 11, 2025, ASQ Phoenix monthly Program meeting. Register in advance for this meeting:
Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIod-qpqz8vEtFYBJ-Hb6hBB3gLupnqrlFg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom containing the actual meeting link and information about joining the meeting, as well as the option to save the event details to your calendar. Save the confirmation email with the meeting JOIN button.