Quality Certifications

In a competitive work environment, one of the ways that quality professionals can distinguish themselves, enhance their credibility, and improve their career potential is to become certified in an appropriate quality discipline. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) offers certifications in a variety of disciplines, including Manager of Quality/ Organizational Excellence, Quality Engineer, Reliability Engineer, Software Quality Engineer, Quality Auditor, Six Sigma Black Belt, Six Sigma Green Belt, Quality Technician, Calibration Technician, Quality Improvement Associate, Quality Inspector, Quality Process Analyst, Hazard Analysis and Critical Point Auditor, Biomedical Auditor, and Pharmaceutical GMP Professional.

The requirements for all of these certifications are avail­able at the ASQ’s Web site: www.asq.org/certification. At this Web site, there is a list of the various certifications available through the ASQ. Simply click on the certification of interest, and all relevant information pertaining to that certification will be available. In addition, the ASQ provides assistance to potential examinees who are preparing for certification examinations: They may find the help they need under the heading “Prepare for the exam” at the applicable page on the ASQ’s certification Web site address (www.asq.org/ certification). The requirements and body of knowledge re­lating to the most pertinent of these certifications—Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, Quality Engineer, and Quality Technician—are summarized in the following paragraphs.

2. Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence

This certification is for managers who lead and champion continual process-improvement initiatives, facilitates and leads team efforts to establish and monitor customer and supplier relations, supports strategic planning and de­ployment efforts, assists in the development of measure­ment systems, motivates staff, evaluates staff, manages projects, manages human resources, analyzes budgets and finances, evaluates risk, and uses management tools and techniques.

Education and Experience Requirements In order to sit for the Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence examination, individuals must have ten years of experience in one or more of the following areas: leadership, strategic plan development and deployment, management elements and methods, quality management tools, customer focus, supply-chain management, and training and development. At least five of the ten years of experience in one or more of these areas of expertise must be at the decision-making level. Education waivers of up to five years are allowed for individuals who have completed a diploma or degree from an institution accredited by the ASQ. The waivers apply as follows: (1) one year for a technical diploma, (2) two years for an associate degree, (3) four years for a baccalau­reate degree, and (4) five years for a master or doctorate degree.

Examination Topics The ASQ offers a practice exami­nation that helps prospective examinees determine what the test covers and what areas or topics they might need to re­view more thoroughly. The body of knowledge covered on the examination for certification as a Manager of Quality/ Organizational Excellence is as follows:

• Leadership. Organizational structures and culture, leadership challenges, team and team processes, and the ASQ Code of Ethics.
• Strategic plan development and deployment. Strategic planning models, business environment analysis, and stra­tegic plan deployment.
• Management elements and methods. Management skills and abilities, communication skills and abilities, project management, quality systems, and quality models and theories.
• Quality management tools. Problem-solving tools, process management, and measurement/metrics.
• Customer-focused organizations. Customer identifica­tion, segmentation, and relationship management.
• Supply-chain management. Supplier selection, supplier communications, supplier performance, supplier improve­ment, supplier certification/partnerships/ alliances, and supplier logistics.
• Training and development. Training plans, needs anal­ysis, training material/curriculum development and de­livery, and training effectiveness/evaluation.

3. Quality Engineer

The Quality Engineer certification is for individuals who develop and operate quality control systems, apply and ana­lyze testing and inspection procedures, use metrology and statistical systems to diagnose and correct quality problems, understand human factors and motivation, understand quality cost techniques, develop and administer manage­ment information systems, and audit quality systems for identifying deficiencies and correcting them.

Education and Experience Requirements In order to sit for the Quality Engineer certification examination, individuals must have a minimum of eight years of work experience in one or more of the following disciplines: management and leadership, the quality system, product and process design, product and process control, and con­tinuous improvement. Waivers of part of the experience requirement available to individuals who have completed a diploma or degree from an institution accredited by the ASQ are as follows: (1) one year for a technical diploma, (2) two years for an associate degree, (3) four years for a baccalaureate degree, and (4) five years for a masters or doctorate degree.

Examination Topics The ASQ provides a practice ex­amination that helps prospective examinees find out what the test covers and what areas or topics they might need to review more thoroughly. The body of knowledge covered on the examination for certification as a Quality Engineer is as follows:

• Management and leadership. Topics include quality philosophies and foundations, the quality management system, the ASQ Code of Ethics, leadership principles and techniques, facilitation principles and techniques, communication skills, customer relations, supplier man­agement, and barriers to quality.
• The quality system. Topics include elements of the quality system, documentation of the quality system, quality standards and other guidelines, quality audits, cost of quality, and quality training.
• Product and process design. Topics include classifica­tion of quality characteristics, design inputs and review, technical drawings and specifications, design verification, and reliability/maintainability.
• Product and process control. Topics include tools, ma­terial control, acceptance sampling, measurement and testing, metrology, and measurement analysis.
• Continuous improvement. Topics include quality con­trol tools, quality management planning tools, continuous improvement techniques, corrective action, and preven­tive action.
• Quantitative methods and tools. Topics include col­lecting and summarizing data, quantitative concepts, probability distributions, statistical decision making, re­lationships between variables, statistical process control, process and performance capability, and design and anal­ysis of experiments.

4. Quality Technician

This certification is for paraprofessionals who—under the direction of quality engineers and managers—analyze and solve quality problems, prepare inspection plans and in­structions, select applications for sampling plans, prepare procedures, train inspectors, perform audits, analyze quality data, analyze quality costs, and apply basic statistical meth­ods for process control.

Education and Experience Requirements In order to sit for the Quality Technician examination, individuals must have at least four years of higher education and/or work ex­perience in one or more of the following disciplines: qual­ity concepts and tools, statistical techniques, metrology and calibration, inspection and testing, quality audits, and pre- ventive/corrective action. Education waivers of up to three years are allowed for individuals who have completed a cer­tification program or degree from an institution accredited by the ASQ. The waivers apply as follows: (1) one year for certification through the Quality Technology program of a community college or technical school, (2) two years for an associate degree, and (3) three years for a baccalaureate, masters, or doctorate degree.

Examination Topics The ASQ offers a practice ex­amination that helps prospective examinees find out what the test covers and what topics they might need to review more thoroughly. The body of knowledge covered on the examination for certification as a Quality Technician is as follows:

• Quality concepts and tools. Topics include quality con­cepts, quality tools, and team functions.
• Statistical techniques. Topics include general concepts, calculations, and control charts.
• Metrology and calibration. Topics include measure­ment and test equipment and calibration.
• Inspection and testing. Topics include blueprint read­ing and interpretation, inspection concepts, inspection techniques and processes, and sampling.
• Quality audits. Topics include audit types, audit com­ponents, and tools/techniques.
• Preventive and corrective action. Topics include pre­ventive action, corrective action, and nonconforming material.

For more detail concerning the certification examina­tions, readers are encouraged to visit the certification pages of the ASQ’s Web site: www.asq.org/certification. Details concerning study materials, costs, examination dates, and application procedures are provided on these pages.

Source: Goetsch David L., Davis Stanley B. (2016), Quality Management for organizational excellence introduction to total Quality, Pearson; 8th edition.