Need advice for schooling

[sealteamrick87]

Hello, I have been in Quality since 4/14/2014 and have worked my way up to be Quality Manager (sorta by default). Before starting in Quality (I was a welder/fabricator, machine operator, forklift operator), I knew nothing about Quality, all my experience has been OJT and trial and error. On 4/1/2016, the Quality supervisor retired out of nowhere, so since then, I had no one to refer to (besides these forums) and doing my own research. Now in September of 2016, we gained the TS 16949 certification (later to transition into IATF). This was tough to become compliant with the standards without having any educational background or "team" to do daily task and research what is needed for compliance. We are still certified to IATF but have issues that need to be fixed. What my main question is; What schooling is available to get some degree in Quality Assurance, Management, Engineering, etc.? I feel like with just OJT, trial and error, and doing my own research, being a Quality Manager I am WAY under-qualified and afraid of failure at my position. Any help, suggestions, or guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[J0anne]

Hello, I have been in Quality since 4/14/2014 and have worked my way up to be Quality Manager (sorta by default). Before starting in Quality (I was a welder/fabricator, machine operator, forklift operator), I knew nothing about Quality, all my experience has been OJT and trial and error. On 4/1/2016, the Quality supervisor retired out of nowhere, so since then, I had no one to refer to (besides these forums) and doing my own research. Now in September of 2016, we gained the TS 16949 certification (later to transition into IATF). This was tough to become compliant with the standards without having any educational background or "team" to do daily task and research what is needed for compliance. We are still certified to IATF but have issues that need to be fixed. What my main question is; What schooling is available to get some degree in Quality Assurance, Management, Engineering, etc.? I feel like with just OJT, trial and error, and doing my own research, being a Quality Manager I am WAY under-qualified and afraid of failure at my position. Any help, suggestions, or guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

It's included in Engineering degrees, HNDs and HNCs.

The RQA does a Quality certificate too, although if you've done the degree/HND/HNC it only covers what you've already done.

I also recommend W Edwards Deming's book Out of the Crisis and if you enjoy that then The New Economics. They're old now but they're still relevant and Deming was one of the American Quality Gurus.

You may way find some stuff here too www.edx.org where you can try before you buy for free and just pay to certify.

Good luck and good for you

 

[Miner]

I don't think there are any degree programs that will give you what you really need. I recommend looking at ASQ's body of knowledge for their Certified Quality Manager program and study in those areas. A great reference is Juran's Quality Handbook.

 

[outdoorsNW]

Many mechanical engineering programs have little formal inclusion of quality. There is unlikely to be a class on quality, such as design for manufacturability, quality methods, intro to metrology, lean concepts, etc. even as an elective. Classes such as manufacturing methods are also not common.

While offered by fewer universities, programs in manufacturing and industrial engineering are more likely to include classes relevant to quality and manufacturing methods. Some programs may let you use classes from these areas as electives for another program.

I think this lack of instruction on quality topics in many to most mechanical and electrical engineering programs is why contract manufacturers see so many poor designs and deal with engineers who have trouble understanding how their design makes manufacturing more difficult and expensive. Many of the design engineers I deal with can’t articulate a specific design tradeoff or requirement that led to the hard to manufacture design.

 

[sealteamrick87]

Thank you all for the kind words and guidance towards the books, schooling, and advice on what to look for. My confidence was boosted!

 

[Mike S.]

See also this thread....

Any advice for a young quality professional in the aerospace industry?