Join us for our February 15th ASQ Section Meeting at Favazza’s Restaurant on The Hill in St. Louis, MO, 5201 Southwest Ave., St. Louis, MO, 314-772-4454. It’s a great place to meet with good food and an excellent meeting facility!
Program:
5:30 Registration and Networking
6:00 Kunita Gear “Moving the Needle and Proving It”
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Gordon Skattum “The Truth About Data”
Kunita Gear, our section membership chair, will talk about using Minitab to improve project reporting and success in “Moving the Needle and Proving It”.
Kunita Gear is a director in the Analytics and Process Improvement Department of Express Scripts, Inc. In her position, she identifies, prioritizes, leads and supports process improvement activities through the analysis of process data, standardization of processes, implementation of best practices and training of others resulting in the quantification of core operational relationships and metrics, refined processes and increased bench strength of LSS practitioners.
Kunita holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Manufacturing Management from GMI Engineering and Management Institute. With over 30 years experience in process engineering, industrial engineering and quality improvement, Kunita has held line, plant and process engineering positions at General Motors/Delco Moraine, Philip Morris USA, R.R. Donnelley and at other leading organizations in process and healthcare quality.
Kunita is a senior member of the American Society for Quality and the membership chair for the St. Louis section. She holds the Certified Quality Engineer designation from ASQ, and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Kunita is also a recipient of the R.R. Donnelley President’s Award, for a project that successfully challenged USPS penalties for barcode readability, resulting in a cost avoidance of $3,000,000 per year enterprise-wide. In her spare time, Kunita is an enthusiastic Gospel vocalist, a music lover, and an avid reader of all things fiction.
Our second speaker of the evening is ASQ Fellow Gordon Skattum, who will address “The Truth About Data”.
You’ve heard it said, “In God we trust, all others bring data.” In fact, all Tools of Quality and operational strategies related to Quality Management Systems and customer satisfaction, including Lean and Six-Sigma, depend upon measurement systems and data. Yet, most of us have experienced disappointments with these strategic tools, often due to a root cause which might be called “data failure”. Well, nothing’s perfect, and certainly not data. Perhaps a better goal would be “useful” data. But, how “useful” does data have to be to prevent failure?
This presentation will explore five basic characteristics of “useful” data essential for implementation of Lean, Six-Sigma, and all related quality-driven programs. This is a good place to start for success. The program promises to be insightful, practical, and entertaining …. OK, that last one is a stretch; after all it’s just data … or is it?
Gordon Skattum is an ASQ Fellow, CCT, and Senior Member of SME, CMfgT. He works with various clients as an applications specialist for dimensional metrology, calibration and uncertainty related to Manufacturing and Quality Engineering. Gordy is a principle instructor for the Mitutoyo Institute of Metrology and former regional instructor for the Boeing Advanced Quality System (AQS).
He holds a BS and MS of Industrial Technology from Northern Illinois University specializing in automated manufacturing. Gordy has served on technical committees for the American Measuring Tool Manufacturer’s Association (AMTMA), the National Conference of Standards Laboratories International (NCSLI), ASQ Certified Calibration Technician Committee, 1999 Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) for the National Council of Advanced Manufacturing, Illinois Articulation (IAI) Manufacturing Panel, and ASQ 1205 Rockford Board. Gordy served as a member and significant contributor to the Technical Writing Group for the automotive standard, MSA-3 Reference Manual, 2003.
Sincerely Yours,
John O’Reilly, ASQ St. Louis Section 1304 Section Chair
PS: Just in case you have not received this information, “Unemployed Full, Senior, and Fellow members can apply to receive a discount on their membership dues based on consecutive years of membership. Participation in the unemployment program is limited to two years during the lifetime of their membership. Also, Full, Senior, and Fellow members with more than 10 consecutive years of membership are eligible for a discount on dues when they fully retire.”
