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What Would The Founding Fathers of Quality Think of AI?

Back in December of 2019 through March of 2020, I wrote a series in my I-Connect007 column on the Founding Fathers of Quality. With AI taking over the world, I wanted to posit how these quality gurus would apply this technology to their core quality management philosophies.

Old Philosophies, New Tools

Quality management as a discipline was built by a handful of people who never touched a neural network, yet whose ideas map onto artificial intelligence with almost eerie precision. Dr. Walter Shewhart, Dr. Edwards Deming, Dr. Joseph Juran, Philip Crosby, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, and Shigeo Shingo each built a philosophy around a specific lever for improving quality: statistical rigor, reducing variation, prioritizing effort, eliminating defects, involving the workforce, and error-proofing the process itself. AI doesn’t replace any of those levers. It sharpens each one, and imagining how each figure would actually put it to work says as much about their original thinking as it does about the technology.   CLICK HERE TO READ THE COLUMN

Reach out for all your quality needs and to prep for the upcoming 2026 version of ISO 9001.

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

 

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Get Ready for ISO 9001 Version 6

We are well past the normal 5-7 years that a new revision of the ISO 9001 international quality standard gets released. Word on the street is that it may be finished toward the end of 2025 with implementation starting in 2026. CLICK HERE  to continue reading my column on a history of ISO revisions and what significant changes we can expect in the upcoming Version 6.

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Reach out to the industry’s foremost expert on quality management to start planning on your ISO/AS9100 upgrade to the new requirements

Steve@tracQMS.com

920-841-3478

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Milwaukee Electronics Achieves AS9100D: 2016 Certification

PRESS RELEASE

The Right Approach Consulting

July 10, 2025

Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Electronics Achieves AS9100D: 2016 Certification. I am proud to announce that the Milwaukee division of client Milwaukee Electronics has upgraded their QMS from ISO 9001: 2015 and received certification to AS9100D: 2016 from certifying body TUV Rheinland. Corporate Director of Quality Bob Willenbring, the quality team and entire leadership team were highly engaged with the goal of driving organizational improvement during this transition. I would like to extend my thanks to the team for their hard work and dedication throughout this project.

“A huge thank you to Steve Williams and The Right Approach Consulting for his leadership and guidance as we achieved our AS9100 certification in six months!  Steve’s expertise and ability to help our team understand the requirements and meet them in a way that fit our organization was instrumental to this achievement!”

Bob Willenbring, Quality Director, Milwaukee Electronics.

About Milwaukee Electronics

A message from CEO Jered Stoehr:

“Milwaukee Electronics was founded in 1954, offering services in circuit board design and PCBA assembly to the mining industry in the Wisconsin, USA, region. My father, P. Michael Stoehr purchased the company in 1985 with the mission of creating a business that would put customers first and be a fulfilling place to work for the employees serving those customers.

As the second generation to take the Chief Executive helm, it is very important to me to carry on my father’s customers-first legacy and to ensure that Milwaukee Electronics maintains the entrepreneurial spirit that has allowed the company to continually expand its range of services, maintain decades long customer relationships and provide careers for many dedicated employees.”

Milwaukee Electronics has three manufacturing facilities, Milwaukee WI, Portland OR and Tecate Mexico, a Tech Center in Pune India, and a Purchasing Office in Singapore providing services including:

  • Program management including supply chain and logistics management
  • Quick-turn prototype and on-demand manufacturing
  • End-to-end electronics manufacturing services including PCBA, box build and test

For more information go to: https://www.milwaukeeelectronics.com

Contact me to start your AS9100 journey.

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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Get the TRAC Solution For Most Companies Biggest Problem

One of the most common issues among manufacturing companies is the inability to permanently solve quality issues. Click here to download the program outline.

How many times have you put a solution in place to correct a quality issue only to have it pop back up weeks, or months later? Probably much more than you wish to share. Whether internal scrap and rework, customer returns or process improvement, this issue crosses all industries, but the more complicated the processes involved, the bigger the issue. The primary “root cause” of this is the lack of formal training in the process of root cause analysis. TRAC has created a customized RCA & 8D training program that will be branded to your organization and pay for itself in 30 days.

Reach out to schedule this root cause analysis and 8D training for your organization and start saving money and increase customer satisfaction.

Steve

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

 

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Brigitflex Achieves AS9100D: 2016

PRESS RELEASE

The Right Approach Consulting

January 7, 2023

Elgin, IL

Brigitflex Achieves AS9100D: 2016. I am proud to announce that client Brigitflex has upgraded their QMS from ISO 9001: 2015 and received certification to AS9100D: 2016 from certifying body TUV Rheinland. Brigitte Lawrence and her management team were highly engaged with the goal of driving organizational improvement during this transition. A special shout-out to Plant Manager Bruce Gunter for his hard work and dedication throughout this project.

President & Founder Brigitte Lawrence stated:

“We have a number of Aerospace contracts in the queue, pending this certification and it was crucial to gain AS9100 certification as quickly as possible. Aside from the certification itself, I was very pleased to see the improvement in all of our business processes given the extreme complexity of our product. I would also like to acknowledge the guidance and facilitation of Steve Williams of TRAC, which was key to our success in this transition”

About Brigitflex

Brigitflex is a woman-owned Mid-West circuit board fabricator, with a focus on specialty materials, multilayer, flexible, and large scale formats designed for the antenna industry. Brigitflex combines old & new technology with specialty equipment and a highly-trained workforce to create a documented process that can be repetitively manufactured. Their extensive experience with multilayer, flexible, and large scale formats allow the conversion of complex design requirements with difficult to handle materials into specialty printed circuit boards.

For more information go to: https://brigitflex.com

Contact TRAC to start your AS9100 journey.

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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ASC’s Expert Dave Lackey on Flex Impedance

I recently interviewed Dave Lackey, American Standard Circuits’ Flex/Rigid Flex expert, on the critical factors required to control impedance on flex printed circuit boards.

Watch the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3hY8oyNqeA

 

Contact me to get YOUR message out!

Steve Williams – TRAC

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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Leadership 101 – The Laws of Victory & Momentum

Great leaders are committed to victory and make things happen, period. To make this point I would like to borrow a lesson from Genghis Khan in my book Notorious: Business Lessons from History’s Most Ruthless Leaders. Lesson 7 in the book is “Lead from the Front”. One of the most enduring mantras in leadership is “Never ask a follower to do something you are not willing to do yourself”. Read the whole article here: http://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1453746-pcb007-feb2022/45?

Contact me right away to get started!

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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Ventec’s USA Facility Receives AS9100-D Quality Certification

I am proud to announce that client Ventec has received AS9100 certification at the Fullerton facility. This is right on the heels of their ISO 9001:2015 certification a year ago and follows Chicago’s ISO certification. The entire staff was intimately engaged in the project and worked extremely hard to achieve this QMS upgrade. A special shout-out to Jacob Mestas, the Quality Rep for Fullerton, for his  hard work and dedication.

About Ventec

Press Release:

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, USA, January 25, 2022

Ventec International is pleased to announce that its US facility in Fullerton (CA), is now certified to AS9100 Revision D. The success of the audit by certifying body Intertek, attests to the high standards consistent throughout the Ventec organization. The Group’s locations in Asia, the United Kingdom and Germany are all certified to AS9100-D, giving OEMs and PCB fabricators access to a highly accredited global supply chain for high-reliability laminates and prepregs.

Jack Pattie, General Manager of Ventec’s wholly owned subsidiary Ventec USA LLC, commented, “I would like to thank the entire Ventec team in both the USA and around the world, who work relentlessly to consistently ensure that our operations and systems fulfill the strict requirements of AS9100-D. I would also like to thank Steve Williams, President of TRAC, for helping us achieve this important milestone. We are proud to provide the highest assurance of consistently exceptional service for our customers in aviation, space and defense industries. The certification of our USA facility further strengthens our global network and boosts our value proposition for customers in all sectors.”

Mark Goodwin. COO EMEA & America added, “AS9100-D certification positions us with a strong competitive advantage in the USA and allows us to further expand our business development activities in the mil/aero sectors in the region. The certification of our US-facility complements the accreditations at the company’s sites in Asia and Europe and closes the loop to now offer a fully accredited AS9100 manufacturing and distribution/supply chain capability into all regions around the world. Leading OEMs and PCB manufacturers in the aerospace and defense industries can confidently partner with Ventec with full trust in the company’s ability to meet and exceed the increasingly stringent industry requirements for aerospace, defense and military applications globally.”

Ventec International is a world leader in the production of polyimide & high reliability epoxy laminates and prepregs and specialist provider of thermal management and IMS solutions. Further information about Ventec’s solutions and the company’s wide variety of products is available at www.venteclaminates.com and/or by downloading the Ventec APP.

 

Contact me to begin AS9100 certification for your facility!

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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Everything you wanted to know about AS9100 but were afraid to ask!

The Aerospace parts market has a $900 Billion TAM (total available market) and access to this business largely depends on being AS9100 certified. In my class I leverage my 4 decades of experience to cut through the verbiage, help you understand what is actually required… (& what is NOT) AND offer best practices that will add VALUE to your organization. Watch my Promo Video here and join me in San Diego https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heX6Rn_PsgI&t=5s

Contact me to get AS9100 certified, on time and under budget. Guaranteed!

Steve@tracQMS.com

920-841-3478

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Aurora Circuits Achieves AS9100D: 2016 Certification

PRESS RELEASE

The Right Approach Consulting

January 6, 2022

Aurora, IL

I am proud to announce that client Aurora Circuits has upgraded their QMS from ISO 9001: 2015 and received certification to AS9100D: 2016 from certifying body SGS. Dr. Kalmus and his management team were highly engaged with the goal of driving organizational improvement during this transition. A special shout-out to Brian Zirlin, Alex Scott and Mike Szydlowski for their hard work and dedication throughout this project.

President & Founder Dr. Chris Kalmus stated:

“I am so proud of our Aurora Circuits team. This accomplishment is a true testament to all the hard work everybody has done in the past year. We had several options of which certification to pursue and decided on AS9100, as it is a true process control certification, providing us with a great operations system to guide the company towards continued success and excellence. Earning our AS9100 certification is a great way to end 2021 and, better yet, kick off 2022.”

Click here to watch Dr. Kalmus’ AS9100 video https://auroracircuits.com

About Aurora Circuits

We’ve been making outstanding printed circuit boards in the USA for more than 80 years, so we know a thing or two about making great products. We are problem solvers, creative partners, cost reducers and quality mongers who love nothing more than bringing a new circuit board story to life. Aurora is the world’s leading producer of Ultra Heavy copper boards providing PCBs with over 20 Once copper thicknesses.

For more information go to: www.auroracircuits.com

 

Contact me to start your AS9100 journey.

920-841-3478

Steve@tracQMS.com

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