October 31, 2011
Industries Invited to Learn How to Weed Out Problems

Problems are like kudzu. Unless you get to the root cause and put preventative measures in place, they will keep coming back.

Northeastern Technical College’s Continuing Education Division has partnered with South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) to present a workshop on problem solving for local industries to help weed out such pesky reoccurring problems.

Susan Whitehead, a technical specialist and professional business advisor, will provide valuable tools and methods for problem solving and prevention during the workshop on Nov. 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at NETC’s main campus in Cheraw.

The workshop is called “8D Problem Solving,” which is short for the 8 Discipline approach to problem solving originally developed by engineers at Ford Motor Company. 8D has become the standard for root cause analysis and problem solving in automotive assembly and other industries.

This thorough structured team approach allows a company to not only contain and minimize fallout from process and quality problems, but it also enables the team to take measures to prevent reoccurrence. A problem that does not reoccur is a problem that is truly solved.

Whitehead joined SCMEP in 2006 and has specific experience in electronics assembly, automated and manual mechanical assembly, stamping, injection molding, and precision machining. She is an American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Engineer and an ASQ Certified Quality Manager. She has worked in the aerospace and automotive industries as a quality engineer – most recently with Bose Corporation and Bosch Braking Systems prior to joining SCMEP. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from Clemson University and has been educated in numerous post-graduate quality science areas such as APQP, SPC, Problem Solving/Root Cause Analysis, 8D Analysis and Lean Manufacturing.

Cost of the 8D Problem Solving Workshop on Nov. 16 at NETC is $375. To sign up or for additional information, call the Continuing Education Division at 1-843-921-6920.