Welcome from the 2016 Automotive Chair
/Dear ASQ Automotive Division Members,
Welcome to another exciting year for the Automotive Division. We closed 2015 with a positive result of our objectives in the strategic plan. I welcome you to 2016 and would like to thank Jennifer Schneider, Chair 2014-2015 term for her leadership and dedication to the Division. During her time as Chair our Division prospered and member value and collaboration with other ASQ organizations was greatly improved. As the new Division Chair for the 2016-2017 terms; I promise to do my best to continue the forward progress she and the leaders before her have managed. At this time I would like to take a moment to introduce myself.
I have been a member of the ASQ Automotive Division for almost 40 years. I have volunteered and given my leadership as member of the council for several years now. I was Chair-Elect 2014-2015 terms and have been the Chair of the Automotive Division Annual Symposium and Awards program the past couple of years. I have also been to 30 of the past 31 ASQ World Conferences on Quality Improvement where you may have seen me working in the booth or helping with one of the division boat rides or events. I will be in Milwaukee again this year and I hope to see you there!
I have been in quality management for 40 years primarily working for large tier 1 suppliers to the automotive industry. I have been an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer for almost 30 years and I also hold certifications in Six Sigma and Shainin Red X. I have been very lucky during my career and have actually met and studied under most of the “quality gurus” including Joseph M. Juran, W. Edwards Deming, Philip B.Crosby, Dorian Shainin and Dr. John D. Hromi.
As a Global Director Corporate Quality Systems at TI Automotive, I am responsible for our quality management system, global internal auditing functions, procedures, standards, and document control globally. I also ensure our global compliance to all relative standards including TS 16949, ISO 14001, etc. In addition, I am responsible for Environmental, Health and Safety compliance at our Headquarters building and Technical Center here in Auburn Hills Michigan. I have held senior management positions with our divisions responsible for customer and supplier quality throughout my career.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and I have written and published papers for the ASQ including a recent article co-authored in the October 2015 Quality Progress entitled “The Road Ahead- How the new ISO 9001:2015 standard could affect ISO/TS 16949 and automotive supply chains”. My favorite white paper was called “The Quality Success Handbook- The missing chapter Trust” which is a humorous albeit serious look at how recent campaigns in our industry and the “baby boomer” effect have helped reduce trust among our profession and business partners. I presented it at the ASQ Ann Arbor Section in December 2014 and in an ASQ Automotive Division free Webinar this past December. You should really try to attend at least one of these webinars in 2016!
The ASQ Automotive Division is comprised of over 3200 members and is committed to becoming the worldwide leader on quality issues related to the automotive industry. Members include professionals from almost every discipline in the vehicle manufacturing and supplier business in the automotive, heavy-truck, off-highway, agricultural, industrial and construction equipment industries.
Our 2016 Strategic Plan will focus primarily on the following objectives:
1) Global Expansion – Reaching out to countries such as Mexico, India and China
2) Membership Transformation – Increase member value and grow our membership and improve the value to our current members.
3) Increase QBoK Dissemination – Share Body of Knowledge with all
4) Gift of Quality – Improve collaboration and communication
As a member of the Automotive Division, you are entitled to the benefits and to share all the experience and knowledge our organization has to offer. Most of what we offer our members is free and we are very happy to make ourselves and our offerings available to you. All you have to do is participate in our events or simply ask.
Mark your calendar for our upcoming events:
· ASQ Technical Communities (TCC) Conference Orlando, FL Feb. 19-21
· Symposium and 2016 Awards Recognition – June 27 (Tentative- watch for it on the Automotive Division Website. (See below for link)
· ASQ World Conference on Quality Improvement (WCQI), Milwaukee WI May 16-18
· ASQ Automotive Division Annual Business Meeting at WCQI Milwaukee WI Sunday, May 15
· ASQ Automotive Division Hospitality Suite at WCQI in Milwaukee WI Monday, May 16
· We will also host several free webinars this year as we do every year.
Thank you for your membership and I welcome you to contact us for volunteer opportunities. Please visit our web site at www.asq-auto.org
Sincerely,
David D. Butler
Chair, ASQ Automotive Division
