Quality Progress May 2023

A SIMPLE MODEL TO
CONFRONT CLIMATE CHANGE 04

SAVING THE PLANET
PROJECT BY PROJECT 24
BUILDING STRONGER
CULTURES OF SUSTAINABILITY 44
BLUEPRINTS FOR SMART CITIES
REQUIRE SUSTAINABILITY,
RESILIENCY
M A Y
QUALITYPROGRESS.COM
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CONTENTS
May 2023 VOLUME 56 NUMBER 5
COVER STORY
16 || Solid Foundation
The integration of sustainability
and resiliency must be part of
the blueprints for smart cities.
by Paul Doherty
16
DIGITAL
BILITY
S U S TA I N A
FEATURES
How quality
BILITY professionals can
help society and
S U S TA I N A
organizations
mitigate the
negative effects
of sustainability-
related risks and
EDITION
global mega forces
JUST THE FACTS
For organizations
to truly benefit
from sustainability
initiatives, leaders
must move beyond
net zero toward
absolute zero—zero
emissions, zero
defects and zero
harm.
The author outlines
the sustainability/
corporate social
24 || Project by Project
responsibility
index and presents
insights from the
ASQ Energy & Envi-
ronmental Division
Sustainability Sur-
vey Report showing
how organizations
can apply quality
management meth-
ods to sustainable
Efforts to save our planet and instill

development.
Quality manage-
ment is the missing
element of sustain-.
able development
It provides the tools
and techniques
sustainability principles into these plans

required to close
the gap between
inaction and sustain-
able action.
by Lowellyne James,
Mary-Jane Poku
are happening one project at a time.

and Mina Boulos
by John R. Dew
|| QP || 31
qualityprogress.com
30 || QP || May 2023
30 || The Missing Element

Insights from the ASQ Energy &
Environmental Division Sustainability
CLIMA
TE CHA
NG E
30
Survey Report, including how organizations CLIMA
TE CHA
NG E QP is now available in a
can apply quality management methods to convenient digital format
sustainable development. The reliability
to make it easier to access
the quality information
engineer’s
by Lowellyne James, Mary-Jane Poku and by Drew D.

role in reduci
Troyer
ng greenhouse
gases
Sustainability
social and
and environ
mental,
you need on the go.

governa nce
Mina Boulos
mance is a (ESG) perfor-
frequen
Concerns about t news headline.
conflict metals
JUST THE FACTS and other climate change
,
importa nce matters of
continue to great social
companies rise,
for ESG perform and pressure on industr
The subject ance continu ial
As pressure is presently
of great interest es to mount.
continues to tance to executi
Make sure to log in

for organizat mount ves and manage and impor-
The manufa rs in all industr
improve theirions to
envi- industries
cturing, process
, and mining ies.
ronmental, social are no excepti
on.
and metals
and governan ce
The greenho
use gas (GHG)
(ESG) performa climate change emissions
heavy industry nce, are of particu that fuel
36 || Confronting Climate Change

to action from lar interest
sectors bear investors is . The call
responsibilityatogreat improve ESG
perform
clear: Reduce
GHGs and
support initiatives Net-zero carbon ance if you wish to
to view the link.

such as reducing is a popular survive.
users of energy, call to action.
greenhouse the heavy
emissions andgas great respons industr y sectors As major
ibility to support bear a
achieving carbon article, we
explore the these objectiv
neutrality. consumption opportunity es. In this
in equipment to reduce
The author discusses tries and define asset-dependen energy
the t
ways to reduce targeting parasiti plant reliability enginee indus-
The responsibility of heavy industry sectors to

energy consump loss and electric c frictional loss, fugitive r’s role in
tion in equipmen - al heating emission
asset-dependent t controllable
with a focused
loss—all of
which are
industries and ing the plant’s effort. In addition highly
defines the plant GHG impacts to reduc-
also reduces , targeting
reliability engineer’ operating
costs and increas
these losses
role in targeting s availability.
es operatin
asitic frictional par- g
fugitive emissionloss, Industrial energ
address environmental, social and governance

loss and electrical
heating loss. Approximately y reduc
tion
36 || QP || the total energy
35% of end-use
energy and
May 2023 consumed 32% of
digital.asq.org/
powers industr in the United
ial operatio States
ns.1 Accordi
ng to the U.S.
issues, and ways to reduce energy consumption
36
qualityprogress/
qualityprogress.co
m || QP || 37
in equipment asset-dependent industries.

library
by Drew D. Troyer
qualityprogress.com || QP || 1
CONTENTS
May 2023 VOLUME 56 NUMBER 5
03 || Foreword
04 || Expert Answers Editor in Chief and Publisher Media Sales

Seiche Sanders SmithBucklin
A five-part model to address [email protected] 866-277-5666
climate change.
Senior Editor Editorial Offices
08 || Progress Report Mark Edmund
[email protected]
414-272-8575
Shoring up reshoring plans. Mail

PLUS Assistant Editor Quality Progress/ASQ
Lindsay Pietenpol 600 N. Plankinton Ave.
Seen & Heard
Getting to Know ... Mr. Pareto
44 || The Download [email protected] Milwaukee, WI 53203
Quality principles to build stronger
Head Publications Specialist Telephone
cultures of sustainability. Valerie Ellifson 800-248-1946
11 || Mr. Pareto Head

47 || Standard Issues Copy Editor Amanda Hankel Fax 414-272-1734
ISO 9001 and the Great Resignation.

12 || Career Coach Design Email [email protected]
GLC glcdelivers.com
Caring for the garden that is you.
50 || Six Sigma Solutions
The influences of available resources
14 || My Quality Story
around you. Article Submission Process
Top 10 rules for being a quality
professional. Quality Progress is a peer-reviewed publication with 85% of its
54 || Marketplace feature articles written by quality professionals. To learn more
about article submission and the manuscript review process,
56 || Back to Basics visit www.qualityprogress.com under “Tools and Resources”
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2 || QP || May 2023
F O R EW O R D TH E QUAL IT Y INSIDE
QUAL IT Y PROGRE SS
Gain and
Sustain
ASQ’s Vision Lisa El-Shall,
ASQ will be the thought EAS Consulting Group, LLC.
leader and community
Stephanie Gaulding,
of choice for individuals
Pharmatech Associates
and organizations seeking
excellence through quality. Steven Schuelka, All eyes on ESG
California State and sustainability
ASQ Administration University-Dominguez Hills
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
GCC pring is here, and with addressing the systemic challenges
OFFICER Ann Jordan
S
Therese Steiner, Lexis Nexis it the promise of new for humanity. In “Project by Proj-
CHIEF OPERATIONS
Nancy Nouaimeh, Abela & Co beginnings. On the ect,” p. 24, learn why quality is the
OFFICER AND CHIEF
OF STAFF heels of Earth Day answer to our most daunting envi-
Sid Bhatnagar Jose Carlos Flores-Molina,
last month, and in ronmental challenges. Progress can
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del
CHIEF FINANCIAL Peru (PUCP) concert with ASQ’s Environmen- be achieved using quality methods
OFFICER Jim Monnat tal, Social and Governance (ESG) to reduce waste streams, improve
Sachin Garg, IndoSpace
CHIEF MEMBERSHIP “ESG Experience” taking place efficiency in material and energy
Capital Advisors
EXPERIENCE at this month’s World Confer- use, and in applying new technolo-
OFFICER
Michael Kirchner, Retired ence on Quality & Improvement gies to problem solving.
Stephanie Denvir
(WCQI) in Philadelphia, this issue In “The Missing Element,” p. 30,
ASQEXCELLENCE, Dan Sniezek, Dynamic
INC. CEO Education Services is dedicated to environmental and see why organizations must push
Jim Templin sustainability topics, and the quality beyond net zero to achieve absolute
QP Editorial Review Board profession’s important role in these zero—for emissions, defects and
Senior Leadership
Matthew Barsalou, Sureshchandar critical initiatives. harm. The authors explain how the
CHAIR
G.S., Gary Jing, Trevor Jordan,
Francisco Santos, Metalsa In “Solid Foundation,” p. 16, get ASQ Energy and Environmental
Scott Laman, Stephanie Parker,
CHAIR-ELECT Gene Placzkowski, Peter Pylipow, a sneak peek of the newly released Division’s Sustainability Committee
Wanda Sturm, Resources Narahari Vittal Rao, Tiea Theurer Quality Press book, Smart Cities. is working to arm members with
Global Professionals
In this excerpt, author and smart- knowledge and tools in support
QP Technical Reviewers
PAST CHAIR city expert Paul Doherty explains of strategic integration of quality
Blanton Godfrey, North Ashraf Ali, Suresh Anaganti,
Carolina State University Zubair Anwar, M. Onur Artan, why—and how—the concepts and sustainability management
N.T. Balakrishnan, Andy Barnett, of sustainability and resiliency within organizations.
TREASURER Bernie Carpenter, Ken Cogan,
Kerry Bass, Potential to must be interwoven into the ESG remains a focus for ASQ,
Ahmad Elshennawy, Brian Galli,
Reality Consulting, LLC T. Gourishankar, Tolga Göcer, planning and building of smart including at WCQI this year. On May
Roberto Guzman, Lynne Hare, cities. Proper preparedness can 9, conference attendees can attend
Members at Large Bering He, Lou Ann Lathrop, Denis
Sheronda Jeffries shield urban areas from threats to sessions specifically designed to
Leonard, Pradip Mehta, Larry
Cisco Systems Picciano, Ritam Priya, Imran infrastructure, including systems help quality professionals under-
Peter Merrill Ahmad Rana, James Rooney, supporting transportation, energy, stand how they can contribute
Quest Management Inc. Ayman Sakr, Anusha Selvakumar,
water, waste management, public to these efforts. Visit asq.org/
Mahboubeh Shabani, Luigi Sille,
Tracy Owens Herman Tang, B. Vaithiyanathan, safety, healthcare and education. conferences/wcqi to learn more, and
The Ohio State University Manu Vora, Denise Wrestler If you happen to attend WCQI, discover more conference highlights
Pedro Saraiva stop by the bookstore in the ASQ on p. 9. QP
NOVA University of To promote discussion of issues in the
Lisbon field of quality and ensure coverage
Center and meet Doherty during
of all responsible points of view, his scheduled book signing on
TCC Quality Progress publishes articles
Tuesday, May 9. Seiche Sanders
Polly LeBarron, representing conflicting and minority
views. Opinions expressed are those Often, quality professionals have Editor in Chief
National Quality Review
of the authors and not necessarily of
emphasized that improvements and Publisher
Frank Murdock, ASQ or Quality Progress. Use of the
FKM Consulting, LLC. ASQ logo in advertisements does not happen project by project. This cer-
necessarily constitute endorsement
Shawn Armstrong, of that particular product or service
tainly rings true when it comes to
PakTech by ASQ. the discussion of sustainability and
EXPERT ANSWERS
S U B J E C T M AT T E R E X P E R T S TA K E O N YO U R Q U A L I T Y- R E L AT E D Q U E R I E S
THIS MONTH’S QUESTION
During a conference call with Wall Street analysts, our CEO was asked, “How will climate change affect
company stock?” Afterward, the senior vice president of my division asked me to come up with a plan
for addressing climate change. The topic is so big I don’t know where to start. Is there a simple model for
approaching this challenge?
OUR RESPONSE
fter retiring as a quality improvement (QI) practitioner,
A
FIGURE 1
I joined the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy and
Five teams for

earned a certificate as a Climate Change Professional.
Over the past three years, I’ve conducted more than 30
workshops with ASQ sections to introduce a climate
change model designed to piggyback on Six Sigma, lean and
other QI programs.
climate action
It’s a simple five-part model called Five Teams for Climate
Action—or 5T (see Figure 1).1 Complexity lies in the details, however. and sustainability
Here are the teams involved in the model:
1. Strategy team: Develops climate action/sustainability plan.
2. Adaptation team: Protects vulnerable assets. Adaptation
3. Mitigation team: Lowers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
4. Reporting team: Manages GHG data.
5. Opportunity team: Innovates new products and services.
Learn the lingo Mitigation

The best place to start is to build a climate change/sustainability
vocabulary and self-confidence. Use the list of resources in the Strategy
online sidebar “The Boss Gave You an Assignment” (which can
be found on this column’s webpage at qualityprogress.com) as a Reporting
study guide.
5T checklist
Skip or modify the steps in this 5T checklist based on the complexity
Opportunity
of your task and the competence of your staff. Also, it’s OK to have
some fun!
4 || QP || May 2023
1. Strategy team (motivating the enterprise).
Find senior managers who are predisposed to work
on climate change/sustainability. Learn the CEO’s
perspective. How climate change causes extreme
Run away and hide from climate deniers. weather conditions.
Articulate your personal climate story. I have two: My How extreme weather conditions disrupt
mom’s apartment was wrecked by Hurricane Wilma operations, suppliers and customers.
and my high school buddy lost his home in Hurricane Determine a process for empowering,
Sandy. Encourage others to tell their climate stories. training and supporting project teams.
Study scientific reports to identify how climate Identify funds for team training and support.
change will affect your business model, including the Training and quality budgets.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report Marketing budget (for low-emission
assessment by international scientific community and bragging rights).
the National Climate Assessment by federal agencies. Energy budget (biggest budget and quickest
Consider financial risks such as business inter- to show return on investment).
ruptions, cost of repairs and increased insurance Deliverables (business unit level).
premiums, as well as regulatory, litigation and Storyboard describing how climate change
reputational risks. can affect company stock.
Prepare a storyboard. Training and support plan for teams focusing on
How burning fossil fuel causes CO2 emissions. adaptation, mitigation, reporting and opportunity.
How CO2 emissions cause climate change. Team dashboards.
2. Adaptation team (managing risk).

Incorporate climate change into existing risk Grade the risk of multiple assets (dashboard)
management methods. and select a demonstration project.
Understand that anthropogenic (man-made) Conduct a demonstration project.
climate makes it more difficult to rely on Identify high-risk assets.
historic climate data. Investigate solutions. Explore industry litera-
Determine scope, including stakeholders ture. Conduct focused research (interviews with
and interested parties. subject matter experts and potential vendors).
Identify potential climate hazards. Conduct a tabletop exercise to consider counter-
Understand the vulnerability/risk relationship. measures, technology, insurance and relocation.
Is the asset exposed to climate haz- Identify potential stranded assets. Document
ard? Yes. > Is the asset sensitive to new knowledge.
a climate hazard? Yes. > Does the Show alternative ways to protect asset. Capture
asset have adaptive capacity? organizational learning. Prepare management
iStock.com/Irina_Strelnikova
No. > The asset is vulnerable. presentation.

Is a hazard likely? Yes. > Will Deliverables: a plan to identify and protect
the effect be bad? Yes. > vulnerable assets, a demonstration project and
The asset is at high risk. a vulnerable asset adaptation dashboard.
3. Mitigation team (preventing GHG emissions).
Provide technical training. footprint, identify and test methods to lower
Review case studies. GHG emissions, track and report results.
Conduct industry research (trade associ- Consider outside expertise for complex
ations, competitors, suppliers, customers, solutions.
government and nonprofits). How does our Deliverables: plan to identify and lower
industry lower its carbon footprint? Identify GHG emissions, demonstration project,
a pilot project. Determine current carbon GHG emissions dashboard.
4. Reporting team (tracking voluntary and required reporting obligations).

Understand the U.S. Environmental Protection and civil engineering works
Agency’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. and ISO 50001—Energy
Research reporting standards. management.
Global Reporting Initiative standards U.S. Securities and Exchange
(covers multiple areas). Commission reporting on
Greenhouse Gas Protocol climate and environmental,
(covers CO emissions).
2 social and governance risks
International Organization for Standardization and opportunities.
(ISO) and climate change. Research data
ISO 14001—Environmental management management systems.
systems, ISO 14064—Greenhouse gases, Conduct data-gathering tests. Track with
ISO 14020—Environmental statements and existing tools and use run charts.
programs for products, ISO 20121—Sustainable Deliverables: reporting plan, preliminary
events, ISO 21930—Sustainability in buildings report and reporting dashboard.
5. Opportunity team (profiting through innovation).

Provide case studies showing observations, takeaways, stories, learnings
climate-friendly products. and other data. Create insight statements.
Teach and apply an IDEO-style new Ask, “How might we?” Determine proto-
product development process. types. Test and iterate.
Choose a design challenge. Collect team Deliverables (how to profit from climate change
knowledge and assumptions. Plan and challenge): plan for a new offering, prototype
conduct research. Consider comments, testing and dashboard of possibilities.
Call to action ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To be assigned a climate change project is a gift. The author thanks Dave Arndt, Bill Gordon and Sonal Singh, for reviewing
As W. Edwards Deming wrote, “Personal transformation this response.
is discontinuous, sudden. Once transformed, one may there- EDITOR’S NOTE
upon work toward transformation of his own organization.”2 Visit this article’s webpage at qualityprogress.com for references noted
This fits well with advice from the Headspace meditation in this response, as well as links to additional resources.
app: “To discover a sense of purpose and to act on it can help
us live a happy and contented life.”3 Welcome to the climate This response was written by David M. Saunders, principal,
change challenge! QP Saunders & Associates.
6 || QP || May 2023
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL
AND GOVERNANCE BOOKS
Coaching Coaching Green Belts for
Green Sustainable Success
Belts for Steve Pollock and Daro Mott
Sustainable
Success There is an abundant amount of
information on the technical, “hard skills”
Steve Pollock and Daro Mott
aspects of Six Sigma, while considerably
less about the interpersonal side of DMAIC. Six Sigma
Green Belts need support in applying new skills after
training, yet there is little research about how this works
and even less advice about what support looks like in the
field. This book is that missing link in providing coaching
tips to support Green Belt projects.
Item: H1479
A Practical Field Guide

for ISO 14001:2015
Erik V. Myhrberg with Brandon L. Myhrberg
The field guide depicts step by step what
must occur for organizations to create
an effective environmental management
system (EMS) in conformance with ISO 14001:2015.
What separates this field guide from most other books on
ISO 14001:2015 and its implementation are flowcharts
showing the steps to be taken in implementing an EMS
to meet a sub-clause’s requirements. Users of the field
guide will find within it practical tools, tips, and techniques
useful for not only implementing an EMS but also
maintaining one.
Item: H1538
Sustainable Business
& Industry
Joseph Jacobsen
NEW This book is an introduction to developing

and implementing a successful program
FROM
in the domain of sustainability and social
responsibility. It also specifies how to use traditional
methods such as Six Sigma, lean, and operations research
QUALITY
to improve processes, reduce resource use and waste,
and make better social and environmental decisions
that are based upon data from key financial, social,
and environmental performance indicators. Readers are
PRESS introduced to methods of implementing technologies

and practices and will also learn how to measure the
consequent social and environmental performance for
written reports and persuasive presentations.
Smart Cities: Reimagining the Urban Experience
Item: E1409
Paul Doherty
In a post-pandemic world, amid environmental crises, and advances in ASQ MEMBERS RECEIVE DISCOUNTS
technology, the dynamics of what the average city looks like have called FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF AVAILABLE TITLES,
for change, leaving governments and policymakers to reimagine urban VISIT THE ASQ QUALITY PRESS CATALOG.
planning and development. Readers will discover how to implement 10 TINYURL.COM/QPCATALOGFY23
guiding principles to develop a smart city framework.
Item: H1584
A digest of trends, research & late-breaking news
MANUFACTURING
CEOs Shore Up
Reshoring Plans
Report indicates companies investing in technology, ramping up domestic production
ore than half of American CEOs—55%—whose workflow tools as companies ramp up domestic production.
M
companies depend on manufacturing to produce and In fact, more than 70% of CEOs are investing in automa-
deliver their goods said they have plans to reshore tion, digital workflows and R&D, and more than half are
their companies’ operations. In addition, nearly all investing in artificial intelligence.
the CEOs surveyed in the “Building American Man- In addition, eight in 10 CEOs said their companies are
ufacturing Resilience” poll said they had plans to reshore stockpiling goods and materials to provide a buffer against
operations this year. disruptions. In a previous survey, 77% reported shortages
Authors of the report from Xometry said this extensive in finding components for products.
reshoring effort also is fueling a new modernization wave
as CEOs work to invest in robotics, automation and digital For more from the survey, visit http://bit.ly/3ZNCQ2t.
8 || QP || May 2023
ASQ
ASQ'S WORLD CONFERENCE APPROACHES FAST

Time is running out to register and attend the Martin A. Brumbaugh Award: Bianca Maria Colosimo,
ASQ World Conference on Quality & Improve- Marco Grasso, Federica Garghetti and Beatrice Rossi.
ment (WCQI), which takes place May 7–10 Armand V. Feigenbaum Medal: Nathaniel T. Stevens.
in Philadelphia. Richard Freund–Donald Marquardt Medal: Isaac Sheps.
Focus areas of the in-person event include supplier Hromi Medal: Gary C. Confalone.
and supply chain management; risk, resilience and E. Jack Lancaster Medal: José Carlos Flores Molina.
sustainability tools; quality’s impact on leadership, Walter Shewhart Medal: Stefan Steiner.
organizational excellence and inclusion; and emerging W. Edwards Deming Medal: Clifford L. Norman.
professionals in quality—a career primer. Kaoru Ishikawa Medal: Miao Yuhong.
There also will be a special ceremony at the confer-
ence to recognize recipients of ASQ’s national awards. F or more on the conference, including the latest updates on
The 2022 recipients are: speakers and programming, visit asq.org/conferences/wcqi.
Bianca Maria Colosimo Marco Grasso Federica Garghetti Beatrice Rossi Nathaniel T. Stevens Isaac Sheps
For more on the awards program,

visit asq.org/about-asq/asq-awards.
If you’re interested in using your
knowledge as a member of an award
or medal committee, email awards@
asq.org for more information.
Gary C. Confalone José Carlos Flores Molina Stefan Steiner Clifford L. Norman Miao Yuhong
S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T
SURVEY: Tech Upgrades Fall Short of Expectations

Despite the great attention given to the digitalization of supply “Technology initiatives typically do not
chains, more than 80% of executives said these technological invest- have a well-articulated value delivery plan—
ments have not fully paid off and delivered what was expected. and therefore struggle to meet expectations and end up with a
According to the “PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 2023 Digital ‘go live’ being the sole marker of success,” said Matt Comte of PwC.
Trends in Supply Chain Survey,” reasons for these unrealized results The survey of 305 executives also showed that 84% of respondents
could be that implementations are not finished, or ownership and said their companies have partially or fully adopted cloud technolo-
iStock.com/melitas
vision have not been defined. The report’s authors said they believe gies, and 79% said they have implemented the internet of things.
that a lack of effective planning on the part of the companies also
contributes to the failure to see expected results. For more from the survey, visit www.pwc.com/us/opssurvey.
&
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t’s no secret become devast
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articles and or on-site vs.
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ductivit y on pro- it seems difficult to 80
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ability to
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there appears ing company worth it to
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2021.
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e can now said they require the ntly, contract
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you’re no In the shaky Source: Andrew
44%
modity. Your longer a com- signaled in 10 workers the pandem times of
job can be they would
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ic, having
flexibilit y Aug. 26, 2022, Van Dam, “The Remote 2021
Note: A value https://wapo.st/3UGhZew. Revolution Could Lead
someone given to ment if they employ- to han-
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at half the country and post-pandemic. 2 recalled to the was paramou of 100 would to Offshoring 2022
equal one contractor Armageddon,”
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payment for Washington
In a recent
Washing ton
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vs. paper every employee
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Post,
staff writer Post article, outsour cing to es found the beginnin
enced a quote
Andrew Van
Dam ing to contract be the solution. By smaller paper-b g of the pandemic,
from Richard refer- ors instead turn- ased organiza digital progress
an econom full-time of seeking struggled tions , but unlike
ist at the Baldwin, employees, to catch up years, there in previous
the shortage ogies needed to the technol- is now an
in Geneva, Graduate
Institute
workers and This is not element of Remote,
that
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the rise in of
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to continu
e operatio so much necessit y. on site or
ly: “If you latest
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but more paper
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websites
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be scared. job to workfor ations are now allow
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y in India United States payments any future ngly touchles in s by
ever is willing … or wher- skyrocketed in the global shutdow ves from Employers s society.”4 the already- or on site—an
addition to
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The best much less.” 1 56% from a paper-b of having tion, educatio attributes
paradigm
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e the new data provided this year, accordin although
chaotic at
ased system—
way to offer
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d technolo n and experien of loca-
shift is to exclusively g to times—w As previous ce requirem
understand by the payroll enough to remote or gy as a
environm work
to The Post meet orked just ronments—som hybrid work from home—e ly stated, the option ents.
ent trends
fully. This Van Dam and benefits demic, however requirements. The envi- ither full to
the shift
to contract includes wrote. “By firm Gusto,” , made scannin pan- nice-to-have ething that is an attractiv or part time—nowork
employees, ors vs. plus busines June, the signatures g, digital but now has once was a e compan t only
cloud-based full-time ses on Gusto’s 200,000- ing capabili
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contactless
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but also is
vs. paper averaged platform ties mandato servic- people. An ent
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udzhan Nagiev
to a recent cloud-based, tion to retain
ments for contractor ry. Accordi the quality
every employe pay- article in ng operation remote-friendlythat organization’s increase in demand
4 || QP || e they had “This is not Comput
the first time er Weekly,
not only
in from anywhe allows workers ability to , and an
February 2023 on cesses have to
the way people meet those
paper pro- re in the clock are demand
become a Organizations hired also is changin s,
iStock.com/R
decreases world, but
poster child the costs also g.
for overhead associate selves, “Why now are asking
such as commer d with physical should we them-
and utilities cial real estate Birmingham, pay Susan
. AL, $25 per in
can pay Lynn hour when
in Jaipur, we
for the same India, $12
quality of per hour
IT DEPENDS
work and
output?”
THE PERCENTAGE OF QUALITY

qualityprogress.com
|| QP || 5
PROFESSIONALS AND EXECUTIVES— In response to “Career Coach: White Collar Blues” (February 2023, pp. 4-6):
RESPONDING TO ASQE’S I am finding that the issues of establishing value and/or
THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF connection in remote work environments often depends
INSIGHTS ON EXCELLENCE (IOE)
RESEARCH—WHO INDICATE
on the generation looking at the situation. Our older,
THAT QUALITY PROFESSIONALS more traditional workforce are the ones saying there is an
WILL BECOME MORE INVOLVED issue for remote workers maintaining connection or creating
IN THEIR ORGANIZATION’S shared values, and is a challenge. My newer workforce mem-
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND
GOVERNANCE (ESG) INITIATIVES
bers are so used to virtual environments they can connect to
OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. the concepts in that environment more than people realize.
ESG is the newest IoE category to be It’s been a fascinating situation to deal with.
included as ASQExcellence explores the prac- Laura Menck, Hopkins, MN
tice of conducting business within a complex,
interdependent world for long-term success. A N U N S TA B L E P O I N T
There is clear alignment with quality meth- The answer to “Expert Answers: March 2023” (pp. 4–5) is almost infallible, but contains,
ods because ESG depends on skills such as unfortunately, one inaccuracy. The first takeaway starts with the phrase: “If the Cpk and Ppk
auditing, systems thinking, root cause analysis, values are equal or nearly equal, the process is in statistical control.” This assertion is wrong.
risk and change management, and compli- The reverse phrase is true: if the process is in a state of statistical control, the values of stan-
ance with standards and regulations. Quality dard deviation within and between subgroups will be close to each other. The close values,
professionals are uniquely positioned to help however, do not mean that the process is stable. All other takeaways are good.
drive current and future-state ESG practices Vladimir Shper, Moscow
within their organizations by helping connect
the power of their supply chains, adapting for
THE REACTION GAUGE

innovation and preparing for economic impacts
per procurement and marketplace offerings.
Stakeholders are the fulcrum of ESG levers
and require transparency, measurable results THIS MONTH’S QUESTION LAST MONTH’S QUESTION
and meaningful interactions to realize the true
potential of their performance. Quality professionals often struggle to convince
For a successful career in quality,
By understanding the further evolution top management of the value and importance of
you must have a fundamental
of regulations, reporting needs and market quality to leadership and management. How do
understanding of industry tools
shifts to ESG practices, quality professionals you “sell” quality to your leadership?
and techniques so you can grow
bring valuable skills for their organizations to
professionally and add value to your
navigate and innovate within their industry—
organization. How do you stay current Luigi Sillé, Curacao, writes:
setting the tone for the future generation
on emerging technologies and tools? We need to know what’s important to
of the workforce, leadership and long-term
health of the company to adapt and thrive. leadership—why we need to improve, adapt or
Join the discussion on myASQ change. Share your idea with the team, be clear
For the latest trends on quality’s impact at my.asq.org, or on LinkedIn and make use of facts and data. Believe in
on ESG, download the 2022 IoE Executive at www.linkedin.com/ your idea and don’t give up. Prepare yourself
iStock.com/mabaci
Brief at https://tinyurl.com/msjzvhc4. company/asq. before talking to management, and remember:

For more on IoE research and resources, Timing is everything.
visit insightsonexcellence.org.
10 || QP || May 2023
GETTING TO KNOW…
Mr. Pareto Head MANUFACTURING
CURRENT
POSITION
Senior quality manager at ACME Corp.
and part-time motivational speaker.
Book Targets
EDUC ATION School of hard knocks. Human Error Reduction
The second edition of Human Error Reduction in Manufacturing has
been released by Quality Press. The 270-page book, authored by
Having something fail that wasn’t my fault,
Introduction to quality: José (Pepe) Rodriguez-Pérez, provides useful information on theories,
but still getting yelled at by the boss.
methods and specific techniques that can be applied to investigate and
Wyle E. Coyote. He was someone who never achieved control human failures in any type of industry or sector.
Teacher who influenced his goals and never had to explain why. In fact, I don’t
you the most: think I ever heard him say anything. He’d fall off a cliff, The book sells for $49 for ASQ members and $70 for nonmembers.
but would always get back up.
For more information, visit asq.org/quality-press/display-item?item=H1594.
Do you have a mentor You also can find more new titles, as well as planned book releases for later
My boss, Charlie Chance. He stopped my career dead
who has made a this year, in the refreshed Quality Press Catalog at https://bit.ly/3IEdwpP.
in its tracks! Also, motivational speaker Matt Foley.
difference in your career?
Best career advice: Don’t listen to Charlie Chance.
Picking up spilled red beads after one of W. Edwards
Previous FOOD SAFETY
Deming’s experiments. General muda clean-up.
700
noteworthy jobs:
Life was good!
ASQ activities: Motivational speaker at section meetings.
Noteworthy activities
Nothing I can think of. I am working on it. THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN THE TOTAL NUMBER
outside ASQ:
OF UNITS RECALLED UNDER THE AUTHORIZATION
Have you had anything I used to publish a comic strip. Some guy named OF THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
published? Mike Crossen and QP took things over. (FDA) IN 2022 COMPARED TO 2021.
Recent honors or I’m the only person in history to have a paddle of all red According to the Sedgwick organization, which collects and
accomplishments? beads in the red bead experiment. analyzes data from the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Current reading: Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. the number of food recalls rose 2.2% from 414 recalls in 2021 to 423
recalls in 2022. But the number of units, such as individual bags of
Favorite authors: George Orweibeull.
salads or containers of infant formula, increased 700.6%.
Paul Bunyan. He was the most famous logger that
Favorite blogger:
I know of. For more breakdowns, visit https://bit.ly/3yFSAZB.
Mr. Pareto Head b y M i k e C r o s s e n
CAR EER COACH
A DV I C E TO A DVA N C E YO U R C A R EER
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Cultivate Your
Career Garden
Nourish yourself personally and professionally to ensure you can weather tumultuous times
by Teresa Whitacre
his year began with news of of change, especially in the current many individuals who have not main-
T
massive job cuts in the tech economic climate (early 2023). How we tained their currency and relevancy
industry, with some number- prepare for and react to changes such in the needed skills or tools in their
ing in the tens of thousands. as this are key to how we survive, grow industry. When cutbacks occur, those
Reflecting upon this news, tech and cultivate our careers. Preparedness same individuals fret over having a
is not an industry in which I expected and prevention (just like preventive difficult time with re-employment
to see such a dramatic shift. Watching quality costs) must be implemented to of their choice.
this saga unfold, it hit home with many ensure continued growth, prosperity Your career is yours and yours alone
of my contacts who found themselves and success. to maintain—not your employer’s. Your
iStock.com/Aleksei Morozov
starting over after many years in the employer is not responsible for keeping
same industry or organization. Stay current your skills sharp. Sure, it can assist by
Regardless of how long you have One of the best preventive medicines providing tools, training and reimburse-
been in the same field or organization, you can give your career is to stay cur- ments. Ultimately, however, it is up to
everyone is vulnerable to this type rent in your field. I have encountered you to maintain your currency.
12 || QP || May 2023
Take my former supervisor, Be true to yourself
for example. At one point In good times and bad, we tend
in his career, he was an to forget that we are the most
ASQ-certified quality
Your best offense is a important element for the
engineer (CQE). He good defense. Keep your garden to grow and prosper.
chose not to renew skills and talents sharp If we are not taken care of,
his CQE because his and current to give how can we expect others
employer at the time around us to be? We often get
would not pay for recerti-
you a defensive edge so wrapped up in the busyness
fication, and the CQE wasn’t over others. of careers and opportunity seek-
required for his role. A few ing that we forget about ourselves.
years later, his position was You must properly care for the
eliminated. His job search was garden that is you, just like you would
more difficult because positions he a vegetable garden. Proper food, water
was interested in required the CQE. and sunshine is essential for my garden
As the saying goes, your best offense to grow. You must take time for your-
is a good defense. Keep your skills and self—physically, emotionally, spiritually
talents sharp and current to give you a The quality profession, especially and socially. How can you expect your
defensive edge over others. quality engineering, touches so many professional self to grow and thrive if
Some people maintain relevancy facets of the field. Instead of production your personal self doesn’t? Just like in
on their own by volunteering, taking quality, try auditing. Instead of auditing, medicine, if you neglect preventive mea-
courses and accepting projects that try training and teaching. The possibil- sures and wellness, you may experience
stretch their capabilities. The more ities are endless if you brainstorm your illness or rough times. Preventive mea-
things you know and can do, the more strengths and interests. sures cement your likelihood of survival
value you add to any organization—and After brainstorming and mapping and success no matter how tumulus the
to yourself. Many countries, including your options, you may be surprised economy becomes.
the United States, are experiencing a at just what is available to you. Protect yourself and stay out of
graying workforce. There are not as While it may not be what you want the weeds by maintaining your skills,
many working-age people available to at first, you never know where it staying up on current techniques and
perform certain roles. The more cur- might lead in the future. having a plan B—or C or D. Most impor-
rent you keep your abilities, the more Often, hiring managers want to tantly, take care of the most precious
of these roles you can fill. know what you did with your time plant in the garden—you! QP
during an employment gap. Maybe
Have a plan B, C or D you cared for your children or an
Most professionals have a chosen field, aging parent. Maybe you volunteered
area of specialty or work they prefer. for a church, school or nonprofit.
In tough times, it pays to have backup Perhaps you studied another field
plans ready to implement should the or took coursework. Take credit for Teresa Whitacreis a
need arise. For example, many people every activity you did during this senior quality engineer
have hobbies they can turn into a side time. Look at the skills you used and at Marketech Systems
hustle in the event they need to bridge showcase those as a vehicle to benefit in Pittsburgh. She holds
the gap in the short term. yourself and the organization. a bachelor’s degree in
Perform a skills assessment to Many soft skills are executed in organizational leadership from the University of
determine your strengths and inter- those examples, such as presenting, Arizona Global Campus. She is an ASQ-certified
ests. Do you excel in math? Maybe you marketing, public speaking, conflict quality auditor, engineer, Six Sigma Green Belt
could teach or tutor. Have a knack for resolution, negotiation, time manage- and manager of quality/organizational excellence.
computer programming? Try helping ment. All of these are valid soft skills. An ASQ fellow, Whitacre is an instructor for ASQ’s
lower income people or at senior centers It is much easier to train in technical Pittsburgh Section’s certified quality inspector
where people have a desire and need, skills or organization policy than it is refresher course and past deputy regional director
but not the means. soft skills. for ASQ Region 8.
M Y Q UA L I T Y S TO RY
PER SO N A L S TO R I E S FROM QUALIT Y PROFESSIONAL S
ADVICE
am often asked, “What Top 10 rules for

being a quality
I
does it take to be a quality
professional?” My answer professional
varies depending on who by Ron Sedlock
is asking and his or her
current situation. Here's my list—
RULES
or rules of the road—to a successful
career as a quality professional. This
list is meant to be descriptive, not pre-
scriptive. Create your own examples.
The top 10 rules of the road are:
10. Be available.
9. Ask questions.
OF
8. Do not be a tool-head.
7. Make decisions.
6. Encourage interactions.
5. Become a system thinker.
4. Listen to the voice of the customer.
3. Add value to the organization.
2. Teach others quality.
1. Be an example of quality.
Let’s address each rule individually. Fasten
your seatbelt because the road will be bumpy.
10 Be available.
Be available to everyone in the
organization. Make the rounds. Talk 9 Ask questions.
to frontline workers, go to sales meet- Effective communica-
ings and attend upper management tion skills begin with asking 8 Do not be a tool-head.
discussions. Just be there! questions. Active listening to No one tool is the answer to quality.
When I was the head of a start-up the responses completes the A tool, by definition, is something that facil-
company, I went around every morn- interaction. Do not come across itates work. It is job specific. A control chart
ing to talk with every employee. I asked as, “I know quality and you don’t.” is a tool used to determine the stability of a
how it was going on and off the job I like using questions such process. Six Sigma is a tool used to improve
("How is the family?"), and always as “Who uses your output?” a process systemically by reducing variation.
iStock.com/LongQuattro
ended the interaction with an offer and “How useable is your out- New tools come and go. The secret is
to help. Make yourself accessible to put, as seen by your customer?” having a toolbox of the various tools. As jobs
people—in person or virtually. This gets people thinking that come up, apply the appropriate tool. Remem-
Somebody said it best: Showing up quality is fitness for use (thank ber: If all you have is a hammer, everything
is the first step to being successful. you, Joseph Juran). looks like a nail.
14 || QP || May 2023
7 Make decisions. 4 Listen to the 3 Add value to
Good organizations make good decisions. voice of the the organization.
Bad organizations make bad (or no) decisions. customer. Are you adding value? If not, upper
Decisions must be timely. Many decisions involve I hear voices. No, I am management will consider you nec-
risk. As a quality professional, determine the risk not crazy (my mother essary overhead. It might keep you
of the decision (or no decision). had me tested). employed, but for how long? Early in
Bottom line: What is the worst thing that Customers want use- my career, I realized you must speak
could happen if your decision is wrong? able products and services. management’s language: money.
Sometimes rocking the boat is a good thing. As suppliers, we focus on
makeability. There is a dif- 2 Teach others quality.
6 Encourage interactions. ference between useability It is hard to teach anyone who
Get people together to work on quality and makeability. Both are is unwilling to learn. Wait for people
problems. Invite people from different functions important, but they’re to ask questions—that is an indication
to discuss problems. Often, the organization different. they are willing to learn.
has developed functional silos with thick walls. Whenever I had the I started by using a simple run chart
Functional silos are useful for control purposes, chance to watch our cus- on a process. After a couple of months,
but not for improvement purposes. tomers use our product, I included a centerline and control lim-
When you audit, widen your scope to include I took it. I often saw how its. The process owner asked what they
different process owners. I have experienced we could better design our were—he was ready for his first lesson
process owners who start discussing during product to improve use- in statistics.
their exit interview what they could do to ability. It is amazing what As a quality professional, your most
improve their interaction. you hear by listening. important job is to get rid of your job.
Ron Sedlock
has more than
THE ROAD
44 years
of quality
experience.
He began his career studying under
the personal tutorage of W. Edwards
Deming and Joseph M. Juran. He has
been a member of ASQ since 1976 and
has held most ASQ certifications. He is
a military veteran who served with the 1st
Air Cavalry in Vietnam.
5 Become a system thinker. 1 Be an example of quality.

W. Edwards Deming had it right all along: After a four-day seminar with Deming, I asked
Quality is the result of the system. Juran taught me him what I could do. He said, “Be an example of quality.”
that tough chronic problems had to be solved cross- That advice has stayed with me my entire career.
functionally. Why? Because parts of the solution lie People need to see that you’re not just a preacher of
in different functions. quality, but also an example of quality. I never ask people
I have facilitated a couple dozen cross-functional teams. to do something that I would not
On one production-problem team, the salesperson came up do in my area of responsibility.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
with the solution. And, yes, on another sales-problem team, Yes, I did have a control chart on a
I had many personal con-
the solution came from the production member. process in the quality department. versations with W. Edwards
Think system! Try taking a “mental drone” view above Get to the point where when Deming and Joseph Juran.
your organization. Go beyond traditional root cause anal- you look in the mirror you say, I will be eternally grateful
ysis to system root cause analysis. You might have to go “So that’s what quality looks like.” for their guidance and
words of wisdom.
beyond five whys to the why of the system. Good luck! QP
S U S TA I N A B I L IT Y
16 || QP || May 2023
JUST THE FACTS
The concepts of
sustainability and
resiliency must
be part of the
blueprints when
planning and build-
ing smart cities.
The goal of
sustainability is
to put our world
back in balance,
while the goal of
resiliency is to look
for ways to manage
in a continuously
unbalanced world.
Integrating sustainability
and resiliency into the Plans for smart
cities must consider
blueprints for smart the human element
cities by Paul Doherty and allow “people
to be people.”
Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images
major component of a smart cities

master planning process is to inte-
grate sustainability and resiliency as
components of the plan. Having proper
data about your urban-built environment—specifically, your city’s buildings
and infrastructure—are the building blocks to implementing projects and
programs focused on sustainability and resiliency.
The sustainability movement of the recent past always was a curious
endeavor because many customers of the built environment were confused
about the message. Aren’t we, as an industry, supposed to be designing,
building and managing in a sustainable manner as a matter of common prac-
tice? This poor messaging of sustainability as a separate process, thankfully,
is not translating into the smart cities movement because sustainability is
expected, and integrated and transparent in the overall process.
What is resonating as a focus is the resiliency of cities, rather than the
sustainability, as witnessed by world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
Hurricane Katrina, the Sichuan earthquake in China, Superstorm Sandy, and
man-made events such as the Boston Marathon bombing. In each case, a com-
munity’s response was examined for best practices and lessons learned on
how quickly and properly the community bent but did not break.
The community’s resilience was tested and, in all cases, it recovered.
The measure of resiliency in the framework of smart cities is going through
its first generation of analysis and reporting. An overriding result of this
analysis is that we can’t prevent natural or man-made disasters, but with our
knowledge and access to technologies, we can better protect our infrastruc-
tures, way of life and institutions—physical, organizational and digital.
With dense populations, cities are particularly vulnerable to natural haz-
ards. For example, Superstorm Sandy in October and November 2012 alone
was responsible for damages of $50 billion, mostly in the New York metropol-
itan area. Co-op City, a residential “city within New York City” development
complex in the Bronx with 14,000 apartments and an independent power
grid, has a proactive resilient infrastructure that proved its worth during
Superstorm Sandy. An on-site 40-megawatt combined heat and power plant
generates power for Co-op City. When Superstorm Sandy hit, Co-op City
was not affected by the power cuts experienced by the rest of New York City.
Different goals
The goal of sustainability is to put our world back in balance, while the goal
of resiliency is to look for ways to manage in a continuously unbalanced
world. A resilient city assumes that it doesn’t know exactly how things will
work out, and mistakes may happen. Some of the more resilient city programs
focus on learning from the resiliency of nature and how to best manage
continuous change.
18 || QP || May 2023
EDITOR’S NOTE
In an excerpt from his upcoming Quality Press book, Smart Cities:

Reimagining the Urban Experience, Paul Doherty describes the
elements of sustainability and resiliency in planning and
building smart cities. This excerpt combines portions
of chapters three and six of the book, which is
available this month. For more details,
visit asq.org/quality-press.
Smart City:
A Basic Definition
Some of the urban technologies that are being
implemented that follow this strategy include wire-
less “mesh networks” that provide connectivity for
A smart city is an urban area that uses advanced communication from device to device, creating an
technologies and data analysis to improve the interwoven, self-healing network on the fly. This
quality of life for its residents and to optimize type of network is the ultimate backup method to
the efficiency of its systems and services. Smart communicate in a dense urban environment when
cities leverage information and communication the primary networks fail.
technologies to enhance the performance The deployment of SpaceX’s low Earth orbit
and interconnectivity of urban infrastructure, mini-satellites for internet connectivity called
including transportation, energy, water, waste Starlink is proving this as it provides wireless con-
management, public safety, healthcare and nectivity to the Ukraine government and military
education. The goal of a smart city is to enhance in its fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in
the sustainability, livability and resilience of the 2022. At the time of this publication, the deployment
city while improving economic development and of the Starlink system is one of the main reasons
social well-being. —P.D. the current Ukrainian resistance has had success
against the Russian invasion.
Move to microgrids
The recent move by cities to work with their energy departments and vendors
to create self-resilient microgrids to compensate for an aging energy infra-
structure is taking hold as a best practice for a smart city. Microgrids can
be best described as a move from a linear ecosystem of equipment, systems
and processes to a decentralized, circular ecosystem for energy production
and distribution.
The current linear model means that energy flows into a city from outside
power stations, while circular models have cities producing most of their energy
from local, renewable sources, such as capturing energy from municipal waste
and sewage and distributing it locally. The advantages of a resilient infrastruc-
ture able to withstand natural and man-made hazards and disasters include:
Resilient, smart cities are better prepared to recover quickly during and
after a crisis.
Robust infrastructures generally are more resource efficient,
powerful and reliable.
Resilient technologies and data stabilize the operation of critical systems,
especially during a crisis.
A smart city’s ability to bounce back from natural and manmade events is
a highly valued measure of resilient planning. The result is a city that is more
secure, efficient and reliable.
Smart cities are designed as a series of ecosystems that work together like an
organism, with the ability to scale based on the needs of their inhabitants. Each
ecosystem is a recipe that is developed from a series of innovations that act like
ingredients. Smart cities are not about innovation and technology. They are
about raising the human spirit.
Our approach for our urban master plans starts with a discovery process
with cultural anthropologists to assist in gaining an understanding of the
people in that region. From there, we establish the needs for that location and
build horizontal heterarchical systems (education, healthcare and transporta-
tion, for example) that are tied together through vertical ontologies (information
and communications technology, digital twin/metaverse and blockchains) as
our smart cities solutions.
20 || QP || May 2023
ESG in the Construction The road ahead

and Real Estate Industry The road ahead for smart cities is limitless,
but I hope the term “smart cities” goes away
ESG (environmental, social and governance) refers to the non- in the future, and we can just call them cit-
financial aspects of an organization’s operations that can affect ies. It is an amazing time to reimagine who,
its reputation, financial performance and long-term viability. what, why, when and how high-performing
In the construction and real estate industry, ESG factors are becom- urban environments can improve the human
ing increasingly important as more organizations recognize the need condition without imposing restrictive tech-
to build and operate facilities in a responsible and sustainable manner. nologies and processes that could be used for
Environmental considerations in the construction and real estate nefarious intentions, such as abusive surveil-
industry include factors such as energy efficiency, resource utiliza- lance, unwarranted citywide lockdowns and
tion, waste management and emissions. Organizations can reduce politically motivated incarcerations.
their carbon footprint by using environmentally friendly building Smart cities are not the cure for human
materials, incorporating green building design and using renewable greed and neutralizing bad actors. In fact,
energy sources. they may exacerbate some of those situ-
Social factors refer to the impact that an organization’s operations ations. The promise of smart cities is to
have on its employees, customers and local communities. In the inspire, delight and respond to people’s
construction and real estate industry, social factors include working aspirations, goals and dreams in dense,
conditions, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement. urban environments.
Organizations that prioritize social responsibility are more likely to It is my hope that high-performance
have engaged and satisfied employees, and are better positioned urban environments are not what Holly-
to build strong relationships with local communities. wood movies and certain books foresee as
Governance factors refer to the systems, policies and processes a dystopian future. Those futures represent
that an organization has in place to manage risk, ensure ethical a lazy vision empty of creativity. Catering to
behavior and promote transparency. In the construction and real the dark side of the human condition is easy
estate industry, governance factors include compliance with relevant and only confirms a lack of imagination. The
regulations, ethical procurement practices, and strong health and same critique can be given to the futurists
safety policies. Organizations with strong governance practices who develop utopian visions of grandeur with
are more likely to have a positive reputation, which can help them either indifference or incompetence in their
attract and retain customers and employees. understanding of how humans live.
ESG factors are becoming increasingly important in the construc- I was reminded of this during our
tion and real estate industry as organizations look to build a more CLARA-Project,1 when a member of the
sustainable and responsible future. Organizations that prioritize ESG Australian Parliament offered some remarks
considerations are better positioned to weather challenges, build after I gave a presentation to the legislative
long-term relationships with stakeholders and achieve long-term body of our master plan. He was very generous
success. —P.D. with his accolades regarding our master plan,
saying that I understood the Australian spirit
of rebalancing the Australian settlement.
He went on to ask a few questions that resulted in his final question: “Where
are the brothels to be located in the proposed smart cities in Victoria? Brothels
are legal in the state of Victoria, and I do not see an accommodation for them in
your master plan.” Initially, I was speechless, but eventually, I responded that
I would need to get back to him.
I mention this situation to highlight that when designing cities for people,
one must understand that people are going to be people. As humans, we have
emotions, desires, biases and a multitude of feelings, beliefs and mindsets that
make us individuals. Because of this lesson learned, I may not overtly master
plan red light districts into my smart cities designs, but I am more careful
to design areas of my cities that allow the local community to permit “people
to be people” while keeping in mind the local customs, ethics, morals and beliefs.
22 || QP || May 2023
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This article was compiled from
Smart Cities: Reimagining the
Urban Experience with differ-
ent readers in mind. The broad
nature of the topic of smart
cities makes a comprehensive
compendium almost impossi-
ble to deliver because the topic
still is emerging as a definition.
With this in mind, the reason
I have learned that utopia does not exist, but we can try and ethos of the book were
to build upon human wants, needs and desires to do our best to begin a conversation as a
community about smart cities,
to achieve healthy, livable and sustainable futures. while documenting some
It is not an easy thing to design, construct and deliver an successes at an ingredient
operational smart city that most people enjoy. I must think (innovation) level, as well as
of solutions for problems that have not yet emerged. In the age highlighting macro-success on
of autonomous transportation, for instance, do we need street a project level (recipe). Some
may read certain chapters as
curbs? Does the street grid go away, and do we create a great too deep or too shallow in
experience for walking in all types of climates by placing build- detail. It was my challenge to
ings according to local conditions? If we dynamically power provide a balance of the topic
our electric and automated vehicles through piezoelectric of smart cities.
power generation embedded in the road,
who is responsible for the management of
that road? The department of transporta-
tion or the local power company? QP Paul Dohertyis the president and
CEO of the Digit Group Inc., a smart city
NOTE real estate development and solutions
1. For more on the CLARA-Project, a master company. He is a New York State-licensed
planning project in Australia to rebalance settle- architect, a senior fellow of the Design
ments and reimagine cities, visit www.clara.com. Futures Council and a fellow of the International Facilities
au. The project entails building up to eight new
Management Association. He also is a registered architect,
smart cities across central Australia, connected
by the most advanced high-speed rail system. Construction Specifications Institute certified, and Construction
Documents Technology certified. Doherty holds a bachelor’s
degree in architecture from the New York Institute of Technology.
ENVIRONMENT
PROJECT
by
PROJECT
24 || QP || May 2023
ENVIRONMENT
JUST THE FACTS
Just as quality revolutionized the manufacturing and

healthcare industries over the past 50 years, the same
disciplined approach must be embraced by organi-
zations and countries around the world to create the
synergetic changes required to address climate and
environmental issues.
As quality pioneers have noted, improvement happens
project by project.
To encourage the use of quality methods in efforts
to save the planet, several partnerships with quality
organizations throughout the world have formed
to promote projects aimed at environmental issues
and other aspects of sustainability. These projects are
evaluated for recognition and their stories are shared
to inform and inspire others.
elenabs via Getty Images
Avoiding climate calamities and

saving planet Earth with quality—
one project at a time by John R. Dew
ENVIRONMENT
I n a 2020 issue of ASQ’s Journal for Quality and Participation, Belgian

quality consultant Willy Vandenbrande provided a comprehensive overview
describing how the quality discipline can make a significant and game-changing
contribution to enhancing the sustainability of our planet.1 Applying quality meth-
ods to the challenges of sustainability provides yet another important milestone in
the progression of the quality discipline in serving the needs of humanity.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the quality discipline made significant contributions
to the development of vital new technologies that improved the world’s standard
of living in fields such as aerospace, telecommunications, electronics, power genera-
tion, biomedical sciences and manufacturing. Quality assurance and quality control
methods were designed into new technologies that made it possible to support grow-
ing populations, build new cities and even land men on the moon.
By the 1980s, the world was recognizing the power of quality methods to
improve work processes by reducing variation, waste and rework, and providing
new products and services that delighted customers and met expectations they
did not even know they had. Terms such as “process improvement,” “continuous
quality improvement” and “process simplification” became widely used through-
out American industry and service organizations.
ASQ and other organizations hosted conferences in the 1980s that featured
thousands of presentations by quality practitioners eager to share how they had
applied quality methods to improve everything from autos to zippers. Competition
in the United States emerged between those who were disciples of W. Edwards
Deming, those who embraced Philip Crosby’s approach, and those who learned
from quality gurus such as Armand Feigenbaum and Joseph M. Juran. Americans
were discovering the contributions of Japanese quality experts such as Kaoru
Ishikawa, Genichi Taguchi, Masaaki Imai and many others.
From this rich mix of enthusiastic engagement, new perspectives emerged that
subsequently have become accepted as commonplace, such as the assembly of
quality improvement approaches into a method known as Six Sigma, the creation
of a comprehensive framework for achieving performance excellence throughout
an organization known as the Baldrige criteria and a holistic approach to quality
embraced in many parts of the world known as total quality management.
Traditional bedrock practices in the quality field—such as the creation of
standards and the use of audits and inspections—also have continued to thrive
and make advances in support of even greater achievements in quality that have
improved the human condition around the world.
26 || QP || May 2023
ENVIRONMENT
2022 Recognitions
Thirteen organizations were recognized in the 2022 Quality and Sustainability Award process for sustainability
projects using quality methods. Top recognition went to the Xiangshui County Power Supply Branch in China,
Ashok Leyland Ltd. in India, Colquimica Adhesives in Portugal and SRF Ltd. in India.
Xiangshui Power Supply’s project focused on Tata Steel in India for its project to enhance scrap
developing an efficient power inspection system steel recycling.
that enhances the inspection of transmission using
a plan-do-check-act cycle, quality function deploy- The Department of Education and Training in
ment and process flowcharting. The new approach Son La Province, Vietnam, for its work on continuous
uses unmanned aerial vehicles and greatly reduces improvement of its quality system in education.
the speed of transmission line inspection and avoid-
ance of loss of electricity due to power faults. State Grid Corp. in China for its project to adjust the
power grid mode of operation in advance of lightning
Ashok Leyland Ltd. applied Six Sigma and design storms to reduce power outages.
of experiments (DoE) methods to reduce water use,
CO2 emissions, hazardous waste, material and fuel Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in Pune, India,
consumption by improving the painting process in for its project to install rooftop solar collectors.
its auto facility in India.
Beijing Capital International Airport Aviation
Colquimica Adhesives organized a “lean green value Security Ltd. for its use of total quality management
stream map” project to reduce the amount of glue and root cause analysis methods to improve processes
being sent to a landfill by 54% (a reduction of 35 tons related to passenger identification, documents and
in one quarter). The team used lean Six Sigma meth- baggage identification.
ods to structure its analysis.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. for its use of DoEs in
SRF, a multi-business chemical company in India developing new cast iron materials and reducing
that has twice won the Deming Prize, organized a CO2 emissions in tractor production.
project team to focus on improving its polymerization
film production for laminate packaging. The team Bosch Ltd. in Rajasthan, India, for a lean project to
used failure mode and effects analysis to establish eliminate a lapping process, resulting in reduced
a new recycling process and reduce its facility’s generation of hazardous waste.
carbon footprint.
Amway Ltd. (China) in Guang-
Other companies that received recognition in the 2022 zhou, China, for conducting a
award cycle included: project to significantly reduce
The deadline for
the plastic and paper used in
submissions for the 2023
State Grid Corp. in China for its project on improving packaging materials such as
award cycle is June 30.
the removal of watt-hour meters to reduce pollution. bottles and cartons.
For more details on the recipients, visit http://iaqaward.com/iaq-quality-sustainability-award-2022.
ENVIRONMENT
National Partners As quality methods proliferated throughout manu-

The International Academy for Quality (IAQ) Planet Earth facturing, it became possible to streamline workflows
Think Tank members recognized that a process for recogniz- and develop new capabilities for just-in-time delivery of
ing and encouraging what could become tens of thousands components in what has developed as the supply chain
of projects using quality methods to save the planet could discipline. Likewise, the expansion of quality methods
get out of hand quickly. has established new levels of reliability and safety in
So, the Think Tank members established partnerships with products, and thousands of new innovations in products
quality organizations in countries that will promote projects and services.
and evaluate these projects. Each country sends only its top When the medical community was confronted in the
projects on to IAQ for the final evaluation. late 1990s with evidence of serious deficiencies in the
In 2021, the partners were the Indian Society for Quality and quality of practice that resulted in adverse and sentinel
the Chinese Association for Quality. Each country promoted events, practitioners turned to the quality field’s body of
the competition and conducted its own first-round examina- knowledge to eliminate errors throughout the medical
tion of numerous applications, forwarding the best to IAQ for field. Quality control and quality improvement methods
review by a neutral group of evaluators. have been applied to the healthcare field in ways that
The partners for the third round of recognition in 2022 have have improved patient safety and helped contain health-
expanded to also include the Vietnamese Quality Association care costs.
and the Israeli Institute for Quality, Innovation & Excellence. There is no doubt that during the past 50 years, the
Collectively, the quality practitioners in these four countries quality discipline has had a major impact on improving
are leading the world’s effort to focus quality methods on a human lives in hundreds of thousands of applications.
project-by-project level to address local issues of environmen- The quality discipline has taken on many of the aspects
tal sustainability. of a movement, thanks to the commitment and dedica-
The IAQ evaluators for the 2021 recognition cycle were from tion of thousands of practitioners around the world.
Argentina, Belgium, China, India and the United States.
—J.R.D. New global challenges
The United Nations has established 17 Sustainable
Development Goals that recognize and begin to address
systemic challenges for humanity. 2 This includes the
concern now shared by most climate scientists that our planet is confronted with the
challenge of rising temperatures that could result in disruption of the climate around
the world. The potential associated problems include changing weather patterns
that result in drought, excessive heat, rising sea levels, melting permafrost and
increased hurricanes.
These changes have the potential of disrupting food supplies, submerging coastal
communities, creating water
shortages and stimulating
conflicts over resources.
While there have been
national accords and agree-
ASQ AND ESG
ments on establishing goals
for reducing greenhouse Establishing and promoting the role
gasses and reducing depen- of quality in environmental, social and
dence on fossil fuels, the governance (ESG) thought leadership
overall scope of the climate and content development is firmly planted
in ASQ’s 2023-24 strategic plan. For more
challenge can appear quite
details on this plan that will guide the
daunting. The challenges ASQ’s organizational decisions, resource
and problems are numerous allocations and priorities for the next two
and encompass the globe. years, visit asq.org/about-asq.
How will we, as a species,
address these issues?
28 || QP || May 2023
ENVIRONMENT
issues and other aspects of sustainability as defined

by the United Nations.
To promote this view and the progress that is already
being made, IAQ organized a Quality and Sustainability
Award recognition program in 2020.6,7 A second round of
competition in 2021 attracted a significant increase in appli-
cations and organizations that have received commendations
and award-winning recognition. See the sidebars “National
Partners” and “2022 Recognitions” (p. 27) for background on
how the program works and details about recent recipients.
Only scratching the surface

As commendable as these projects are, the reality is that
The answer is quality. we are only starting to scratch the surface in terms of the
In the same manner that tens of thousands of quality potential benefits of applying quality methods to Earth con-
initiatives revolutionized the manufacturing industry, cerns in all 17 of the United Nations sustainability categories.
as well as healthcare, during the past 50 years, the same Quality professionals can find stimulating suggestions for
disciplined approach must be embraced by organizations how to think about applying quality methods to sustainabil-
and countries around the world to create the synergetic ity challenges offered by authors such as David Saunders in
changes required to address climate issues. Likewise, QP.8 ASQ’s Energy and Environmental Division also has a
in the same manner that quality standards help drive committee on applying quality to sustainability challenges
systematic quality improvement, quality professionals are chaired by Lowellyn James.
actively engaged in developing environmental, health and While governments might pursue various environmental
safety standards that will support sustainability goals.3 and climate goals through top-down programs, the bottom-up
approach using quality improvement methods may hold the
Project by project key to saving the planet. Governments may establish goals and
Juran was famous for his observation that improvement educate the public about the validity of the concerns related to
happens project by project.4 Juran and Ishikawa taught environmental sustainability, and governments may enact tax
the world how to form quality circles within work groups incentives and research grants to incentivize efforts. It will
that would focus unceasingly on analyzing and improving take hundreds of thousands of actions at the grass roots level,
work processes to reduce variation and eliminate rework however, to really make a difference.
and waste. Even more importantly, Juran taught us how to As we have witnessed over the previous decades,
establish cross-functional teams to address larger quality the project-by-project approach using quality methods,
problems that require improving a process that crosses which provide a cross-disciplinary wealth of tools and
organizational boundaries or is part of a system. knowledge, is a proven strategy for changing the world.
With the leadership of N. Ramanathan of India, Vanden- Quality methods enable us to realize the concept that we
brande of Belgium, and quality practitioners such as Lars must think globally and act locally. QP
Sorqvist of Sweden and Sunil Sinha of the United Arab Emir-
EDITOR’S NOTE
ates in the International Academy for Quality’s (IAQ) Planet The references listed in this article can be found on the article’s webpage
Earth Think Tank, it’s been acknowledged that a return to at qualityprogress.com.
the widespread use of project-by-project efforts will be a
vital component in avoiding climate calamities and saving
the planet.5
Projects can use quality methods to reduce waste John R. Dewteaches in the doctoral program in global
streams, improve efficiency in the use of materials and leadership at Troy University in Alabama. He earned his
energy, target opportunities for introducing new technolo- doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee
gies and many other applications. The beauty of this approach in Knoxville. Dew is an ASQ fellow, International
is that many organizations already have invested in learning Academy for Quality (IAG) member, past chair of ASQ’s Energy & Environmental
and applying quality methods, so they are well positioned Division, past chair of ASQ’s Education Division and a member of the IAQ Planet
to expand the use of quality methods into environmental Earth Think Tank.
30 || QP || May 2023
How quality
professionals can
help society and
organizations
mitigate the
negative effects
of sustainability-
related risks and
global mega forces
JUST THE FACTS
For organizations
to truly benefit
from sustainability
initiatives, leaders
must move beyond
net zero toward
absolute zero—
zero emissions,
zero defects and
zero harm.
The authors outline
the sustainability/
corporate social
responsibility index
and present insights
from the ASQ

Energy & Environ-
mental Division
Sustainability Sur-
vey Report showing
how organizations
can apply quality
management meth-
ods to sustainable
development.
Quality manage-
ment is the missing
element of sustain-
able development.
It provides the tools
and techniques
required to close
the gap between
inaction and sustain-
able action.
by Lowellyne James,
Mary-Jane Poku
and Mina Boulos
T
oday’s headlines are dominated by news about Respiratory Syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome
environmental issues arising from global and Ebola).11
mega forces such as climate change-induced Sustainability is a multivariate concept within which
hot seasonal temperatures, forest fires and quality management has a catalytic role in the realiza-
other sustainability-related risks (for example, tion of sustainability outcomes through standards setting,
the COVID-19 pandemic, carbon emissions, inspection, testing and the development of a sustainability
and gender and racial equality).1,2 culture that directly influences the quality of life in the
During the 26th Conference of the Parties present while considering the needs of future generations.
(COP 26)—a United Nations decision-making Traditionally, quality management has focused on three
body that monitors communications and main themes: variation reduction, waste reduction and loss.
emissions inventories submitted by nation But it must expand its scope to deliver products and services
states established in 2015 during the Paris that contribute minimal loss to society and reduce sustain-
Climate Accord—a legally binding interna- ability risk.12-14
tional treaty on climate change was adopted.3,4
The U.S. government has displayed a political willingness Sustainability Committee
to tackle global warming, signaling that the world’s largest The ASQ Energy & Environmental Division (EED) Sustain-
economy is recommitting to these international accords and ability Committee’s mission is to provide members with
tabling climate change as a threat multiplier of critical impor- knowledge and tools that will help support the strategic
tance to national security.5 Commitments by India, China and integration of quality and sustainability management within
Russia to comply with COP 26 pledges to reduce methane gas organizations. In addition, EED members are employed
emissions and arrest deforestation are yet to be realized.6 within sectors, such as nuclear and oil and gas, that are at the
Simultaneously, economic instruments such as carbon center of high-visibility sustainability issues and therefore can
taxation, carbon pricing and mandatory carbon reporting provide leadership that advances their organizations, and soci-
for listed companies are perceived as potential tools to achieve ety at large. Specifically, the EED Sustainability Committee
net zero targets.7 Although there is no common definition of sought to gain insight into the types of quality management
net zero, it can be defined as achieving a balance between the tools, techniques and frameworks being implemented by pro-
amount of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emitted into the atmo- fessionals, and their perceptions of sustainability/corporate
sphere and GHG emissions removed from the atmosphere.8 social responsibility (CSR) training requirements.
The effectiveness of carbon emission reduction-related
macroeconomic or monetary instruments is questionable, Sustainability/CSR Index
at best. Therein lies an opportunity for quality management Acknowledging the vital role of quality management in sus-
professionals to contribute to the transition to a green economy tainable development, the EED Sustainability Survey provides
by applying quality methods and tools to achieve the U.N.’s Sus- insight into perceptions, current initiatives and contributions
tainable Development Goals (SDG).9, 10 Quality professionals can of quality, safety and environmental practitioners as well
offer their skills and expertise—including change management, as management professionals in facilitating the delivery of
continual process improvement, lean management and analyti- sustainable outcomes for organizations and society.
cal skills—to improve sustainability performance. From a theoretical perspective, the sustainability/CSR
Although not immediately apparent, there index mirrors key constructs derived from the following
is a direct relationship between COVID-19— frameworks and models (Figure 1):
a zoonotic disease that can be transmitted Sustainability management framework. An integrated
from animals to humans—and the three structure for deploying a sustainability strategy within
pillars of sustainable development: economic, organizations through sustainability improvement,
social and environmental. Factors such as sustainability assurance, sustainability footprints and
increasing deforestation and other land sustainability reporting.
use changes, illegal and poorly regulated Sustainable strategic growth model.
wildlife trade, intensified agriculture A best practices-driven model that

and wildlife production, antimicro- incorporates sustainability into
bial resistance and climate change business strategy using the five
have contributed to the preva- key stages or behaviors of learn,
lence of infectious zoonotic develop, implement, optimize and
diseases since 2002 (for sustain to help organizations achieve
example, Middle Eastern absolute zero.
32 || QP || May 2023
FIGURE 1
Sustainability/CSR Index SURVEY DASHBOARD
Scan this QR
code for access
Sustainability to the interactive
reporting ASQ Energy &
Environmental Division
Sustain survey dashboard.
Values
Despite the sample size not being statistically
Optimize Learn significant, respondents provided insights into the
Sustainability
Sustainability
current state of the application of quality management
improvement
Management
Targets
assurance
systems methods to achieve sustainable development outcomes.
Performance Performance Quality assurance is defined as part of quality man-
indicators models agement and is focused on providing confidence that
quality requirements will be fulfilled. Overall, 61.36%
Information Develop of survey respondents indicated independent assurance
resources statements are not supplied with sustainability reports.
The absence of commitment to sustainability assurance
Implement activities reinforces views of greenwashing—a practice
of making divergent claims of good environmental
social governance to mask prior questionable environ-
Sustainability
footprints mental performance.16
Third-party certification for implemented sustain-
ability/CSR management systems is not perceived
as a strategic priority among 73.17% of respondents.
CSR = corporate social responsibility In parallel with the partial adoption of assurance
techniques, 59.52% of respondents affirm the absence
of documented sustainability policies and proce-
Absolute zero encompasses concepts such as zero emissions, dures. Understandably, sustainability strategy is a
zero harm and zero defects, and is the point at which no envi- knowledge gap identified by 61.9% of respondents.
ronmental adverse impact can be accrued by an organization’s Sustainability strategy training can help remove this
products, services or processes. anomaly and may reduce siloed approaches to embed-
Sustainability performance framework. This can assist ding sustainability/CSR policy through integration
managers in embedding sustainability strategy into opera- with other nonfinancial risk policy deployments
tional and tactical activities within the firm by providing the dedicated to quality, safety and environment.
policy, principles, management systems, information resources, Although most respondents have access to internal
key performance indicators and targets to achieve shared value and external sustainability training, a significant
and environmental and social governance.15 pool of organizations has not provided adequate
training for employees and other supply chain
Sustainability/CSR survey results stakeholders to contribute to SDGs. Supplier audits,
Individuals representing 64 organizations throughout North America, internal audits and third-party surveillance visits
Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean operating in aimed at improving sustainability are yet to be initi-
most economic sectors participated in the survey. Survey respondents ated by all respondents.
answered 26 questions derived from the sustainability/CSR index. Although obligations to submit sustainability
See Online Figure 1, which can be found on this article’s webpage at reports are not unanimous, survey respondents con-
qualityprogress.com, for survey results. Also see the sidebar “Respon- firmed a range of reporting submissions, including
dent Verbatims” for a sample of answers to the survey questions. annual reports, environmental reports, CSR reports,
RESPONDENT VERBATIMS
Respondent A allowed us to come across lots of people with different ideas.
We used different enablers such as investors in people.
A retired head of business development for Quality Scotland,
which was part of a global organization that looked after the
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Respondent B
business model.
A retired educator who teaches solar electricity to the electrical
1. Discuss the products and services provided by your company.
trade in New Mexico.
I worked for Quality Scotland looking after the European busi-
1. Discuss the products and services provided by your company.
ness model.
I train the workforce to be ready, giving it a baseline in solar elec-
2. What motivated you to pursue sustainability?
tricity installation and design, and lecture as part of the Electrical
We had been looking after the EFQM model for more than
Trade Programme.
20 years. The EFQM model underpinned by Global Compact
2. What motivated you to pursue sustainability?
human rights about sustainability, which are lived and breathed
There are lots of jobs in solar. It is good for the environment.
through the values of the model.
People want to do it not only because they need a job, but also
3. How do you incentivize your staff to pursue the U.N.’s
because they feel it will help the environment.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)?
3. How do you incentivize your staff to pursue SDGs?
This happened naturally within the team because the structure
Are there any benefits of having solar panels?
was quite flat, and members took leadership and continuous
There are tax incentives for having solar panels. I sat on the
improvement roles within the team. Founding members were
government committee to help create these incentives in New
part of the committee board and were paid to be part of the
Mexico. It differs by state. There are huge incentives in Cal-
organization board, so they basically had a vested interest in
ifornia, for example. New Mexico offers a 10% tax credit and
the company doing well and bringing excellence to the people
a 3% federal tax credit. China is subsidizing panel production,
of Scotland. These boards comprised influential people
which is driving down the cost. Previous U.S. government
such as senior leadership of the Bank of Scotland.
administrations destroyed all the incentives, but they
4. In the survey, you indicated “system of
are slowly coming back. Unfortunately, they have
profound knowledge,” “Deming manage-
become politicized.
ment methods” and “plan-do-check-act”
4. In the survey, you indicated TRIZ as a model
as models you have implemented. Explain
you have implemented. Explain how the TRIZ
how these support the SDGs.
model supports SDGs.
We took a holistic approach and looked at
Everybody has a different need when it comes to
what strategies will support that model and
electricity, so it is a problem-solving job. You see
what can be applied to make it a successful
what the need is and fix the need. You must look
business model. We worked across private and
at how much power you use during the day and
public sectors. Working in various organizations
design systems to match.
integrated reporting, sustainability reports ISO 14001—Environmental management

and social reports. Respondents said they systems is considered by a greater portion
prefer the reporting requirements outlined of respondents to be the preferred option
by Global Reporting Initiative. to benchmark sustainability management
Other alternative reporting conventions systems. Significantly, ISO 26000, SA 8000—
also are being implemented, including ISO Social accountability, BS 8900—Managing

26000—Social responsibility, U.N. Global sustainable development of organizations and
Compact, European Union Non-Financial Accountability AA1000 have been implemented
Reporting Directive, International Integrated Reporting by a few organizations.
Council, Sustainable Stock Exchange Model Guidance Survey respondents have identified the following
on Reporting, and the European Foundation for Quality key barriers to sustainability: cost; operational mindset;
Management model. complexity of delivering sustainability management systems;
34 || QP || May 2023
inadequate coordination; lack of Quality management is the

leadership commitment; influence missing element of sustainable
of the organization, society and cul- development. It provides the
ture; uncertainty of determining the
TAKE THE SURVEY tools and techniques required
needs of future generations; and the to close the gap between inaction
Brundtland Commission’s definition To take the and sustainable action. Profes-
of sustainability. latest ASQ sional bodies such as ASQ should
Few survey respondents were Environment & complement member efforts to
undecided as to the potential risk to Energy Division implement sustainable business
sustainability
21st century organizations posed by practices by seeking opportunities
survey, follow this
global mega forces such as climate to support international initiatives
QR code.
change, deforestation, material such as the International Sustain-
resource scarcity, water scarcity, ability Standards Board, thereby
ecosystem decline, urbanization, contributing to the development
population growth, wealth, of robust assurance frameworks
and energy and fuel scarcity. for sustainability disclosures that meet investor needs.18
Unsurprisingly, respondents highlighted key quality man- In tandem with sustainability assurance, quality
agement improvement tools such as plan-do-check-act model practitioners also can champion certifying sustainability
and Six Sigma to support sustainability initiatives. There is management systems by approved bodies, as well as incen-
an opportunity, however, to use unconventional tools, too, tivize sustainable behaviors among internal stakeholders
such as TRIZ and social responsibility failure mode and influencing supply chain partners. In doing so, they can
effects analysis. reignite efforts to align CEO and executive remuneration
In addition to zero defects, survey respondents denoted to achieve U.N. SDGs and profitability.
aspirations of organizational commitment to carbon For the quality movement to fully leverage knowledge in
neutrality, the circular economy and net zero emissions. implementing management systems to deliver on U.N. SDGs,
Nonetheless, respondents were hesitant to use eco-labeling, quality professionals must understand sustainability/CSR
with LEED and Energy Star among the most popular envi- strategy and the quality management body of knowledge,
ronmental labels adopted by organizations. Energy costs, which can be applied to build sustainably managed enter-
disposal costs and water consumption were the most selected prises and shape a future that is absolute zero. QP
lagging indicators, while percentage increases in customer
satisfaction and employee satisfaction were decidedly popu-
lar among survey respondents.
Carbon footprint, water footprint and social footprint Lowellyne James is the director of the Center for
have been applied to measuring sustainability impact by Sustainable Action in the United Kingdom. He received
most respondents. Critically, there is a tacit understanding a doctorate in management from Edinburgh Napier
of the concept of information footprint by organizations that University Business School in Scotland. James is the
participated in the survey. author of several books, including Sustainability Footprints in SMEs—Strategy and
Survey respondents also identified the top five U.N. Case Studies for Entrepreneurs and Small Business (Wiley, 2015) and Management
SDGs implemented by their organizations: good health Systems and Performance Frameworks for Sustainability (Routledge, 2018).
and well-being, gender equality, quality education, decent
work and economic growth, and climate action. Similarly,
respondents deemed safety and well-being programs, waste
recycling, green/environmentally friendly products/services, Mary-Jane Pokuis a senior lecturer at London
carbon management and green/environmentally friendly Metropolitan University. She received a doctorate
processes as the leading sustainable business practices imple- in biological sciences from the University of Essex
mented within their organizations. in Colchester.
Quality for sustainability, not #blahblahblah

Environmental activists are increasingly impatient with
the pace of adoption of initiatives to tackle climate change Mina Boulosis an engineer and freelance data analyst
despite 26 years of discussion on policy, strategy and best in Cairo. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechatronics,
practices, leading to statements of exasperation about prog- robotics and automation from Helwan University in Cairo.
ress being “blah blah blah"—in essence, of limited utility.17
C L I M AT E C H A N G E
The reliability engineer’s
role in reducing greenhouse gases
by Drew D. Troyer
36 || QP || May 2023
ustainability and environmental,

social and governance (ESG) perfor-
mance is a frequent news headline.
Concerns about climate change,
conflict metals and other matters of great social
JUST THE FACTS importance continue to rise, and pressure on industrial
companies to improve ESG performance continues to
mount. The subject is of great interest and importance
As pressure to executives and managers in all industries. The man-
continues to mount ufacturing, process, and mining and metals industries
for organizations to are no exception.
improve their envi- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that fuel climate
ronmental, social
and governance change are of particular interest. The call to action
(ESG) performance, from investors is clear: Reduce GHGs and improve
heavy industry ESG performance if you wish to survive.
sectors bear a great
responsibility to Net-zero carbon is a popular call to action. As major
support initiatives users of energy, heavy industry sectors bear a great
such as reducing responsibility to support these objectives. This article
greenhouse gas
emissions and explores the opportunity to reduce energy consump-
achieving carbon tion in equipment asset-dependent industries and
neutrality. define the plant reliability engineer’s role in targeting
The author discusses parasitic frictional loss, fugitive emission loss and
ways to reduce electrical heating loss—all of which are highly con-
energy consump- trollable with a focused effort. In addition to reducing
tion in equipment
asset-dependent the plant’s GHG impacts, targeting these losses also
industries. He also can reduce operating costs and increase operat-
defines the plant ing availability.
reliability engineer’s
role in targeting par-
Jiojio via Getty Images
asitic frictional loss, Industrial energy reduction

fugitive emission About 35% of end-use energy and 32% of the total
loss and electrical
heating loss. energy consumed in the United States powers indus-
trial operations.1 According to the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE), the industrial sector’s energy consumption from improved energy consumption translate directly to
is inherently inefficient.2 the bottom line. Generally, electrical systems that are better
The chemical manufacturing industry, for example, designed, operated and maintained are inherently safer than
consumes the equivalent of about 950 million megawatt their less-efficient GHG counterparts. And, of course, energy
hours (MWh) of energy, which accounts for just more than is the primary driver of GHG emissions. Reducing industrial
27% of the total energy in the DOE study. According to the energy consumption to current best practice would reduce
DOE, the chemical manufacturing industry could reduce its countrywide GHG emissions by more than 4%. Investment
energy budget to about 720 million MWh, a 24% reduction, in R&D in industrial energy management could reduce the
by employing current industry best practices.3 United States’ carbon footprint by more than 10%.
With investment in R&D, the DOE estimates a practical “Think global, act local" is a phrase normally attributed
minimum of 360 MWh is achievable, which cuts the energy to Patrick Geedes, an early 20 th century urban planner in
consumption in half. Assuming an industrial energy cost of Scotland.6 For a reliability engineer responsible for manag-
$0.066/kWh, adopting current state-of-the- ing the physical assets in a manufacturing
art energy management practices could or process plant, or any other equipment
save the U.S. chemical manufacturing asset-intensive industry, this state-
industry $15 billion per year in energy ment equates to managing parasitic
costs alone. Investment in R&D frictional, fugitive emission and
could deliver savings of as much electrical heating losses. A plant’s
as $38 billion per year. reliability engineer plays a key
Similar opportunities are role in making this a reality.
available in the petroleum
The call to action from
refining, mining, and pulp Managing parasitic
and paper industries investors is clear: Reduce frictional loss
(Table 1, p. 40). These GHGs and improve Mechanical systems con-
industries account for ESG performance if vert and transfer energy
more than 80% of all indus- to accomplish work. There
you wish to survive.
trial energy consumption in are many types of mechanical
the United States.4, 5 components. Electric motors,
Consider this opportunity for example, convert electrical
from the perspective of carbon energy into rotating mechanical
emissions and the associated social energy. Internal combustion engines
cost of carbon (SCC). According to convert chemical energy into rotat-
the DOE, emissions of carbon diox- ing mechanical energy. Gear reducers
ide equivalent units (CO2-e) are about create a mechanical advantage while
0.707 kg/kWh. For the chemical industry, gear increasers create a speed advantage.
this translates to a carbon footprint of about 668 million Couplings and belt drives transfer energy via mechani-
metric tons (mt) of CO2-e per year. SCC estimates vary widely, cal links, while hydraulic and pneumatic systems transfer
but the most popular estimate for the SCC is $50/mt. energy via fluid power mechanisms. A mechanical drive
The SCC impact on the U.S. chemical manufacturing system’s objective is to convert energy and transfer it to
industry’s energy consumption is about $33 billion per accomplish work—such as crushing, pumping, conveying
year. Adopting current state-of-the-art energy management or blowing—as effectively and efficiently as possible.
practices could reduce its SCC impact by nearly $8 billion. The field of tribology is “the science and engineering
Investment in R&D to achieve the practical lower limit of interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the
for energy use could reduce the SCC impact by more than principles of friction, wear and lubrication.”7 Nonproductive
$20 billion. Extrapolating this to the entire U.S. industrial parasitic frictional loss in industrial equipment consumes
sector, the SCC could be reduced by about $27 billion per about 7.5% of the total industrial energy budget.8, 9 That fig-
year by implementing existing state-of-the-art practices ure represents about one-third of the total industrial energy
and by about $50 billion per year with investment in R&D. loss that the DOE estimates could be recovered by deploying
These avoided SCC impacts are in addition to the direct existing industry best practices.
xu wu via Getty Images
economic savings. Several relatively simple, easy-to-implement and proven

Improving energy efficiency in equipment asset-intensive measures are available for managing parasitic friction-induced
industries represents a special opportunity to benefit all energy loss in industrial plants and factories. As a bonus
the goals on the organization’s dashboard. Savings derived for equipment owners, reducing energy consumption and
38 || QP || May 2023
ABOUT
35% U.S. CHEMICAL

MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRY’S ENERGY THE CHEMICAL
OF END-USE
CONSUMPTION IS ABOUT MANUFACTURING
$33
ENERGY AND
INDUSTRY CONSUMES THE
EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT
BILLION 950
PER YEAR. ADOPTING
CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-
MILLION
ART ENERGY MANAGEMENT MEGAWATT HOURS (MWh)
PRACTICES COULD REDUCE OF ENERGY, WHICH ACCOUNTS
ITS SCC IMPACT BY NEARLY FOR JUST MORE THAN
32% $8 27%
OF THE TOTAL
BILLION. OF THE TOTAL ENERGY IN
THE DOE STUDY. ACCORDING
ENERGY CONSUMED INVESTMENT IN R&D TO TO THE DOE, THE CHEMICAL
IN THE UNITED STATES ACHIEVE THE PRACTICAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
POWERS INDUSTRIAL LOWER LIMIT FOR ENERGY COULD REDUCE ITS
OPERATIONS. USE COULD REDUCE THE ENERGY BUDGET TO ABOUT
SCC IMPACT BY MORE THAN 720 MILLION MWh, A
$20 24%
BILLION. REDUCTION, BY EMPLOYING
CURRENT INDUSTRY BEST
PRACTICES.
associated GHGs by proactively managing parasitic frictional however, and can be compromised by lubricant degradation,
loss also minimizes equipment wear and tear, and typically contamination or both (see Figure 1).
improves equipment reliability and availability. A machine’s base and foundation generally are intended to
These gains are achieved by focusing on a few simple move as a single mass. Untightened, missing and improperly
principles: fasteners, lubrication, alignment and balance.10, 11 tensioned fasteners create mechanical looseness. Additionally,
Friction caused by machine vibration is reduced if machines different components of the machine—such as a motor,
are mechanically fastened down, shafts and pulleys are gearbox and pump—must be aligned precisely to avoid wob-
aligned and rotating assemblies are balanced precisely. bling. Likewise, rotating machine elements must be balanced
Lubricating machines properly also minimizes parasitic precisely to ensure there is an even distribution of mass
frictional loss. around the circumference of the rotating assembly.
At a microscopic level, the transfer of energy in Separately or combined, mechanical looseness, misalign-
mechanical systems depends on the separation of machine ment and unbalancedness all result in machine vibration,
elements—such as the rolling elements and raceways of which increases the loads on the microscopic critical lube
a bearing—by a critical lubricant film that rarely exceeds films. If that film strength is overwhelmed by vibration-
five micrometers (µm) in thickness. That’s less than the induced dynamic forces, surface-to-surface contact occurs
diameter of a red blood cell. The momentary loads on the and results in parasitic frictional energy loss and increased
critical lube film in a bearing or at the pitch-line of tow wear and tear on the machine (see Figure 2, p. 42).
gear teeth can reach 500,000 psi (35k MPa). Lubricating oil In many industries, pulleys and V-belts are employed to
possesses a special property whereby its viscosity increases connect motor drives to fans, pumps, conveyors, crushers
elastically (temporarily) as a function of pressure. Under and similar equipment. Failure to properly tension V-belts
the load of operation, the increasing viscosity results in results in slippage and frictional energy loss.
increased film strength, which is one reason why oil is I recently conducted a belt-slip study on eight belt-driven
an excellent lubricant. The strength of this film is finite, conical crushers driven by 380 kW motors and operating at
TA B L E 1
Industry-by-industry potential to reduce

energy consumption in select heavy industries
Chemical Petroleum Mining and Pulp and
manufacturing refining minerals paper
Study year 2015 2015 2007 2015
Current consumption in TWh-eq (10 Wh) 12

944 931 365 618
State of the art in TWh-eq (10 Wh) 12

720 808 289 482
Practical minimum in TWh-eq (10 Wh) 12
362 575 170 439
Current energy cost (U.S.$ billions @ $0.066/kWh) $62.3 $61.4 $24.1 $40.8
Savings with current state-of-the-art practices (U.S.$ billions @ $0.066/kWh) $14.8 $8.1 $5 $9
Savings with R&D to achieve practical minimum (U.S.$ billions @ $0.066/kWh) $38.4 $23.5 $12.9 $11.8
Current carbon emissions (millions of mt of CO2-e) 667.6 658.1 258.2 437.2
Reduced carbon emissions with current state-of-the-art practices
158.7 87 53.5 96.3
(millions of mt of CO2-e)
Reduced carbon emissions with R&D to achieve practical minimum
411.7 251.3 138.2 126.8
(millions of mt of CO2-e)
Current social cost of carbon (U.S.$ billions at $50/mt) $33.4 $32.9 $12.9 $21.9
SCC savings/year: current consumption to state of the art ($ billions @ $50/mt) $7.9 $4.4 $2.7 $4.8
SCC savings/year: current consumption to practical minimum ($ billions @ $50/mt) $20.6 $12.6 $6.9 $6.3
40 || QP || May 2023
FIGURE 1
Lubricant separating loaded machine surfaces

A blood cell-sized film of lubricant separates loaded machine surfaces,
which reduces friction, wear and energy
Rolling element load distribution:

Momentary rolling contact loads can Rolling element load distribution
be as high as 500k psi or 35k MPa
Clean oil—particles are too 1-5 μm lube film thickness

small to cause damage
Raceway load
distribution
Source: Drew D. Troyer, Focus on FLAB With Proactive and Precision Maintenance—Coursebook, Sigma-Reliability Solutions/T.A. Cook Consultants, 2014-2020.
80% of load for 7,000 hours per year each. The drive systems and fuel dilution contaminants. Particle contaminants that are
exhibited an average belt slip of 15% as opposed to a best-in- suspended in the oil can create millions of momentary frictional
class maximum of 2%. The frictional loss due to improper microcontacts. Particles in the five to 15 µm size range are par-
V-belt maintenance on these drives resulted in a loss of more ticularly deleterious because they are numerous, do not settle
than 2 million kWh per year. At $0.06/kWh, that translated out of the lubricant easily and are perfectly sized to bridge the
to $120,000 in wasted energy costs and nearly 1,500 mt of lubricant film.
CO2-e emissions per year. This phenomenon creates significant stress concentration
The SCC impact associated with the slippage was $72,000 between the mating surfaces of mechanical systems (Figure 3,
per year for the eight crushers that were studied. Eliminating p. 42). Recall that typical contact loads between contacting
these frictional losses also would enable the plant to reduce surfaces can reach 500,000 psi (35k MPa). If a particle concen-
from eight to seven crushers in operation with no loss of pro- trates that force onto one-tenth of the surface area, the force
duction and leave the plant with spare capacity, increasing is increased to 5 million psi (350k MPa). This produces a great
production reliability. deal of friction and contact fatigue wear in rolling contacts,
Beyond managing vibration, the lubricant itself must be and abrasive and adhesive wear in sliding contacts. Individ-
selected correctly and maintained properly to ensure the ually, these frictional microcontacts do not consume a great
integrity of the lubricant film strength. Viscosity is the most deal of energy, but collectively, the losses become significant.
important property of a lubricant because it provides dimen- The presence of water contamination in the lubricant is
sional separation between moving surfaces. If the viscosity similarly problematic. As noted, the viscosity of oil increases
is too low, the lubricant lacks the film strength necessary dramatically and elastically under the pressure of contact
to separate machine surfaces. If the viscosity is excessive, load, which is a major component of the lubricant’s film
frictional fluid churning produces energy waste. Lubricant strength. Water does not possess this property. Moreover,
additives—especially friction-modifying additives that when water contaminates a lubricant, even in minuscule
prevent metal-to-metal adhesion and further reduce friction volumes, it compromises the oil’s pressure-viscosity rela-
and wear on the machines—also must be selected with care.12 tionship. This leads to surface-to-surface contact, friction,
Another important aspect of lubricant health is contamina- energy waste and machine wear, as illustrated in Figure 3.13
tion control. The most common contaminants are dirt particles Proper sizing and design of fluid transfer pipes and hoses
and water. Engines, however, also suffer from soot, antifreeze are other opportunities to reduce frictional energy loss
FIGURE 2 significantly. As a rule, it is desirable to minimize turbulent

flow in piping and hosing systems. Fluid conveyance systems
Machine vibration
are the most energy efficient when the flow regime is lami-
nar, not turbulent (Figure 4). Flow regimes are characterized
by a dimensionless Reynolds number. A Reynolds number
of 2,000 or less produces a comparatively efficient laminar
flow. A Reynolds number of 4,000 or more will produce an
Mechanical loose- energy-inefficient laminar flow. The range between 2,000
ness, misalignment,
and 4,000 is referred to as transitional flow. The lower the
unbalance and
resonance produce Reynolds number, the more energy efficient the fluid flow.
vibration and Laminar flow is achieved by ensuring that the pipe's
increase the load on inner diameter is adequate to accommodate the fluid flow
the lubricant film… rate comfortably without producing excessive turbulence.
For example, water flowing through a pipe with a six-inch
inner diameter for 1,000 linear feet at 600 gallons per minute
requires nearly four times as much energy as the same flow
through an eight-inch diameter pipe and more than 12 times
…which can over-
the energy required for a 10-inch inner diameter pipe. It also
whelm the lubricant’s
film strength, causing is advisable to minimize sharp turns in piping, particularly
surface-to-surface turns greater than 90 degrees, because they produce energy-
contact, friction, wear consuming turbulence as well.14
and energy waste.
Beyond mechanical frictional loss
Source: Drew D. Troyer, Focus on FLAB With Proactive and Precision Maintenance— While reducing parasitic frictional loss in mechanical systems
Coursebook, Sigma-Reliability Solutions/T.A. Cook Consultants, 2014-2020. offers a great opportunity to reduce energy consumption and
FIGURE 3
Contamination
Particle and water contamination increase friction in mechanical systems
Load concentrated via
Clearance-sized particles compromise the hard particle
Water does not possess oil’s property
the oil film, concentrating the load Rolling element load
whereby viscosity increases as a
and increasing the force on the distribution
function of pressure.
bearing contacts.
Dirty oil
Normal rolling Even small amounts of water con-

element load Race way load
distribution tamination can compromise the oil’s
The extreme contact load causes fatigue distribution pressure-viscosity relationship, which
cracks to form, which leads to pitting leads to surface-to-surface contact,
and eventual spalling and failure. friction, wear and energy waste.
Source: Drew D. Troyer, Focus on FLAB With Proactive and Precision Maintenance—Coursebook, Sigma-Reliability Solutions/T.A. Cook Consultants, 2014-2020.
42 || QP || May 2023
FIGURE 4
Laminar vs. turbulent flows

Visual comparison of laminar and turbulent flow regimes
Laminar flow Turbulent flow
associated GHGs, reducing fugitive emissions of pressurized A dual approach

and compressed fluids, optimizing combustion efficiency in Climate change must be confronted from the supply side and
boilers and engines, and improving the energy efficiency of the demand side. Clearly, on the supply side, we must strive
electrical systems cannot be overlooked. to create zero or near-zero carbon energy sources. But we
When compressed or pressurized fluids leak, the energy also must manage the demand side by reducing consumption.
employed to compress or pressurize them vanishes. It’s not The manufacturing and process industries can reduce energy
uncommon for compressed air systems to experience leakage consumption and its associated carbon footprint significantly
rates of 20% or more. Technologies such as airborne ultrasonic by targeting parasitic mechanical frictional loss, loss associated
analysis instruments make it easy to find leaks, which normally with fugitive emissions and electrical heating loss. These bene-
occur at flanges, connectors, valves and other fastening points, fits are achieved with no loss of production throughput.
making them easy to repair and eliminate. When methane and In the United States, industrial energy management
other volatile organic compounds (VOC) are emitted, the envi- practices can reasonably contribute to an overall reduction
ronmental impact is even greater. Methane, for example, is 25 in energy consumption and associated GHG emissions of
to 80 times more potent as a GHG than CO2. Moreover, VOC 6% or more. With some investment in practically achievable
emissions create safety hazards because of their flammability. energy efficiency practices technologies, that number can be
Managing combustion efficiency in boilers, jet engines and increased to as much as 15%.
reciprocating engines is a must for improving energy efficiency Reducing parasitic friction, fugitive emissions, combus-
and reducing GHG emissions. Combustion of coal, diesel tion inefficiencies and electrical heating losses is a great
and other hydrocarbon fuels is already inefficient. When starting point for asset-intensive organizations to reduce
combustion systems aren’t tuned and maintained properly, energy consumption, and thus the organizations’ carbon
or fuel quality is compromised, matters get much worse. footprints and energy bills. As a bonus, wear and tear on
Electrical energy is wasted when it is converted into heat the machines are reduced and production reliability usually
unnecessarily due to excessive resistance across electrical increases—an all-around win. QP
pathways (I2R losses). Great opportunities exist to prevent
EDITOR’S NOTE
these losses,15 including: The references listed in this article can be found on the article’s webpage
Selecting high-efficiency motors. at qualityprogress.com.
Designing and sizing electrical circuits to minimize
electrical heating.
Using variable frequency drives. (Note: AC to DC conver- Drew D. Troyeris a principal director with Accenture in
sion and DC to AC inversion losses must be considered.) Tulsa, OK. He received a master’s degree in sustainability
Minimizing voltage and current harmonic distortion. and environmental management from Harvard University
Maintaining electrical balance (phase to phase): in Cambridge, MA. A senior member of ASQ, Troyer is an
voltage, current, inductive and resistive. ASQ-certified reliability engineer.
THE DOWNLOAD
Quality 4.0 and the Digital Revolution
Mind Your
ENERGY
Quality principles can extend in

powerful ways to build stronger
by Nicole Radziwill cultures of sustainability
ll organizations are dynamic systems of We no longer have the luxury of debating the need
A
interconnected processes, and every process for energy efficiency and sustainable development.
is driven by energy. This energy can be raw Instead, organizations are turning to the quality
materials, fuel or human attention. In many profession for tools to help accelerate results.
cases, more than one of these forms of energy Aligning strategy with execution and continu-
is required for a process to achieve its objectives. ally improving operations can reduce waste, reduce
Similarly, every improvement to a process requires costs, maximize the positive impacts of a business,
an infusion of energy to sustain the change. and minimize harm and negative impacts to people
Phillip L. Rybarczyk called out this requirement and the environment.
years ago in a QP article, recognizing that “quality Researchers have even recommended formally rein-
practitioners often either neglect or poorly execute troducing approaches like total quality management as
the control stage, jeopardizing the sustainability of the foundation for achieving sustainable development
any improvements acquired from the project.”1 through corporate social responsibility (SR).
Building the habits and practices to ensure Over the past decade, the disciplines of environ-
that a new process (or improvements to a process) ment, health, safety and quality (EHSQ) management
will “stick” is challenging and must be anticipated have started to converge into a more cohesive profes-
in advance. Without energy, a process cannot be sional identity.
conducted, and inputs will not be transformed into As the boundaries between EHSQ topic areas con-
outputs. Without new energy, the status quo will tinue to merge, quality professionals must be aware of
prevail. This applies whether you’re instituting relevant standards (in particular, ISO 14001 and ISO
improvements to benefit an individual, an organiza- 45001), how the evolution of those standards is enabling
tion, or the planet and its ecosystems. At the level of truly integrated EHSQ management systems, and how
iStock.com/cnythzl
the ecosystem, sustainability and cleaner production broader movements around corporate SR, sustainable
have a global impact, especially when sources of fuel development and reporting are being leveraged to build
are shared or nonrenewable. stronger cultures of sustainability.
44 || QP || May 2023
Integrated management systems
Organizations today commonly leverage quality tools
and techniques to advance sustainability practice.2,3
This includes implementing an integrated management
system (IMS) that spans quality (ISO 9001), environmental
management (ISO 14001) and safety (ISO 45001), incorpo-
rating sustainability considerations into standard operating
procedures and work instructions, and implementing pro-
cesses to maintain a focus on the customer.
Although environmental and safety management systems
often directly affect quality, historically they have been
managed independently of the quality management system
(QMS). Because the standards were developed independently
ISO 14001:2015—Environmental of one another, unifying the management systems required
management systems extensive mapping between clauses and processes.
Based on the plan-do-check-act improvement cycle, ISO This changed after the introduction of Annex SL, a shared
14001 helps environmental managers establish systematic, high-level structure for International Organization for Stan-
repeatable approaches for common tasks. dardization standards, which was used as the basis for the
These tasks include designing and implementing opera- most recent revisions of ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. Now that all
tional processes around resource and waste management, the standards have a common structure, it is easier for organi-
effectively engaging stakeholders to gather data and meet zations to implement—and realize the benefits of—IMSs.
legal obligations, and continually improving operations to
reduce emissions, reduce waste or mitigate other environ-
mental impacts.
ISO 26000—Social responsibility

Originally released in 2010, the ISO 26000 guidance on SR
ISO 45001:2018—Occupational health provides voluntary support to help organizations build work
and safety systems that advance sustainability.
This standard helps leaders who are responsible for safety, This includes helping organizations define and operation-
health and well-being establish systematic, repeatable and alize a value system that respects human rights, operates
risk-informed approaches for common processes. mindfully, demonstrates fair labor practices, cares for the
ISO 45001 covers the baseline conditions of the work envi- environment, addresses consumer concerns, and builds
ronment (for example, exposure to chemicals or materials), strong and resilient communities.
requirements for personal protective equipment and routine Embedded in Clause 4—Principles of social responsibility
training around its use, and proper engagement of workers in are seven principles of corporate SR:
potentially hazardous work environments. 1. Accountability.
This standard also addresses establishing quality controls 2. Transparency.
to prevent of adverse work conditions, and requirements for 3. Ethical behavior.
monitoring incidents and continually improving conditions 4. Respect for stakeholder interests.
that will eliminate workplace injuries and deaths. 5. Respect for the rule of law.
THE DOWNLOAD
REACH BACK
Peruse past installments of QP’s The

Download—the column focused on Quality
4.0 and the digital revolution—by visiting ESG initiatives
https://tinyurl.com/2p97cpp5. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) provides
a holistic view of how to measure and monitor an orga-
nization’s environmental and social impact, guided by
meaningful governance.
Environmental metrics include use of tangible goods
6. Respect for international norms of behavior. and raw materials, use of energy and water, and monitor-
7. Respect for human rights. ing of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.
ISO 26000 provides a conceptual model for organizations Social metrics focus on human rights, labor rights
to systematically improve aspects of SR. and providing opportunities through diversity, equity
and inclusion.
Governance metrics track legal and ethical compliance,
and encourage checks and balances on pro-environment
and pro-social behavior.6
Increasingly, investors are monitoring the intentions and
results of programs around ESG to inform decision making at
the highest levels. Many lenders have even reduced the cost of
capital for organizations that maintain high ESG standards.
It’s good for business too. Reducing ESG risk has been
shown to relate to sustainable growth, future financial
performance and stock returns over a long-term horizon.
Increased attention to ESG will continue to drive invest-
ments in QMSs and IMSs as the need for tight, functioning
feedback loops becomes even more apparent.
A job with no end

The U.N. SDGs Quality management helps organizations work more
In 2015, the U.N. published “Transforming our World: smoothly. A QMS accomplishes this by providing ways
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”4 The report to manage the flow of energy between people and through
introduces 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) and recom- processes, using technologies and data as enablers.
mendations for how to measure, monitor and review outcomes. Through ISO 14001 and IMSs, quality principles are
More organizations have started to use the SDGs to focus extended in powerful ways to build cultures of sustainabil-
their corporate SR initiatives on supporting larger scale ity through effective management of raw materials, natural
outcomes that require collaboration from multiple large resources and energy sources—a job with no end. QP
stakeholders. The U.N. Global Compact, a voluntary alliance, EDITOR’S NOTE
supports organizations aiming to adopt more sustainable and The references listed in this column can be found on the column’s webpage
socially responsible practices.5 at qualityprogress.com.
Nicole Radziwillis senior vice president of and chief data scientist at Ultranauts Inc. in New York. She holds a doctorate in technology
management (quality systems) from Indiana State University in Terre Haute. She is an ASQ fellow and an ASQ-certified Six Sigma Black Belt
and quality manager. Radziwill is the author of Connected, Intelligent, Automated: The Definitive Guide to Digital Transformation and Quality 4.0
(Quality Press, 2020) and the former editor of Software Quality Professional.
46 || QP || May 2023
S TA N DA R D I S S U E S
Standards-related developments and activities
E M PLOY E E S ATI S FAC TI O N
ISO 9001 and the

Great Resignation
The key to a successful management system is satisfied employees by Elisabeth Thaller and Jorge Bravo
he worst is over—the pandemic has become an shake off the dust and get back to business. Business as usual?
T
endemic. Life and businesses are ramping back up No. Let’s face it, there’s a new reality.
again. The number of people crowding malls, restau- Every organization that is still alive has overcome the
rants, concerts and other places of social gathering challenges of the past three years in different ways. You may
seems to be larger than ever before, never mind the even find that these challenges have pivoted your organi-
inflation. Like after any big destructive event, it’s time to zation into a new era of digital transformation quicker than
iStock.com/VectorMine
S TA N DA R D I S S U E S
you ever imagined. Some of the work that used to 24/7. The result: With too many demands and things to juggle, stress
be done manually is now completed by sophisti- built up and people started feeling underappreciated and overworked.
cated software, and some decisions are made by Burnout has become a real issue.
algorithms. Results now may be more predictable While it was hard at the beginning, it came with some perks: People
because of detailed real-time metrics. Your orga- started recognizing that work is not everything, and that it can be nice
nization, however, most likely still needs humans to spend time with family and get more involved in everyday matters.
to do some of the work. All the above triggered significant change in employee expectations.
One thing the pandemic has shown us is our Accelerated by feeling unsupported by superiors, insufficient empathy
great capacity for adapting to changing condi- with labor struggles, a lack of recognition, the misalignment of values in
tions. At the beginning of the pandemic, CEOs the organization and other factors, a side effect of the global health cri-
had to trade their corner offices with skyline sis became a phenomenon known as the Great Resignation (also known
views for their home offices with their kids and as the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle).
pets as frequent visitors. Some had to adapt their Finally, leaders began to realize that they must find different ways
living rooms to provide space where they could to motivate, engage and retain people, and that supervision must be
work while also homeschooling their children replaced with a model that fosters engagement, autonomy and trust.
and preparing dinner. Others had to give up their The Great Resignation isn’t over, and some even think it’s just the
excitement over working their first job in an office beginning. Pay raises and other incentives just aren’t enough anymore.
among peers and instead stay secluded in their People quit their jobs because they are looking for better work-life bal-
own place. ance and personal well-being. It’s the new normal.
While most people enjoyed ditching their
commute and spending more time at home, there What ISO 9001 has to do with it
was a blurred line between work and personal life If you’re asking yourself, “What does ISO 9001 have to do with this?”
that many times was overstepped in favor of work, here’s the answer:
leading to extensive work hours, a lack of defined In a previous Standard Issues column,1 we wrote about the impor-
personal time and an expectation to be available tance of recognizing and acting on contextual changes that can affect
the management system. If you’ve done exactly that, you’ve probably
recognized that employee retention is important. The cost of losing
competent employees includes not only the investment in finding,
onboarding and training new employees, but it also comes with the
risk of losing knowledge that may lead to interruptions in your busi-
ness processes.
What you do to support

your employees may
be one of the most
important questions
to ask during the next
internal audit.
48 || QP || May 2023
While ISO 9001 does not address the needs of FIGURE 1
the people doing the work, it does establish that
Managing the Great Resignation

“top management shall demonstrate leadership
and commitment by … engaging, directing and
supporting persons to contribute to the effective-
ness of the quality management system.”2 The challenges of the worldwide health crisis have
What you do to support your employees may be pivoted organizations into a new era. The Great
one of the most important questions to ask during Resignation has triggered the need to rethink how
the next internal audit. Here are a few indicators to manage human resources.
to look for: employee retention rate, number of sick
days people take and burnout rate. If you want to
Before 2019 2019 2019 and beyond
dig deeper, ask for indicators about employee
satisfaction with their job, sense of fulfillment
People 1.0
and community. Pandemic The Great Resignation
The next obvious question is: What are you
doing about it?
Organizations 1.0 Punderappreciated
eople feel
In our experience, HR typically gets involved and overworked.

with management system audits when it comes Burnout.
to reviewing training programs and competency
records, and only if these are not being managed New normal
at the department level. Somehow, HR feels what
it does has nothing to do with the organization’s
quality management or environmental manage- Organizations 2.0 Manage effectively People 2.0
ment, for example, because HR’s role is limited
to human resource management, which, in many
Leadership must find ways
cases, still is seen as a separate entity within the
organizational context. It’s time to change that. to motivate, engage and Iwork-life
ncreased desire for a better
balance and well-being.
retain people.
In the era of the Great Resignation, organi-
Rethink the context. Fpurpose
ulfillment and a sense of
and community.
zations should pay much more attention to their Adapt to the new context.
staff. ISO 9001 refers to people (meaning employ-
ees or subcontractors) as an internal resource
that contributes to the effectiveness of the quality
management system. Nowhere does it establish Elisabeth Thaller is the president of Beyond Conformity Inc.
that this resource also has needs, and that if it is She was the designated expert on behalf of ASQ for the International
not properly attended to, it can be lost. Organization for Standardization (ISO) project committee (PC) 302,
One thing the pandemic has highlighted which was responsible for revising ISO 19011. She also is an active
is the importance of people in any organization. member of the U.S. technical advisory group (TAG) 176. Thaller
Three human behaviors lead to noncompliance: is a Certus-certified quality management system (QMS), environmental management
“I don’t know,” “I can’t” and “I don’t want.”3 We’d system (EMS), and occupational health and safety (OHS) lead auditor. She is a coauthor of
like to add a fourth element: “I don’t care anymore.” Beyond Compliance: Application of ISO 37301 in Any Organization Interested in Compliance
This happens when people feel overworked and (Paton Professional, 2021).
undervalued. At some point, even the best employee
will give up and become numb, or look for a job that
contributes to their personal well-being and a better
work-life balance. Jorge Bravois the senior vice president of Beyond Conformity
Beyond what you find in this article and what you Inc. Since 2002, Bravo has participated as a delegate to ISO TC 176,
can take from ISO 9001 (and other standards), what ISO TC 207, ISO CASCO, STTF and the ISO Brand Integrity committee
actions is your organization undertaking to face the representing Chile or ISO liaison bodies. He teaches management
Great Resignation? Tell us at my.asq.org. QP systems programs at the graduate level at several universities in Latin
EDITOR’S NOTE
America. Bravo is a Certus-certified QMS, EMS, OHS and food safety management lead auditor.
References listed in this column can be found on the column’s He is a coauthor of Beyond Compliance: Application of ISO 37301 in Any Organization Interested
webpage at qualityprogress.com. in Compliance (Paton Professional, 2021).
SIX SIGMA SOLUTIONS
Practical knowledge about Six Sigma
The
C U LT U R E
Ingredient
Building a lean (and Six Sigma) culture requires recognizing the influence
of available resources in your environment by Gary G. Jing
uilding a lean culture is usually an effort in shaping a culture. The environment aspect
B
overarching pursuit of any lean pro- may be left out because people can’t do much to
gram. Various things have been shared change it. Yet, ignoring it is like burying your head
in the public domain regarding how in the sand. It can make cultural building less fruit-
to build and maintain a lean culture. ful without being understood.
Yet, if you review all the important ingredients
that have been suggested, you notice one critical The qualifier
part missing: the environment. In this context, I’d like to mention my exposure to Japanese
environment does not refer to the meaning used in culture, which enabled me to uncover this miss-
sustainability, but the ecosystem the organization ing critical piece. For a good part of three years,
is in—the living environment or the “context of I spent much time in Japan deploying a lean Six
organization,” as used in ISO 9001. Sigma program in one of our plants.
iStock.com/Icon Matic
I’d like to call out specifically the resource avail- On weekends, I traveled extensively across
ability aspect of the living environment. Although Japan, visiting almost all corners of the country
usually left out, resource availability can be a more that the Shinkansen bullet train could reach.
dominant deciding factor than any manufactured I also have visited many Toyota plants in Japan
50 || QP || May 2023
and the United States, including those in Toyota
City headquarters (Aichi, Japan), NUMMI
(Fremont, CA) and Kentucky.
From these experiences, I realized the huge
contrast between Japan and the United States, Awareness and
and I deeply felt the inherent tie between the education can help
living environment and the way of living.
change perspectives.
The significance of the missing Simply being exposed
ingredient to how people live in
Lean practices are so ingrained in Japan’s resource-strained
way of living. It’s not because the Japanese
have built a lean-like program or initiative.
environments can help
Rather it’s because of their living conditions adjust expectations
or environment. to the resource
At a high level, a lean initiative or program is consumption baseline.
what Americans summarized with the intent to
mimic the Japanese way of living: The United
States used Toyota as the example or role model
with the intent to improve the competitiveness
of Western organizations. Toyota may be the best,
but Toyota Way practices widely exist in Japan Culture that’s dictated by living conditions
and Japanese societies. Remember seeing Japa- widely exists everywhere. Chicken feet are a
nese fans cleaning up after themselves and others popular dim sum item, for example, which many
in stadiums hosting World Cup soccer matches?1,2 Americans find difficult to understand or simply
Japan is notoriously dense in population—space find distasteful. The reason for this type of dish
and resources per capita are limited and scarce. is that many Chinese used to eat from more varied
Some say that’s one reason Japan was aggressive food sources than people from other places. From
in the early 20 th century invading neighboring offal to exotic animals, anything eatable can turn
countries because its limited resources could no into delicious foods. Snake, rat, insect and scor-
longer support the rapid growth of its population pion are some examples.
and economy. Again, it’s due to resource availability or lack
Consequently, the Japanese developed extremely thereof. What’s behind that are centuries of food
lean habits as the way of living. These habits are scarcity. When people are hungry, anything nutri-
immersed in every corner of their lives and col- tious and nonpoisonous is eatable. Centuries of
lectively formed their lean culture. For example, practice turn into habit and then culture. In short,
Figure 1 (p. 52) shows eight different buckets in a col- environment (living conditions) trumps almost
lection area for citizens to separate different pieces everything in shaping culture.
of trash and refuse—dividing and determining what
can be recycled, which can save money, waste and The implication of the missing
resources. The Japanese must conserve and be lean, ingredient
otherwise they would not survive as a population. The U.S. living environment is quite the opposite
This is the fundamental reason the Toyota Way to Japan’s in terms of resources and space avail-
or the Toyota Production System (TPS) is built ability. Table 1 (p. 52) and Figure 2 (p. 53) show
around and portrayed as lean. It’s the culture that the land per capita comparison.
created TPS and the Toyota Way, not vice versa— Consequently, the baseline for resource con-
as vigorously pursued by many organizations in sumption is quite different as well. In my class,
the Western world via lean programs. Note that I like to use a simple example to highlight the
the culturally induced program naturally has inherent connection between resource avail-
positive reinforcement, which makes sustainment ability and resource consumption. The United
much easier. States, for example, has less than 5% of the world’s
SIX SIGMA SOLUTIONS
population, yet it consumes more than 16% of the energy

TA B L E 1
in the world, as shown in Figure 3.
Land per capita comparison

So, what’s the implication in building a lean culture in
a resource-rich environment such as the United States?
Good or bad, people must recognize:
Ignoring living conditions and eco-environments would
Land space
be like building houses on the sand: a lack of footing, Population Land per
2023 data (square
superficial and easy to cripple. (1,000) 1,000 people
kilometers)
It will be more of an uphill battle in the United States and
Japan 124,630 364,546 3
somewhat against its nature due to resource-rich living
conditions and environment. United States 334,414 9,147,593 31
If corporate America is driven by quarterly Wall Street Minnesota 5,707 206,189 44
performance, any culture will have quarterly flavor
World 8,014,455 148,940,000 22
as well.
What to do then? Sources:

Wikipedia, “List of Countries and Dependencies by Population,”
Awareness and education can help change perspectives. http://bit.ly/3EzM6ie.
Simply being exposed to how people live in resource-strained Wikipedia, “List of Countries and Dependencies by Area,”
http://bit.ly/3ISVzDG.
FIGURE 1
Trash collection during

environments can help adjust expectations to the resource
consumption baseline.
cherry blossom (sakura) in

Fostering a favorable eco-environment collectively will
make cultural building and sustainment easier, providing
positive reinforcement:
Ueno Park, Japan in 2007 All organizations are attempting to create a favorable
eco-environment within their four walls, but individu-
ally, they generally have limited influence on the external
environment.
It’s more rewarding and worth the effort for organizations
to engage externally and exchange practices. That’s why
Toyota is so eager to share its practices with the public.
When enough organizations are trying lean and reaching
a critical mass, an external eco-environment can become
more favorable to lean culture. QP
©2023 Gary G. Jing
NOTES
1. For a collection of news stories related to Japanese World Cup fans cleaning
up after soccer matches, see https://bit.ly/3EDXBFl.
2. For a LinkedIn post that includes video interviews of Japanese fans explaining
this clean-up aspect of their culture, see https://bit.ly/3ISHPZY.
Photo courtesy of Gary G. Jing
52 || QP || May 2023
FIGURE 2
Living conditions: population LEARN AND DEVELOP
vs. resources occupied Learn at all lean Six Sigma levels and apply improve-
ments to your industry: from complete beginner
to advanced, and on your way to certification. For
more details and to determine which offerings are
Land (SQKM) per 1,000 people (2023 data)
best for you, visit asq.org/training/lean-six-sigma.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Japan United States Minnesota World
Sources:
Wikipedia, “List of Countries and Dependencies by Population,”
http://bit.ly/3EzM6ie.
Wikipedia, “List of Countries and Dependencies by Area,” http://bit.ly/3ISVzDG.
FIGURE 3
Share of U.S. world energy consumption Gary G. Jing

is a Master
Black Belt
40%
and lean
31% U.S. share down 6% Six Sigma
deployment leader, and currently
30% senior quality manager at Onto
25%
Innovation. He has worked as a
continuous improvement director
24% at CommScope in Shakopee, MN,
20%
and was on the U.S. delegation
to International Organization
for Standardization Technical
10%
Committee 176 and participated in
the development of ISO 9000:2015
as the secretary of subcommittee 1/
0% working group 1, which is responsible
for the ISO 9000 standard. He earned
72
77
82
87
92
97
19
19
19
19
19
19
a doctorate in industrial engineering

from the University of Cincinnati.
Note: Graph shows 4.5% world population (United States) consumes more than 20% world energy. A fellow of ASQ, Jing is an ASQ-
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. certified quality manager and engineer.
MARKETPL ACE Newly released products and tools
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The software was developed through low-energy Blue-
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EXPERIENCE
Explore the must-know topics and trends, like Quality 4.0,

Lean and the Cost of Quality.
ASQ members, solve your top business challenges faster videos.asq.org
with exclusive, in-depth micro-learnings from peers and
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B A C K TO The Risk
Landscape
BASICS
A refresher on a quality tool, concept or method
An overview of risk identification and mitigation

tools by Matthew Barsalou
esign failure mode and effects analysis (DFMEA)
D
is used to identify risks in designs,1 process failure
mode and effects analysis (PFMEA) is used to iden-
tify risks in processes,2 and a control plan is used to
describe inspection actions. 3 These documents often
are discussed individually, but they exist with other docu-
ments in an interconnected risk identification and mitigation
landscape, as shown in Online Figure 1, which can be found and the rest is much like a DFMEA but orientated
on this article’s webpage at qualityprogress.com. on process-related failures and failure causes.
The first step is DFMEA. The inputs typically are doc- The detection actions identified in the PFMEA
uments such as a list of customer requirements, technical are carried over into a control plan, which lists
drawings, specifications and a bill of material (BOM), as well the process number, name, location, operation,
as other documents. It’s important to review internal and characteristic to control, specification, method
external product requirements to better understand what of inspection, frequency of inspection, size of the
the product must do. The technical drawing describes the sample to take, where to record the results and a
engineering characteristics the product will contain, and the reaction plan for when a deviation is detected.
BOM lists the components that will form the product. The documents may need updating over the
A boundary diagram is used to better understand the prod- product’s lifetime, such as when lessons learned
uct’s structure and interactions within the system and with are identified. The DFMEA should be updated for
other systems, such as the customer’s system. The parameter design-related failures and the PFMEA for pro-
diagram (P-diagram) is used to better understand the prod- cess-related failures. QP
uct’s functions and influence on the functions, such as system
EDITOR’S NOTE
inputs and noise factors. A P-diagram also is used to identify The references listed in this column can be found on the column’s
the product’s ideal function and error states. The boundary webpage at qualityprogress.com.
diagram and P-diagram are critical DFMEA inputs, which
evaluate the product’s design to identify and mitigate risks.
A DFMEA lists functions, requirements, the way in which
the product can fail, and the causes and effects of a failure.
It also lists actions to prevent the failure cause, and to detect
the failure or failure effect. The failure effect’s severity is
evaluated, as is the effectiveness of prevention and detection Matthew Barsalou works in the auto
actions. Together, they are used to generate a risk priority industry in Germany. He has a master’s
number or an action priority. Both are used to prioritize degree in business administration and
improvement actions, which are described in the DFMEA. engineering from Wilhelm Büchner
The detection actions identified in the DFMEA are trans- Hochschule in Darmstadt, Germany, and a master’s degree in liberal
ferred to a design validation plan (DVP). The DVP is used studies from Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS. Barsalou is an
to ensure the detection actions are carried out, as well as associate academician in the International Academy for Quality,
iStock.com/zhuweiyi49
to report on the actions. an ASQ fellow and was the 2021 chair of ASQ’s Statistics Division.
The PFMEA is much like the DFMEA but is used for the He is a certified lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and an ASQ-
process. The two main inputs are the DFMEA and a process certified Six Sigma Black Belt, manager of quality/organizational
flowchart. A PFMEA lists the process step and requirements, excellence, quality technician and quality engineer.
56 || QP || May 2023
ISO
ENVIRONMENTAL
PUBLICATIONS
ISO 14030: Environmental Performance Evaluation – Green Debt Instruments
This new four-part series provides a roadmap for ISO 14030-1:2021 Process for green bonds
issuing a green bond and originating a green loan, Item Number: T1612E
including:
ISO 14030-2:2021 Process for green loans
• Designating bonds and loans which finance Item Number: T1613E
eligible projects, assets, and supporting
expenditures as “green” ISO 14030-3:2022 Taxonomy
• managing and reporting on the use of proceeds Item Number: T1617E
• defining, monitoring, and reporting on their ISO 14030-4:2021 Verification programme

environmental impacts requirements
Item Number: T1614E tinyurl.com/mr2htepj
• validation and verification
ASQ/ANSI/ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems

Requirements with Guidance for Use*
Item Number: T1041
Applicable across industries and revised in 2015, this standard helps an organization achieve
the intended outcomes of its environmental management system, including:
• enhancement of environmental performance
• fulfillment of compliance obligations tinyurl.com/T1041E
• achievement of environmental objectives
The ISO 14001:2015 Implementation Handbook

Using the Process Approach to Build an Environmental Management System
Item Number: H1507
A guide in building the environmental management system in support of the

organization’s operations, including:
• best practices
• common pitfalls and weaknesses
• accompanying CD with comprehensive check sheets tinyurl.com/HG1507
to be used by internal auditors
*This American National Standard (ANS) is an identical adoption of ISO 14001:2015. The text of this ANS does not differ from ISO 14001:2015.
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