American Society for Quality - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

American Society for Quality (ASQ), formerly known as American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), is a knowledge-based global community of quality control

Quality control

Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...

experts, with nearly 85,000 members dedicated to the promotion and advancement of quality tools, principles, and practices in their workplaces and in their communities.

History

Established in 1946 and based in Milwaukee, ASQ traces its beginnings to the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, as quality experts and manufacturers sought ways to sustain the many quality-improvement techniques used during wartime. ASQ has played an important role in upholding these standards from the past while championing continued innovation in the field of quality.

In the 1980s, ASQ members began to see how quality could be applied beyond the world of manufacturing. Quality, they realized, could make a difference in any organization and touch every person in it. Because of this, the idea of quality began to morph into a much broader discipline aimed at leading, inspiring, and managing a broad range of businesses and activities, with a focus on excellence.

Quality

ASQ supports its members by providing a wide range of resources, from certification

Professional certification

Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task...

and training to publications and conferences. Globally, ASQ has formed relationships with nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

s that have comparable missions and principles, forming collaborative efforts to meet the quality needs of companies, individuals, and organizations worldwide.

The Society serves as an advocate for quality. Its members have informed and advised the U.S. Congress, government agencies, state legislatures, and other groups and individuals on quality-related topics. Since 1991, ASQ has administered the United States’ premier quality award, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...

, which annually recognizes companies and organizations that have achieved performance excellence. The ASQ Dorian Shainin

Dorian Shainin

Dorian Shainin was an influential American quality consultant, aeronautics engineer, author, and college professor most notable for his contributions in the fields of industrial problem solving, product reliability, and quality engineering, particularly the creation and development of the “Red X”...

Medal is awarded annually for the Development and Application of Creative or Unique Statistical Approaches in the Solving of Problems Relative to the Quality of Product or Service. ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index

American Customer Satisfaction Index

The American Customer Satisfaction Index is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a private company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan....

(ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator

Economic indicator

An economic indicator is a statistic about the economy. Economic indicators allow analysis of economic performance and predictions of future performance. One application of economic indicators is the study of business cycles....

Certifications

The ASQ offers a variety of professional certifications relating to various aspects of the quality profession. Tests are given nationally and, to a limited degree, worldwide several times per year. The body of knowledge

Body of Knowledge

Body of Knowledge is a term used to represent the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that make up a professional domain, as defined by the relevant professional association....

for each certification is maintained through peer review

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

every few years on a rotating schedule. The first ASQ certification was offered in 1968.

All certifications listed are from this reference unless noted.

Year created	Certification	ASQ initials	Covers	Comments
1968	Engineer	CQE	Principle of product and service, quality evaluation, and control.
1970	Technician	CQT	Quality problem, analysis, inspection sampling plans and statistical process control applications.
1972	Reliability Engineer	CRE	Principles of performance evaluation for product and system safety, reliability, and maintainability.
1984	Inspector	CQI	Hardware documentation, lab, and calibration procedures, inspection, process performance, data collection, and reports.	Initially known as mechanical inspector.
1987	Auditor Certified Quality Auditor A Certified Quality Auditor is a professional who knows the standards and principles associated with auditing and also be capable of using the various techniques in examining, evaluating, and reporting to identify a production system’s strength and weakness in quality control.Quality audit is a...	CQA	Standards and principles of auditing, questions, evaluations and reports for quality system adequacy.
1995	Manager	CMQ/OE (CQM: 1995-2005)	Champions process improvement initiatives and supports strategic planning and deployment initiatives.	Changed to Certified Manager of Quality/ Organizational Excellence in 2006 to reflect the broader scope of the quality manager's position.
1996	Software Quality Engineer	CSQE	Development of software processes, measurement, verification, and validation, analytical methods, and quality management.
1996	CQA-HACCP	CHA since 2004	Developed to test applicants knowledge of the HACCP standards.	Changed to Certified HACCP Auditor in 2004.
2000	Improvement Associate	CQIA	Designed to test basic knowledge of quality tools and their uses, along with involvement in quality improvement projects.
2001	Six Sigma Six Sigma Six Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. , it is widely used in many sectors of industry.Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and... Black Belt	CSSBB	To demonstrate competency in Six Sigma methods.
2002	CQA-biomedical	CBA since 2005.	Understands principles of standards, regulations, directives, and guidance for auditing a biomedical system.	Changed to Certified Biomedical Auditor in 2005.
2003	Calibration Technician	CCT	Tests, maintains, and repairs electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, analytical, and electronic measuring/ recording equipment for conformance to established standards.
2005	Process Analyst	CQPA	Paraprofessional who analyzes and solves quality problems and is quality improvement projects.
2006	Six Sigma Green Belt	CSSGB	Paraprofessional who works with process development and documentation, collects, and summarizes data, and creates, and intreprets multivar studies.
2009	Pharmaceutical good manufacturing practices professional certification	CPGP	Tests applicant knowledge of principles as regulated and guided by national and international agencies.
2010	Master Black Belt	CMBB	To demonstrate master competency in six sigma methodology.

In a 2008 press release for the 40th anniversary of ASQ's certifications, the three most popular were the engineer (CQE), followed closely by the auditor (CQA) and the Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB).

Divisions

ASQ has 25 divisions on various aspects involving quality-related issues. These divisions cover specific disciplines involving quality of specific field that have members who are in quality assurance or quality control.

15 Largest ASQ Sections in the US

External links