This course presents statistical methods as they apply to quality control, quality assurance and production management. It also addresses SPC techniques, with emphasis on the proper methods for selecting, preparing and interpreting Shewhart control charts.

The course is designed to serve as a foundation for the Certified Mechanical Inspector (CMI) and Certified Quality Technician (CQT) refresher courses and will provide these basic statistical skills to prepare for the exams:
* Review of general mathematics
* Calculator review
* Data collection & presentation
* Distributions
* Dispersion & skewness
* Probabilities
* Measures of central tendency
* Histograms, line graphs & running record charts
* Charts for variables & attributes

Course length: Ten 3-hour classes
Prerequisite: Basic mathematics & algebra
Students must bring a scientific calculator

Statistical Quality Control

Increase your understanding of testing methods, as well as measurement and management techniques needed to implement quality functions for manufacturing and service industries.

Assess the similarities and differences in the philosophies of Deming, Juran and Wheeler, while learning the following:
* Probability methods & statistical tools for analyzing data
* Manufacturing, SPC & process capability
* Field performance & customer satisfaction
* Hypothesis testing
* Decision analysis
* Reliability

Course length: Ten 2.5-hour classes
Prerequisite: Basic statistics and algebra

Internal Quality Auditor Training & Review of ISO 9001:2000

This highly interactive course provides the skills needed to successfully audit for compliance to ISO 9001:2000. The standard is reviewed in detail, and auditing concepts and techniques are presented and practiced. Principles include audit planning, preparation, fieldwork, reporting and follow up. Participants from all organization levels can benefit from the course: new internal auditors, auditors wishing to improve their skills, and managers looking for a better understanding of the audit process.

Subject matter includes:
* Background & content of the standard
* The process approach to quality management
* Requirement interpretation
* Auditing techniques, including process auditing
* Corrective action
* Continuous improvement

Course length: Six 3-hour classes

Basic Blueprint Reading

A course designed to give participants a basic working knowledge of blueprint interpretation. Learn how to identify and extract information from blueprints necessary for manufacturing, production and quality control.

This course includes:
* The importance of blueprints
* Views & drawing formats
* Detailed standards
* European styles & standards
* Basic geometric tolerances

Course length: Eight 3-hour classes

Cost of Quality

Win support and achieve continuous improvement by measuring and reducing quality costs. Learn how to categorize costs and implement a quality system. Link quality to the bottom line, improving customer satisfaction and market share.

Everything you wanted to know about the cost of quality will be presented in this course, including:
* Concepts
* System definitions & interrelationships
* Program implementation
* Reduction

Course length: Five 3-hour classes

Inspection & Gaging

This course is designed to provide a basic general working knowledge of measuring tools and techniques. A hands-on approach will be used to teach the student in a practical manner.

Course content is as follows:
* Decision analysis
* Probability methods & statistical tools
* Data analysis
* Caliper types, methods, care & calibration
* Micrometer readability & discrimination
* Surface plate instruments: gage blocks, sine bars & gaging instruments
* Fixed gages: plug gages, thread ring gages
* Optical measurements: stereo microscope, optical comparator, optical flats

Course length: Ten 3-hour classes
Prerequisite: Basic math, familiarity with blueprints and a working knowledge of micrometers

Advanced Inspection & Gaging

This course is designed to provide advanced skills to those with a basic understanding of inspection and gaging principles.

A wide range of techniques will be included:
* A review of basic tolerances & allowances
* Gage repeatability & reliability
* Calibration techniques & procedures
* Surface plate set-ups & procedures
* Optical measurements
* Special measuring/inspection problem solving
* Analysis of students' examples & solutions

Course length: Eight 2.5-hour classes
Prerequisite: "Inspection and Gaging" or 3-5 years actual inspection experience or permission from the Instructor

Lean Six-Sigma Green Belt

I. Introduction to Lean-Six Sigma

Lean-Six Sigma Concepts (DMAIC, DMADV Methodology)
Benefits to the Program

II. Define Phase: Lean-Six Sigma

Define the Problem Statement & Objectives
Identify Critical to Quality (CTQ's) Characteristics

III. Measure Phase: Lean-Six Sigma

Six Sigma Metrics
Review Data Collecting Approach
Introduction to Process Capability:(Cpk/Cp)
MSA, Gage R&R
(MTM)-Methods and Time Measurements training

IV. Analyze Phase: Lean-Six Sigma

Hypotheses Testing Approach
Analysis of Variance Methodology (ANOVA)
Value Stream Mapping

V. Improve Phase: Lean -Six Sigma

Design of Experiments (DOE's)
5S Program
Set-up Reduction
Manufacturing Cells
Kaizen Technique

VI. Control Phase: Lean -Six Sigma

Control Charts: Variable & Attribute
Lean-Six Sigma Metrics

VII. The People Aspect of Lean-Six Sigma

Training (Black Belt, Green Belt, and Yellow Belt)
How many Black Belts and Green Belts do you need to succeed ?
Empowerment of Employees

VIII. Summary

What is the criteria that makes Lean-Six Sigma the best choice for your company
When is Lean or Six Sigma as an individual programs a better choice

Refresher Courses

Certified Quality Technician (CQT)

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Technical math
* Reliability & probability
* Sampling techniques
* Metrology & calibration
* Quality costs
* Statistics
* Sampling plans & statistical process control
* Quality concepts & planning
* Preventive & corrective action
* Quality auditing

Considerable time will be spent reviewing solutions to practice examinations.

Course length: Nine 2.5-hour classes
Exam Requirements: Four years on-the-job experience in one or more of the areas of the Certified Quality Technician Body of Knowledge

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certified Quality Inspector (CQI)

Inspectors, technicians, and manufacturing employees interested in preparing to take the CQI Certification Exam will benefit from the course, as will anyone interested in learning the basic tools of mechanical inspection.

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Technical math
* Inspection technology
* Measurement techniques
* Quality improvement
* Basic statistics
* Blueprint reading
* Inspection planning, tools & equipment
* Basic geometric dimensioning & tolerancing (GD&T)

Course length: Nine 3-hour classes
Exam Requirements: Two years on-the-job experience in mechanical inspection or related field or a high school diploma with an additional three years experience

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Human resources
* Basic statistics
* Control charts & process capability
* Auditing
* Metrology & calibration
* Design of Experiments & ANOVA
* Reliability & maintainability
* Statistical inferences & hypothesis
* Quality concepts & costs
* Probabilities, regression & correlation

Course length: Eighteen 3-hour classes
Prerequisite: Previous engineering experience
Exam Requirements: Eight years on-the-job experience in one or more of the areas of the Certified Quality Engineer Body of Knowledge, with a minimum of three years of experience in a decision-making position

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certified Calibration Technician (CCT)

Inspectors, technicians, and manufacturing employees interested in preparing to take the exam will benefit from this course, as will anyone interested in learning the basic tools of calibration.

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* General metrology
* Measurement systems
* Calibration systems
* Applied mathematics & statistics
* Quality systems & standards
* Uncertainty

Course length: Ten 3-hour classes
Exam Requirements: Two years on-the-job experience in calibration or related field or a high school diploma with an additional three years experience

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE)

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Leadership
* Strategy development & deployment
* Quality management tools
* Customer focused organizations
* Supplier performance
* Management
* Training & development

Course length: Eighteen 3-hour classes
Prerequisite: Previous management experience
Exam Requirements: Ten years on-the-job experience in one or more of the areas of the Certified Quality Manager Body of Knowledge, with a minimum of five years of experience in a decision-making position

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Auditing Fundamentals
* Audit Process
* Use of Standards & Checklists
* Auditor Traits and Competencies
* Audit Program Management & Business Applications
* Quality Tools and Techniques

Course length: Ten 3-hour classes
Prerequisite: Previous auditing experience
Exam Requirements: Eight years on-the-job experience in one or more of the areas of the Certified Quality Auditor Body of Knowledge, with a minimum of three years of experience in a decision-making position

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certified Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA)

Inspectors, technicians, and manufacturing personnel interested in preparing to take the exam, or just to enhance their skills, will benefit from this course, as well as anyone interested in learning the basic tools of quality, continuous improvement and teamwork.

The Body of Knowledge includes:
* Quality concepts & principles
* Quality benefits & philosophies
* Team roles & responsibilities
* Team formation & dynamics
* Continuous improvement
* Basic quality tools
* Quality management tools
* Customer-supplier relationships

Course length: Nine 2.5-hour classes
Exam Requirements: Two years general work experience or an associate degree as a minimum

Certification Requirement Information Additional Information from www.asq.org

Certification Requirement Information

Experience in a "decision-making" position is defined as the authority to define, execute, or control projects/processes and to be responsible for the outcome. This may or may not include management or supervisory positions. Certifications by ASQ in other areas may apply to desired certification.

If you hold a degree from an accredited college, university, or technical school (degrees/diplomas from foreign educational institutions must be equivalent to those from U.S. educational institutions), ASQ will waive the following from the experience requirement (only one may be claimed):

* Diploma from a technical or trade school - one year waived
* Associate degree - two years waived
* Bachelor's degree - four years waived
* Master's or doctorate - five years waived

Seminars

Quality Principles & 21CFR Part 210/211

Description: A thorough presentation of cGMP and quality principles will be provided to help the rookie begin to understand the concepts and begin applying them. Valuable insight will assist the more experienced to assist them in quality decision-making, as well as, demonstrating ways to make their present systems more effective. Recent warning letters will be discussed to learn from industry noncompliances. Participant interaction is desired and encouraged.
Seminar topics include:
* Principles of GMP
* FDA's GMP Quality System for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (Q7A), Drug Product (Part 210/211), FDA's 2006 guidance, The Quality Systems Approach to Pharmaceutical cGMP Regulations & Q10 Pharmaceutical Quality System
* Areas discussed include Management, Training, Documentation, Facilities & Equipment, Materials Control, Production/Process Control, Packaging & Labeling, and Laboratory Controls
* Discuss current warning letters and ways to avoid violations
* Participants may present their top cGMP challenges, problems, & issues for classroom discussion

Course length: One Day (8 hours)

TS-16949 Internal Auditor Training

ISO/TS 16949:2002 "Particular Requirements for the Application of ISO 9001:2000 for Automotive Production and Relevant Service Part Organizations" is being required within the automotive industry on a global basis. This informative course introduces the second edition of the standard to those looking to understand its impact on automotive parts suppliers' quality systems and how ISO/TS 16949:2002 can improve your business.

All Quality Professionals who need to make informed decisions about the implementation of ISO/TS 16949:2002 within their organizations can benefit from:
* ISO/TS 16949:2002 overview
* The purpose of the standard and content review
* Implications of implementation
* The Continual Improvement Process
* Audit Planning
* Conducting the Audit
* Audit Follow-up and Reporting

Course Length: Two Days (16 hours)

Internal Auditing to the ISO 9001:2008 Standard

Help achieve the maximum potential of your Quality Management System though effective process auditing, while ensuring compliance to the ISO 9001:2008 standard. This intense course provides a firm grounding in ISO 9001:2008, and teaches participants the techniques needed to successfully audit the processes that make up their Quality Management System. Planning, performing, and reporting audits will be covered, as well as verifying the effectiveness of implemented corrective actions.

Those responsible for planning audits, internal auditors upgrading their skills, and managers assessing the suitability and effectiveness of current processes can benefit from this course. Covered topics include:
* Structure of ISO 9001:2008
* Management System Requirements
* Audit Planning & Setting Objectives
* Performing an Audit
* Human Aspects of Auditing
* Reporting Findings & Nonconformities
* Following up on Effectiveness of Implemented Corrective Actions

Insure consistent compliance with the exacting requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 standard. This course empowers you to identify gaps that threaten the effectiveness of your quality management system, and builds self-confidence through hands-on experience.

Course Length: Two Days (16 hours)

Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is an analytical tool used to examine potential failure modes of your product and process throughout design, development, and production. It can be one of the most effective tools that you can use to detect and correct problems before they occur.

This seminar, which will benefit professionals tasked with product and process design responsibilities, includes the following:
* Overview of FMEA
* Define Design & Process
* Outline Design & Process Requirements
* Brainstorming / Cause & Effect Diagrams to Determine Potential Failure Modes
* Use of AIAG Severity, Occurrence & Detection Rankings
* Create Action Plan
* Closed-loop Follow-up

Course length: One Day (8 Hours)

Root Cause Analysis & Failure Investigation

Thoughtful exercises and humorous analogies provide practical advice on how to identify real obstacles to organizational improvement.
Discussions focus on the concept of root cause as well as analytical methods to objectively identify it. Learn how to document a failure investigation and develop appropriate corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

This seminar will provide individuals with the necessary skills and tools to reach and maintain excellence through continual improvement and would benefit analysts, engineers, managers, supervisors and other individuals responsible for resolving problems in any organization.
Seminar topics include:
* Reactive Environment & Downstream Symptoms
* Investigating Sentinel Events & Scientific Method
* Failure Investigation Process & Quality Tools
* Common Causes for Out of Spec Results
* Data Integrity & Variation Sources
* Root Cause Analysis Methods & Practical Applications
* Proactive Environment & Root Cause Identification
* Corrective Actions

Course length: 1 Day (8 hours)

Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)

PPAP is an extremely important activity consisting of a powerful set of requirements used to validate that a process can produce product at production quantities, which meet all customer requirements. APQP is the driving force as it relates to accomplishing all PPAP Process requirements. All process requirements for PPAP are performed as part of a company's planning process. If a company is struggling with PPAP, there is a direct linkage to their Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) effort. The goal is to perform the PPAP requirements throughout the APQP process. The focus of this course is to better understand the PPAP Requirements, Customer Notification and Submission Requirements, Submission to Customer-Levels of Evidence, Part Submission Status, and Record Retention.

This course offers the opportunity to be coached in the purpose and requirements of PPAP by a professional with years of experience in the quality and training field. Before taking this course, participants should have a basic understanding of Design and Process FMEA, Measurement Systems Analysis, Statistical Process Control, Advanced Product Quality Planning and Control Plan, and QS-9000 or ISO/TS 16949 Automotive Quality Systems.

Students are introduced to the following areas:
* Overview of PPAP-Definition, purpose, and goals of PPAP; PPAP requirements and their role in APQP; documentation and maintenance of records.
* Inhibitors to PPAP
* PPAP General Requirements
* PPAP Requirements
* Principles of Design and Process FMEA activity
* Process Study Requirements
* Measurement System Analysis studies
* Control Plan
* Customer Notification and Submission

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
* Demonstrate an awareness of the 19 PPAP requirements
* Understand how the PPAP requirements fit into your organization
* Understand how the different PPAP elements/tools work together to form a process
* Determine how PPAP elements and tools coincide in your own company's process

Course length: One Day (8 hours)

Value Stream Mapping

Value Stream Mapping is reliable method for documenting and quantifying material and information flow within an organization. During this hands-on course students will learn how Value Stream Mapping works as the main planning tool for continual improvement in a Lean Organization. During the course, students will learn methods for capturing and documenting the current material and information flows for a value stream. A case study is used to allow students to practice drawing a current state value stream map using a standard set of symbols. During the session students will learn different methods for analyzing the current state and “see” future state improvements that the organization can make. During this analysis, students will make decisions as to improvements to make and create a future state Value Stream Map that encompasses these improvements. As a final step, students will learn how to prioritize and create action plans in order to meet the future state.

After taking this class attendees should be able to:

* Define value stream and how it relates to material and information flow

* Explain how the value stream map relates to the PDCA Cycle for continual improvement

* Draw a current state value stream map using a standard set of symbols

* Analyze the current state value stream map for opportunities for improvement

* Develop current, ideal and future state value stream maps

* Prioritize and create an improvement plan to move from the current state to the future state

Root Cause Analysis for Waist Management

Description: Root cause analysis can be used on any type of problem, whether related to business or personal issues. Through creativity and fun exercises, ideas on how to identify the cause(s) of a problem are demonstrated. A common problem among many individuals is the constant battle with their weight and expanding waistline. This problem will be used to illustrate various quality tools to objectively identify the root causes and begin a corrective and preventive action plan to solve the major issue.
Seminar topics include:
* Identify reasons for overeating using Brainstorming & Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram
* Develop objectives/goals that are S-M-A-R-T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound)
* Learn tools useful for waist management - Emotional Freedom Techniques, Mindful Eating, Breathing Techniques
* Learn to read Nutritional Labeling to make better choices
* Develop meal plans that keep you on track
* Monitor your progress using measurements that are meaningful

Course length: One Day (8 hours)