My thought here is an adaptation of a verse that is repeated a number of times in the book of Judges in the Bible: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." It is a wonderful thing when men do what they firmly … Continue reading In those days there were no meetings in the workplace . . .
quality assurance
A people ethic
There is a certificate on the wall of my office saying that, in June of 1991, I qualified as a Quality Engineer. That certification is no longer valid, since I no longer work in that field, but it is a reminder of the hours of training that I took in statistical process control, in management, … Continue reading A people ethic
Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
Last night I was working as a quality control inspector in a factory that makes moulded rubber parts for the automotive industry. I needed to find the temperature sticks to check the temperature of the moulds. There should have been a set of six colour-coded sticks which I could rub on the mould and the … Continue reading Sleepwalking in the rubber factory
W. Edwards Deming
I worked in the quality assurance department of an auto parts manufacture from 1978 - 1993. This is how I came to hear of W. Edwards Deming, one of the leading figures in the implementation of statistical process control. He went to Japan after WW II and played a major part in the transformation of … Continue reading W. Edwards Deming
Quality assurance and child training
I spent fifteen years working in the quality assurance department of an auto parts factory and have a certificate showing that 30 years ago I was certified as a quality engineer. There are a few simple lessons I learned during that time that I believe apply as much to little people in the home as … Continue reading Quality assurance and child training
Bean counters
People like myself (bookkeepers & accountants) are sometimes referred to as bean counters. The none-too-complimentary implication is that we spend hours at our desks sorting beans into little piles with no idea of what those beans represent. It isn't necessarily so. I used to work in the quality assurance department of a factory that made … Continue reading Bean counters
What am I looking for?
I appear to have a talent for spotting faults. I worked as a grain buyer for a number of years, which involved scrutinizing a sample of grain to detect foreign matter and any type of damage to the kernels. Later, I worked as a quality assurance inspector in an auto parts plant. The job was … Continue reading What am I looking for?
The right and wrong use of statistics
[This is an article I wrote a year ago for The Business Bulletin.] A few weeks ago I went into a small town branch of the Royal Bank of Canada with a cheque received for some translation work. The cheque was in US dollars and I asked the teller to convert it to Canadian dollars, … Continue reading The right and wrong use of statistics
We are not machines
A week ago I went into a small town branch of the Royal Bank of Canada with a $500.00 cheque I had received for some translation work. The cheque was in US dollars and I asked the teller to give me $80.00 in Canadian cash, $20.00 in US cash and deposit the rest in my … Continue reading We are not machines
Getting the point across
My wife and I were getting ready to go to Saskatoon, an hour’s drive from our home. I thought we needed to leave by 9:30 to accomplish all we wanted to do. I busied myself getting ready, preparing the things I needed to take to the places I needed to go. My wife was busy … Continue reading Getting the point across
Flatlander Faith 