MESSAGE FROM THE EDUCATION CHAIR

Dear ASQ Members:

I hope you are all having a good summer ... laying out on the beach and forgetting all about ... well ... not really thinking at all ... <smile>.  Winter is for heavy thinking right?  Summer is for experimenting and having fun ... so lets apply that to Quality. 

If you recall my last four messages (see March, April, May, June) were all about National ASQ and our officer's efforts to improve the way we meet your educational needs.  Lets experiment and have some fun thinking up details for:

• Educational study groups (envision a continuous but changing group of people meeting regularly to listen to short lectures, work out problems, and ask questions; low or no cost).

as outlined in last months message.  What I'd like to see from you is an email to Kim, Hank, and I (click here) with your comments and or ideas.  In the email please indicate if you'd like to join a one week discussion list on the subject, if you'd mind us posting your comments, and or if you only want to send in your comments to us this one time.  Here are a few idea stimulators:

1. We make web pages for all to see called "CQE study group", "CQM study group", etc.  You send in questions with answers and we confirm them and post them.

2. We make the same web pages but hide them from everyone but members or special devotees.  You send in questions with answers and we confirm them and post them.

3. We develop an on-line list server on each topic where you do the talking and answering with other students and with the help of a moderator. 

4. We develop email lists of all those interested in topic related questions and answers.  We send out questions and answers to that list after you send in the questions and the answers (we will confirm them).

5. The only rule would be that all those in one of these groups must participate by sending in one question and answer per week or risk being dropped from the list.

What else could we do that you would volunteer and participate in?  What other thoughts do you have?  This could be fun.  Send us an email by clicking here or if that doesn't work, send it manually to asq_chick@hotmail.com, kim.niles@cox.net and hposters@hotmail.com

Other Progress - Two new refresher courses

See the table below listing all our currently offered courses including the CSQE and the CQE courses starting within a month. 

Sincerely,

Stacy Apostol

Education Committee Chair

ASQ Section 0703 

This month we are highlighting two articles as follows: 

"Strategic vs. Random Sampling" (html on our site)

By Dr. John Flaig

Traditional sampling theory as presented in Mil Std 105, 414, etc. has as an underlying premise that defects are randomly distributed throughout the population.  However, an examination of many real world processes indicates that this assumption is frequently at odds with observed reality.  Specifically, the distribution of special cause defects is frequently not random but clustered.  The implication of this observation is that classical sampling techniques may not be optimal for dealing with clustered defect processes. 

"Cpk Living Paper Updates" (html on our site)

By various authors

Section added to this living article on use of non-normal data with CpK added as the result of a recent email discussion with a curious net citizen and Dr. Flaig.