Category Archives: SIG

SIG Meeting – October 8, 2026

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From Perfectionism to Hybrid Meetings: What We Learned After QIT

Just two days after ASQ Raleigh’s Quality in the Triangle (QIT) conference, eighteen quality professionals (fifteen in the room and three online) gathered Thursday evening to look back at what worked and look ahead at what’s next. It was part conference debrief, part planning session, and the room was full of people who clearly care about building a strong local quality community.

What stood out at QIT

The clear favorite was Dr. Amna Shabbir’s keynote, “The Confidence Cure: From Perfectionism to Excellencism: Building Executive Presence.” Her message resonated: perfectionism drives stress, while striving for excellence drives results. That idea carried right into our discussion.

AI was the other big theme, with four sessions drawing strong interest:

  • Leading with AI: Practical Quality Engineering Strategies for the Modern Enterprise, Sanjay Murthy
  • Augmenting Excellence: AI in Continuous Improvement, Amita Sherwood
  • AI Risks and Data Integrity Fundamentals in Regulated Environments, Sara Haddad
  • From Reactive to Proactive: How AI is Transforming Quality Investigations in Manufacturing and Life Sciences, Chris Andrassy

Attendees who’ve been to other conferences also brought a practical idea for next year: two-sided name badges with proof of attendance and recertification unit (RU) information printed on the back, making it easy to claim RUs.

Hybrid: it worked!

This was a milestone for us. Using our section’s Webex account, we ran a successful hybrid meeting, letting members join from across the Triangle and beyond. Hybrid does bring its own challenges, so we talked about choosing larger rooms, managing background noise, and planning AV carefully.

An AI course is coming

Building on the energy from QIT, one of the most exciting topics was a planned AI course for quality professionals: four to six sessions combining instruction with discussion. The group weighed the trade-offs, with some suggesting a bigger, quieter room and others valuing the convenience of our current format. Stay tuned for details.

ASQ Raleigh Planning

Great programming takes people, and nobody should have to carry the load alone. Ideas included:

  • Small program committees for specific event types, such as dinner meetings or site visits, with five to ten people each taking one small task per event
  • Partnering with neighboring ASQ sections and other professional organizations on virtual events, expanding our speaker pool and audience
  • Engaging local companies and executives to support meetings with space, speakers, and sponsorship
  • Bringing back favorites like facility tours and dinner meetings

We were also candid about the challenges: recruiting speakers, engaging students, and serving members spread across a large region. Naming them openly is the first step to solving them.

Join us!

Give back: Food Bank volunteer event, Saturday, October 24
Join fellow members at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh. A few hours of your time makes a real difference, and it’s a great way to get to know the section. Register at https://cerv.is/0225rASQ. Questions? Contact Ashley Norris at ashleynorris@projectfarma.com.

Upcoming SIG meetings, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, Eagles Room, Frontier RTP (and online)

We meet the second Thursday of every month. Topics are still taking shape, and this is your chance to shape them: tell us what you’d like to discuss when you register or reach out to tim@aligncollaboration.com. Bring a colleague!

SIG Meeting – Sept 10, 2026

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Overview

The meeting introduced attendees and focused on quality auditing, supplier risk, quality culture, and upcoming ASQ events.

Event Updates

Tim shared information about the October 6 Quality in the Triangle conference and other ASQ Raleigh activities. Info, the preliminary program, and registration are available at https://app.memberplanet.com/#/event/asqraleighsection/asqraleighqualityinthetriangleqitconference_1.

Remember that the ASQ Raleigh Event page is available at https://www.asqraleigh.org/events/!

Quality Discussion

Attendees talked about work in pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical devices, computerized-system auditing, supplier quality, post-market surveillance, and quality consulting.

There was some discussion around whether current audit methods reveal an organization’s commitment to quality improvement and future risk. People seemed to think that escalating severity upon recurrence forces organizational improvement.

It was mentioned that ISO 9001: 2026 requires top management to actively promote quality culture and ethical behavior (Clause 5.1.1) and requires employees to demonstrate awareness of both as part of their general QMS awareness (Clause 7.3). How will quality culture and management responsibility be measured and audited? Maybe a topic for future discussion!

We discussed an AI platform for quality investigations, including triage, root-cause analysis, reporting, and CAPA documentation

The group distinguished ISO 9001 conformance from regulatory compliance, noting that regulated organizations face additional legal obligations.

Key Concerns

Supplier audits may identify gaps but may not show whether suppliers learn from failures or improve their systems.

Aug 13 2026 SIG Meeting

SIG Meeting — August 13, 2026

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Attendance: 9 members participated in this month’s Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting, including 4 newcomers!

Poimapper App Demonstration

The meeting featured a live demonstration of Poimapper, a mobile data collection app currently under review. Discussion centered on three potential quality applications:

Standardizing audit forms across sites or teams
Tracking non-conformance processes from identification through closure
Real-time reporting, using field-collected data to support faster decision-making

The group agreed that Poimapper’s strongest fit is likely for organizations that don’t yet have an established electronic QMS, where it could serve as a lightweight, accessible entry point into digital data collection rather than a replacement for a mature system.

Hybrid Meeting Format Discussion

The group discussed shifting the monthly SIG meeting to a hybrid format (in-person and online). Overall sentiment was open to the idea, with two practical concerns raised:

Background noise from the space outside the meeting room
Audio clarity for remote attendees trying to follow the discussion

These will need to be addressed (for example, through room changes or an improved microphone setup) before adopting a hybrid format.

Future Event Ideas

Members shared ideas for future SIG and section events, including:

Company tours
Dinner meetings
Educational courses, with specific interest in a multi-session course on AI basics for quality professionals

Next Steps

Explore solutions for hybrid meeting audio quality
Gauge interest in and scope out a possible multi-session AI basics course

Next Meeting

Our next SIG meeting will be Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 4:30 PM, at the same location, Frontier RTP. A floor plan will be included in the meeting announcement to help everyone find the room easily. Register here: https://www.asqraleigh.org/event/asq-raleigh-special-interest-group-meeting-september-10-2026/#rsvp-now

Quality in the Triangle (QIT) Conference: Registration is now open for the QIT Conference! Register here: https://app.memberplanet.com/#/event/asqraleighsection/asqraleighqualityinthetriangleqitconference_1

Stay Connected: For a full list of upcoming section events, visit the ASQ Raleigh Events Calendar: https://www.asqraleigh.org/events/

SIG Meeting – July 9, 2026

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At our monthly ASQ Raleigh Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting at Frontier RTP, we had 8 people attend, two of whom were newcomers. As we find occasionally, these two were in the process of finding new employment opportunities in the Triangle Area. One is new to the area (welcome!) and one is a victim of layoffs at Asensus Surgical.

Asensus Surgical announced layoffs of 108 employees last month and canceled the development of two products being developed in the Triangle. Asensus Surgical was purchased by Karl Storz in 2024. We talked about a the current difficulty of finding new jobs in the area and how impersonal the job search process seems now. We discussed how people have used the monthly SIG meeting to make connections that lead to new jobs and networking opportunities within the ASQ Raleigh Section.

Our next SIG meeting will be from 4:30 to 6:30 on August 13th, 2026, at Frontier RTP. We will have a short demonstration of an app that can be used to easily and flexibly create forms which can be used in internal and external audits, supplier ranking, prosses changes, etc. The announcement and registration is here!

SIG Meeting — June 11, 2026

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At our monthly ASQ Raleigh Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting at Frontier RTP, we welcomed a newcomer to the Triangle area with substantial experience in the leadership of a large ASQ geographic section. We talked about a variety of topics, such as finding new jobs in the area, how people have used the monthly SIG meeting to make connections that lead to new jobs, and the relationships between ASQ Geographic Sections (like our ASQ Raleigh Section) and the larger society. ASQ underwent a structural change in 2020, and we discussed several ways our local section can better engage with and improve our relationship with the larger organization.

Our next SIG meeting will be from 4:30 to 6:30 on July 9th, 2026, at Frontier RTP.

ASQ Raleigh SIG meeting

SIG Meeting — April 9, 2026

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The monthly ASQ Raleigh Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting at Frontier RTP in April had seven participants, all ASQ members who had attended SIG meetings regularly.

We had a discussion theme on “human error” led by Tim Whetten, who planned to submit an abstract around this topic for the annual ASQ Raleigh “Quality in the Triangle” (QIT) conference in October. This in-person SIG meeting was a perfect forum for him to get some feedback and ideas.

Tim started his presentation (a draft version) with understanding various types of work and then common errors associated with each type. Much of the discussion went into the potential causes of each kind of errors and how we might prevent or reduce such errors.

All attendees actively participated in the discussion by asking questions or sharing their personal experiences. One question was simple but profound: “what is human [vs non-human] error?” We all learned from Deming that quality is mostly determined by the systems or processes as designed. Defining and identifying “human” errors is not as trivial as one might think.

Not surprisingly, work involving humans requires cognition, such as perception, memory, and decisions. How people learn and use their knowledge and skills to get work done right in a given environment is complex and fascinating.

We are looking forward to seeing Tim Whetten present at the QIT conference and share his personal story and perspectives on this important topic.

Our next SIG meeting will be on May 14, 2026 at the same place and time.

ASQ Raleigh Life Sciences SIG meeting

Life Sciences SIG — March 26, 2026

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ASQ Raleigh had its first Life Sciences Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting of 2026 on March 26th. The event was held at the NC Biotech Center, where we are one of the Intellectual Exchange Groups that help build the vibrant Life Sciences community in North Carolina.

Despite the bad evening traffic, eleven people were able to make it to the meeting, where Dr. Elizabeth Gilbert presented “Beyond CAPA: Closing the Quality–Culture Gap in Regulated Industries.”

One of the points of discussion was the increasing number of FDA warning letters in the recent years. What are the potential causes? Dr. Gilbert led the discussion on the gaps in documented systems and lived behavior in many organizations.

Culture, systems, management, and leadership can influence employee behavior and therefore quality outcomes. Many of the participants could relate to these interacting factors from experience. Trust and psychological safety was a critical consideration, e.g. can operators stop the production or bring up issues? It’s hard to have a quality and Continuous Improvement culture without engaged employees who feel valued and empowered.

The meeting ended with a group photo with our new ASQ Raleigh banner! Thanks Dr. Gilbert for the thought-provoking presentation.

ASQ Raleigh Life Sciences SIG attendees gathering at the NC Biotech Center

Want to know more about what we discussed? Come to our next event!

Are you interested in presenting at our SIG meetings? Do you know someone who might be interested in presenting? Please let us know. ASQRaleigh@sections.asq.org

ASQ Raleigh SIG meeting

SIG Meeting — March 14, 2026

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We gathered on March 12th at 4:30 PM for the Second Thursday SIG (Special Interest Group) Six Sigma meeting, held at Frontier RTP. Eleven participants, including both regular attendees and a few new faces, came together for an upbeat and engaging discussion of current quality topics.

A large portion of the conversation focused on auditing practices, including internal audits aligned with ISO 9001 and other standards, the role of the auditor versus the process owner, and practical approaches to sampling and evidence collection. Participants also shared insights on supplier audits, FDA-related risk considerations, and cultural challenges in global supply chains, along with practical tips helpful for those preparing for ASQ certifications.

The group also explored cybersecurity and software validation, particularly risks in regulated environments such as medical devices. The conversation included emerging AI-related concerns, liability, hallucinations, and model drift, alongside practical applications such as document gap analysis, NCR structuring, and early detection signals, with a clear emphasis on maintaining human oversight.

The next SIG Six Sigma meeting will be held April 9th at 4:30 PM, when Tim Whetten will open the discussion with a short session on dealing with human error when it is a cause in a nonconformance investigation. Register here!

ASQ Raleigh SIG meeting

SIG Meeting — February 12, 2026

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ASQ Raleigh had its second Special Interest Group meeting at Frontier RTP on February 12. A small group of six people attended the meeting, including one new attendee, who became a member last year.

The ASQ Raleigh Section leadership team has been making effort to reverse the declining membership trend seen over the past few years, not just at the local section level but globally. It’s very important for us to understand how ASQ and ASQ Raleigh Section create value for our members and communities. The good news is that we have seen a significant increase in the recent Section membership (up by about 8%).

Since several attendees were on the Section leadership team, we naturally wanted to learn about the reason for the new member joining ASQ. What we learned was that their company was a startup and getting their product ready for the market, and they found ASQ as a good source of knowledge related to manufacturing, quality, regulation, and compliance.

Another attendee was not a member but interested in ASQ certification and career development. Participants shared their career lessons, including the importance of having mentors and being proactive in creating our own career paths.

We also acknowledged the change in the relationship between employee and employer in the past few decades. For example, it’s common to see people switch jobs every few years now, whereas the previous generation tended to stay with the same employer for decades. Switching jobs seems to be a more effective path to advance one’s career because few employers or managers are actively helping employees advance.

Our next meeting will be on March 12, 2026 at the same time and location. Hope to see you there!

SIG Meeting — January 8, 2026

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The first ASQ Raleigh Section open discussion meeting of 2026 was well attended, with 14 participants, several of whom were newcomers! Following the lively discussion on AI in quality at our December meeting, Chris Andrassy volunteered to lead a session on integrating AI into nonconformance investigations and reporting. We discussed his implementation in which data is collected, guided by AI, followed by AI analysis, suggested likely root causes, and report generation.

ASQ Raleigh SIG meeting
Chris Andrassy shares his thoughts

There was extensive discussion about the interaction and roles of humans and AI. While AI can provide consistency, efficiency, and sometimes insights, it can also make mistakes and requires human oversight. Is there an issue with “oversight fatigue”, where human experts don’t notice AI errors? One suggestion was to use the interaction between the AI agent and the human, in which the AI agent asks the human probing questions.

It seemed as though a similar capability could be created for change control.

It was noted that, as with other quality areas, a process needs to be established with valid data before automating it with AI. To analyze the problem and identify potential root causes, AI needs a sufficient volume of accurate historical data.

Tim Whetten