ISO 2011 - 19th annual International Conference on ISO 9000

(ISO 9000 Conference: Pittsburgh) -- The European Quality Initiative has announced that the 19th annual International Conference on ISO 9000 will be held March 13?15, 2011, in San Antonio, Texas, at the Grand Hyatt Riverwalk hotel. The conference’s Call for Papers was also announced, with the due date for abstract submission set for Aug. 31, 2010.

This event, also known as the ISO 9000 Conference, is the world’s leading conference on ISO 9000 and related quality management system standards. It is organized by the European Quality Initiative, a Pennsylvania-based independent nonprofit organization that was set up primarily to organize the conference.

Since its inception in 1992, this conference has helped to show how using a quality management system (QMS) can improve business performance and customer focus. It is an intensive program for auditors, managers, executives, and practitioners of ISO 9000 and related quality management system standards.

Change is all around us and can be intimidating. Organizations encounter ever-increasing pressure to incorporate social and environmental management into business objectives. Opportunities abound to reignite a ceaseless attention to meeting the requirements and exceeding the expectations of customers. Organizations need to drive business performance with a QMS that focuses the entire organization on its customers. In order to endure the next evolution, it will be necessary for organizations to recognize the individual elements critical for success and “focus on customers” as never before. Good organizations need to develop and integrate profitable strategies to attract and retain great customers. These strategies need to integrate international standards, management systems, core competencies, risk management, measurement systems, communication, leadership, and originality.
The conference

Each year, the conference connects speakers, professional practitioners, academia, and registrars from a diverse range of sectors for engaging dialogue on the latest topics in the field of international standards, interrelated management systems and principles, quality tools and methodologies, innovation, leadership, efficiency and productivity. The 19th annual conference will feature presentations on a variety of business-sustainability issues, including the following.
Industry benchmarking

Industry experiences from the aerospace, defense, government, medical device, occupational health and safety standards (OHSAS), environmental, food and beverage safety, health care, transportation, automotive, manufacturing, financial and banking (SOX), public sector, and service.
Standards, trends and QMS evolution

? Output matters: focus on meeting customer requirements
? ISO 9001
? ISO 9004
? ISO 10002 for complaints management
? AS9100 for aerospace and defense
? ISO 13485 for medical devices, EU directives, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
? ISO/TS 16949 for automotive
? ISO 14001 for environmental management
? OHSAS 18001 and 18000 for occupational health and safety
? ISO 19011 guidelines for quality or environmental management
? TL 9000 for telecommunications quality management systems
? ISO 17025 for testing and calibration laboratories
? ISO 22000 for food safety management system requirements

Disciplined problem solving

? Root cause analysis
? A3 problem solving process
? Define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC)
? Observe-orient-decide-act loop (OODA)
? Eight disciplines problem solving (8D)
? Plan-do-check-act cycle (PDCA)
? The Theory of Inventor’s problem solving (TRIZ)
? New and innovative approaches to problem solving and corrective action

Customer relationship management

? Understanding markets and customers
? How customer management and insight can drive quality improvement
? Quality function deployment (QFD)
? Voice of the customer (VOC)
? Effective management of customer complaints
? Building customer loyalty

Systems planning

? Strategic planning and goal setting
? Social responsibility
? Entrepreneurial thinking
? Leadership to drive change
? Open systems theory
? Strategic alignment and deployment
? Systems thinking

Global supply chain management and improvement

? Outsourcing
? Business to business (B2B)
? Program management
? Acquisitions and mergers

Managing for problem prevention

? Risk management methods and tools
? Defining potential problems (e.g., failure mode and effects analysis)
? Risk approach to validation
? Statistical process control (SPC)
? Life-cycle analysis
? Leveraging positive risk
? Cost of quality

Optimizing operational excellence

? Using ISO 9004:2009 for QMS excellence
? Standards/systems integration and its effect on the bottom line
? Back to basics: rules, tools and fundamentals for performance
? Leveraging crisis mode with quality initiatives
? Lean Six Sigma
? Agility tools and tactics
? Applying lean principles to downsizing efforts in cost cutting
? Auditing for return on investment (ROI)
? Process validation
? Analysis of data

Professional development and human resource management

? Getting hired in tough times
? Intergenerational work force management
? Team building
? Training and competence
? Time management
? Facilitation skills
? Preparing for certification exams