ASQ rewards achievements in quality methodology

The American Society for Quality will present two Distinguished Service Medals and seven National Awards during its annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement in Minneapolis on May 18. The recipients are recognized for their innovative contributions and achievements in the area of quality methodology.

Each individual will be awarded a medal or award during the honors ceremony on Monday, May 18, and all except the Brumbaugh Awardee will present a brief acceptance speech. For more information about ASQ awards, visit the ASQ Web site at www.asq.org/about-asq/awards/.

Distinguished Service Medals presented to:

Ronald G. Kingen – Racine, Wis., president, Balance Engineering

For his demonstrated leadership of enhancing ASQ’s certification process; for his exceptional dedication and extraordinary contributions to improve quality at ASQ national, division, committee, and section levels; for his personal commitment and involvement to promote quality principles and practices to extend the global reaches of quality; and for mentoring quality professionals and senior level executives around the world.

Navin S. Dedhia – San Jose, Calif., quality management consultant, Hitachi Global Storage Tech Inc.

For having been recognized as a long-term enabler, catalyst, and a prime mover of quality around the world; for impacting and influencing the worldwide quality community; for his demonstrated dedication, exceptional contribution, exemplary leadership roles, and sustained service on behalf of the Society in promoting quality principles, applications, and methods; for championing quality principles and applications for the benefit of the quality community; for devoting time, energy, and resources to enhance the image of ASQ by getting involved at ASQ national, division, committee, and section levels; and for selflessly mentoring, guiding, and advising quality professionals.

National Awards presented to:

Feigenbaum Medal presented to Jeroen de Mast – Amsterdam, Netherlands, principal consultant, IBIS UvA

For outstanding contributions and leadership in quality engineering; for excellence in research, methodology, mentoring, and education in sound qualitative as well as quantitative data-driven methodologies; and for developing innovative techniques for nontraditional applications for measurement systems, control charts, and exploratory data-analysis.

Grant Medal presented to Lawrence S. Aft – Alpharetta, Ga., director, Continuing Education, Institute of Industrial Engineers

For outstanding contributions as a leader in the development of educational programs dedicated to the philosophies and technologies of the quality sciences, and for his unique leadership role and participation in establishing the quality profession as a direct function of the manufacturing and service industries.

Juran Medal presented to Horst Schulze – Atlanta, chairman and CEO, The West Paces Hotel Group LLC

For his exemplary leadership and relentless efforts in pursuit of operational excellence across multiple organizations including The Ritz-Carlton; for his tireless work with The West Paces Hotel Group to create another successful luxury hotel brand in Capella Hotels and Resorts; for his redefining of the concepts of service excellence and quality, which has propelled the first Capella hotel, the Schloss Velden Hotel in Velden, Austria, to 91-percent guest satisfaction; for establishing a Service Quality Learning Center at The Hotel at Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center; and for serving as a mentor and role model for other organizations around the world.

Lancaster Medal presented to Alberto Miller – Vestal, N.Y., director, International Education, Broome Community College, SUNY

For his outstanding leadership and contributions to the promotion of quality values in the international sphere; for his dedication to education and training of quality professionals; and for his contributions to the promotion of global exchange of quality knowledge.

Shainin Medal presented to Jane L. Hoying – Livonia, Mich., manager, Shainin LLC

For developing the TransaXional problem-solving methodology for cost-effectively solving complex business process problems. The organizing principles expose functional relationships based on risk and reveal them according to importance. This process provides for the implementation of high-value precise corrective actions in a systematic manner.

Shewhart Medal presented to Roger W. Hoerl – Niskayuna, N.Y., manager, GE Applied Statistics Lab

For outstanding technical leadership in the development and effective use of quality improvement and statistical methodology; for innovative contributions to Statistical Thinking and Six Sigma; and for worldwide communication of these ideas through numerous thought provoking publications, books, courses, and presentations.

Brumbaugh Award presented to Søren Bisgaard – Pelham, Mass., professor, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

For authoring the paper, "Must a Process Be in Statistical Control Before Conducting Designed Experiments?" Quality Engineering, Vol. 20, No. 2, April, 2008, pp. 143–150.

ASQ, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.