online meeting: Why calibration stickers and a gauge R&R are not enough

Topic: Why calibration stickers and a gauge R&R are not enough
Cost: Free
When: 18 Sep 2025 (Thursday) 5:45pm to 7:30pm US-MT meeting
RSVP on Boulder Section’s meeting "Meetup Link"
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5:45 pm Web Conference Start: Networking, Welcome and Section Business
6:00 pm Presentation

• Speaker: Steven Ouellette, President, The ROI Alliance, LLC
• Topic: Why calibration stickers and a gauge R&R are not enough
• Presentation Slides and Video posted after meeting
• Abstract:

  • Every critical business decision hinges on the accuracy of measurements. Yet, many organizations rely solely on calibration stickers or, at most, a single short Gauge R&R from years ago to validate the trustworthiness of their measurements. This reliance creates a dangerous illusion of confidence, masking potential issues that can lead to significant quality failures. While your data may suggest that every part produced is within specifications, the reality might be that your customers find them unusable. Or you might be spending time addressing phantom problems that don’t exist. Measurement systems within control loops can mislead you into believing that your processes are operating perfectly, all while delivering out-of-spec or highly variable products.

  • How do we prevent these problems? The answer lies in conducting periodic assessments of the measurement system as part of a longitudinal study. These studies provide rich insight into the current performance of the measurement system and can uncover problems that remain hidden from calibration stickers and standard gauge R&Rs. However, a long-term study like this is designed differently and cannot be analyzed the same way as other studies.

  • In this presentation, we will analyze a real data set gathered from a measurement system that was to be utilized during vendor acceptance testing. Together, we will discover compelling evidence illustrating why reliance on a calibration sticker and a singular Gage R&R is insufficient for ensuring measurement accuracy and reliability. Prepare to rethink your approach to measurement validation!

• Bio: Steven Ouellette .
  • Steve has been consulting in business management and the quality sciences since 1996.
  • He has a BS in Metallurgical and Material Science from the Colorado School of Mines and an ME in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado Boulder.
  • He has taught at the Leed's School of Business and the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as well as Colorado State University in Denver.
  • He is an expert in applied statistics as well as creating and deploying management systems.
  • He has consulted for many different industries, from heavy to light manufacture, services, and higher education.
  • He was a long-time author for Quality Digest and he has written three books:
    • Business Performance Excellence, an anthology of essays from some of the great thinkers in quality
    • Galileo's Telescope, a book about metrics generation, management, leadership and strategic planning
    • Data-Driven Leadership, a book to teach managers the usefulness of basic statistics to them with practical examples.
  • He is the President of the ROI Alliance.
• References:
  •  See above books

7:15 pm After Presentation Networking
7:30 pm Web Conference End: meeting over
Place: Web Conference Webex

• Meeting link: https://asq.webex.com/asq/j.php?MTID=m9f1702629d07e4f5e9f10dff7035c0db
• Meeting number: 2555 039 6779
• Password: Z3mMHqjft27

Meeting also posted on ASQ Boulder Meetup's 20 Nov 2025 meeting

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