Printing Company - Need advice for training courses in the quality control arena

[hawkeye]

Hello everyone!

I am the Quality Control manager at the printing company that I work for. I am rather inexperienced in this area and would like some additional training. First of all, let me give you all a little background. I have been with this company for 8 years and have worked in every department in the place. About a year and a half ago, I was given the position of quality control in one department. I was in charge of catching mistakes by the workers and then having them corrected before they went to the next department. A couple of weeks ago, the plant manager promoted me to quality control manager. This is uncharted territory to the company as well as myself as the company has never had a q.c. person. I've spent the last couple of weeks reviewing the company processes and procedures and am working on updating and modifying them. However, I think some additional training in the quality control arena would benifit me as well as the company. I don't think we are going to worry about certifacation or anything like that. I would however, like to implement some type of quality management system. Are there any good training courses or seminars that you would recommend for a rather new quality control manager? Is there something out there that would benifit me in my situation

Thanks again

[Randy]

If you were looking to implement and get registered a Q system I'd say use me

Apparently you are looking for good solid and basic information. One suggestion is to check and see if your state offers this type of assistance, something similar to a Manufacturing Extension Network though a state agency. I know Michigan, California and Arkansas have these type programs and I'm sure many other states do too.

Marc! how about you or some of you other "real" Quality folks jumping in here?

[hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Randy

If you were looking to implement and get registered a Q system I'd say use me

Apparently you are looking for good solid and basic information.


That's exactly what I'm looking for Randy. Just a good foundation to begin with. I'll check this stuff out. Thanks!

[Jennifer Kirley]

I would say "start at the beginning" and you could do that by taking a class at your area university.

You also may be past that part of the learning curve and not have a lot of time to fool around. Even if you are not planning to pursue your own professional certification, going through the process is an excellent way to learn the craft. That is why I thought of this training program from ASQ:

http://www.asq.org/ed/sdl/cqm/index.html

I'm afraid I can't vouch for the training's quality because I did my certification (CQE, CQA, CQT, CMI) through self-directed book learning. I am thinking the training program would provide structure at the very least.

For book learning, Juran's Quality Handbook is the default information source...but it is not a bedtime story! It's huge. Lots of folks use Quality Council of Indiana's Primers, but I don't like them at all. I use Thomas Pyzdek's books as intermediate material, such as the Complete Guide to the CQA for auditing.

Congratualtions and good fortune to you!

Jennifer

[Kerrym]

I found myself in Hawkeye's place a few year's ago and the best reference I found was "Implementing Quality Management in the Graphic Arts" by Herschel and Michael Apfelberg. It's a fairly comprehensive look at TQM and statistics applicable to printing. The chapters on quality costs and statistical process control are particularly good, and examples are relevant to printers. The book is published by GATF (www.gain.org). GATF is also a good source for printing standards and process controls. For general quality topics, I have found publications from ASQ (www.asq.org) to be helpful. Some of their books are short enough that you may even persuade your plant manager to read them. Consultants and vendors have been a good resource as well, but it's worth keeping in mind that they are trying to sell you something. Set objectives and time limits for implementation of training or improvement programs or they will constantly be at your door with their hands out!