Newsletter - January 2016
In this issue:
- Word from the New Section Chair
- Spring Seminar - Call for Papers
- Results of ASQ Toronto Survey
- Monthly Meetings
- Mentoring Program Update
- Omnex Canada Training
- Membership Update
- Leadership Team
- Your Feedback
Word from the New Section Chair
Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading the newsletter and keeping yourself up-to-date. It is important that you read our communication, participate in the membership meeting every second Wednesday of the month and respond our survey each time, so that we can hear your voice. We cannot do everything you ask for, as we have limited resources and time. However, when you remind us of your needs - and many of you ask for similar things, it will be prioritized in our planning.
An even better response would be to come forward and volunteer! If you can help out in any of our activities, please let us know. Volunteers are rewarded with Re-certification Units and have closer interactions with other professionals.
The executives and the volunteers are constantly striving to improve the activities and member values to you and during evenings and weekends meet periodically to prepare activities for the section members. We need more volunteers so that we can make more and better arrangement.
There are many benefits listed in the website, check how many you have enjoyed. You are fully qualified to have all of them. Here is my testimonial and a tip for you.
Over 46% of our Toronto Section members are certified in one or more certification and need to re-certify every three years. Normally, we have to pay $85 for multiple re-certification. I paid $0 for my re-certification in 2015! Here is how: I renewed my membership as an early bird in May 2015, thus I could apply my $65 re-certification promotional code obtained in my early bird renewal. I accumulated ASQ bucks gained for the introduction of new members to ASQ, and applied $20 more towards my ASQ re-certification fees… and re-certified free of charge!
Let us keep ourselves in 2016 in the continuous improvement spirit! As an ASQ member for 35 years and after volunteering many years in Toronto Section, I am very proud to be your Chair. I look forward to seeing you as a volunteer.
Sincerely,
Kam Ho, P. Eng., M. Sc., CQE, CSSBB, CQM/OE, CQA
Chair, ASQ Toronto Section
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/kamho1
Spring Seminar - Call for Papers
The ASQ Toronto Spring Seminar is back!
Mark your calendars: Thursday April 21, 2016
This is an opportunity for the ASQ members to precipitate by presenting, volunteering, marketing or attending the Spring Seminar.
This time ASQ Section 402 Spring Seminar Team is planning to have a panel discussion during the afternoon sessions to include two-three speaker presentations of 15-20 minutes. Two panel discussion sessions will be on the implementation of ISO 9001: 2015 standard and performance metrics.
If you are interested in presenting at the Spring Seminar, please prepare a request with the following details: the topic and the summary of your presentation, your contact information, your biography and speaking experience and references.
Your request to present that the seminar can be sent to contact
Chaitanya Baliga at
specialprojects@asqtoronto.org or
Kam Ho at
chair@asqtoronto.org by Friday, February 5, 2016
We would like to engage our members through this forum to bring Quality concepts in a meaningful way to Canadian industry.
Best wishes from the ASQ 2016 Spring Seminar team!
Results of ASQ Toronto Survey
In 2015 we conducted the general member survey, which provided very detailed and specific information about the members’ opinion on the effectiveness of the section’s performance. We also learned from your responses what changes you would like to see in our meetings, website, employment assistance programs and other opportunities to consider.
The responses show that 79% of the members feel that being the ASQ Member and holding ASQ certifications helped them in career growth, keeping their current job and securing new employment.
Responses to question: How ASQ certifications helped in your career?
The location of the section meetings showed significant variation in the members’ preferences, however, the majority of our members would like to have the meetings arranged in the central or western parts of GTA. Our Program team will plan the meetings accordingly, occasionally arranging them in the eastern part of Toronto.
Responses to question: What is the preferred meeting location?
It was encouraging to see that most of the members are satisfied or very satisfied with the value they get through their ASQ Toronto membership and would recomment other people to join.
Responses to question: Overall, how satisfied are you with ASQ Toronto?
We would like to thank our members for taking part in the survey and sharing your opinion!
With any questions about the survey, please contact Med Mbarki, Voice of Customer Chair at voc1@asqtoronto.org
Monthly Meetings
“Creating Lean Leaders in an environment susceptible to change - Lessons from the movies” was the topic of the January meeting of the section members. It was presented by Charanjit Bawa, Project Manager, Six Sigma Black Belt and an expert in Lean and Continuous Improvement deployment.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 10. The main presentation “ISO 9001:2015 – A technical review from the International Communications team” to be delivered by Peter Merrill, President of Quest Management Systems, an international expert in ISO 9001 and Innovation, and a Senior Advisor of ASQ Toronto.
- Date and time: February 10, 6 PM – 8 PM.
- Location: Holiday Inn Express Hotels and Suites Vaughan– Southwest
- Address: 6100 Hwy 7, Vaughan, ON L4H 0R2
Monthly meetings will continue through June 2016. Program Committee is actively working to secure speakers for the rest of this season's meetings. To stay updated about the program, please check the Meeting Program on our website frequently.
For any suggestions, questions and comments please contact Majid Kamel, Program Chair at program@asqtoronto.org
Mentoring Program Update
At the end of 2015 our Membership Team successfully kicked off the new Mentoring Program of ASQ Toronto. The goal of the program is to help new members in developing their professional skills through paring them with experienced mentors.
In the first stage of the program, which was started in November 2015, we established 12 mentoring pairs of experienced and new members with matching professional background and development interests. The program will run until June 2016, and more mentors and "mentees" have signed up, awaiting a match.
If you are interested to join this program in either of the roles - being a mentor or being mentored – please contact Pep Karume, Membership Chair at membership@asqtoronto.org.
Omnex Canada Training
Are you ready for the 2015 revisions of ISO 9001 & ISO 14001?
Omnex Canada, an Exemplar Global certified training provider, is offering a new training course “Risk and Implementing Risk Strategies for ISO Management Systems” to assist organizations in complying with the newly added clauses of 9001:2015 and 14001:2015, requiring organizations to identify and address risks and opportunities.
This course will help to show how risk can be effectively addressed in an organization to meet the various requirements of the 2015 Revisions.
Visit the Omnex website to the course details and the 2016 Training Calendar.
The following classes, scheduled at the Mississauga location, are open for registration:
Feb 29 - Mar 1 : Understanding the Requirements of ISO 14001:2015
Feb-29 - Mar 2 : ISO 14001:2015 Internal Auditor Training
Feb-29 - Mar 4 : ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor Training
Mar 7-8 : Understanding the Requirements of ISO 9001:2015
Mar 7-9 : ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor Training
Mar 7-11: ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor Training
Mar 10 : Risk and Implementing Risk Strategies for ISO Management Systems
May 2-3 : Understanding the Requirements of ISO 14001:2015
May 2-4 : ISO 14001:2015 Internal Auditor Training
May 2-6 : ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor Training
May 9-10 : Understanding the Requirements of ISO 9001:2015
May 9-11 : ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor Training
May 9-13 : ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor Training
May 12 : Risk and Implementing Risk Strategies for ISO Management Systems
For registration contact Kate Shavrnoch at kshavrnoch@omnex.com
Successfully passing all written exams in the auditor courses will fulfill the training requirements necessary for Exemplar Global-certified TPECS Auditors.
Omnex can perform any of our training courses on your site for your larger groups. Omnex can also assist any organization with quality management system software, consulting and implementation of any standard that we offer training for.
This is a paid advertisement of Omnex Canada.
Membership Update
In 2015 the number of members of ASQ Toronto remained relatively steady, at the level of about 1,400 members with a typical seasonal variation. The November survey showed that Manufacturing sector remains the main area of employment of our members, with some growth in the Healthcare sector
New members, who joined the section last year indicated, that in most cases it was triggered by a referral of another member of ASQ Toronto.
Doesn’t it indicate the opportunity of growth for your local section? We are encouraging you to take part in this positive trend by telling your co-workers, colleagues and friends about the value of the ASQ membership to bring more new members to the Toronto community of Quality professionals.
For more information about the membership of ASQ Toronto, please contact Perpetual Karume, membership Chair at membership@asqtoronto.org
Leadership Team 2016
Section Chair: Kam Ho - chair@asqtoronto.org
Chair-Elect: Rogerio Boaventura - chair-elect@asqtoronto.org
Vice Chair: Eric Cheong - vice-chair@asqtoronto.org
Secretary: Angela Hashemi - secretary@asqtoronto.org
Treasurer: Tri Lu - treasurer@asqtoronto.org
Immediate Past Chair: Rajendra Shah - past-chair@asqtoronto.org
Committee Chairs:
Audit:Marion McGill - audit@asqtoronto.org
Certification: Sandeep Sharma - certification1@asqtoronto.org
Communication: Leo Logashov - communication@asqtoronto.org
Education: Stanley Aikoroje - education@asqtoronto.org
Marketing and Advocacy: Michael Mladjenovic - marketing@asqtoronto.org
Membership: Perpetual Karume - membership@asqtoronto.org
Nomination: Tonis Kilp - nomination@asqtoronto.org
Outreach & Employment Assistance: Jas Kaile - outreach@asqtoronto.org
Program: Majid Kamel - program@asqtoronto.org
Special Projects: Chaitanya Baliga -specialprojects@asqtoronto.org
Voice of Customer: Med Mbarki - voc1@asqtoronto.org
Volunteer: Savita Deshpande - volunteer@asqtoronto.org
Webmaster: Brady Xu - webmaster@asqtoronto.org
Committee Co-chairs:
Certification: Virginia Trimble - certification2@asqtoronto.org
Communication: Sam Massoudi - massoudi.sam@gmail.com
Education: Girish Trehan - girish.trehan@gmail.com
Education: Amani Elashri
Outreach and Employment: Elahe Safari - jsikaile@gmail.com
Program: Adetola Adeyemi - program1@asqtoronto.org
Volunteer: Rakesh Nair - volunteer2@asqtoronto.org
Voice of Customer: Yogini Patel - voc2@asqtoronto.org
Webmaster: Dawn (Sepide) Banihashemi - webmaster2@asqtoronto.org
Senior Advisors:
Maurice Lake - mlakeadvisor@asqtoronto.org
Peter Merrill - pmerrilladvisor@asqtoronto.org
Elizabeth McBride - emcbrideadvisor@asqtoronto.org
Kusam Kohli - kkohliadvisor@asqtoronto.org
Your feedback
The ASQ Toronto has been established over 5 years ago. Does it provide enough information about activities and services offered by your local section?
Please let us know your opinion about the newsletters. What would you like to see in
the newsletter and how we can make it better? Your ideas are most welcome.
Please email your comments to Leo Logashov, Communication Chair and Newsletter
Editor at communication@asqtoronto.org
