All Things Quality: An ASQ Podcast

Track: Quality in Practice

Topics: Poka-Yoke, Quality at the Source, Mistake Proofing, Resilient Systems, Human Error, Technology, AI

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What happens when preventing errors isn’t enough?

In this episode of All Things Quality, host Pablo Baez talks with Michael Parent, ASQ Senior Member and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, about where poka-yoke works, where it falls short, and how quality professionals can design more resilient systems.

Michael shares practical examples of warning systems, concurrent inspection, interlocks, automated responses and AI-assisted correction—and explains how teams can detect problems earlier, respond faster, and recover when errors happen.

Quality News You Can Use: Updates on Quality Progress’s 40 Under 40, the upcoming ATQ interview series, and ASQ’s ISO Double Jeopardy member webcast.

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Connect with Michael Parent on LinkedIn

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Systems of Human Performance — Michael Parent’s Substack

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ASQ: Mistake Proofing / Poka-Yoke

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Quality Progress November Edition — 40 Under 40 / World Quality Month

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ISO Double Jeopardy: ISO 9001:2026 + ISO 19011:2026

Track: Quality in Practice

Topics: Remote Auditing, Audit Evidence, AI, Google Earth, Risk Management, Auditor Competence

Episode sponsor: NSF - Learn how NSF can support your organization.⁠

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How can remote auditing help you gather reliable evidence—and could new tools help you ask better questions?

In this episode of All Things Quality, we’re joined by Shauna Wilson, co-author of Remote Auditing Fundamentals, Second Edition, to discuss practical ways to prepare for audits, assess risks, and build trust from a distance.

Drawing on decades of remote-auditing experience, Shauna shares insights on:

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Choosing Audit Methods: Deciding when to use remote, on-site, or combined approaches.

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Google Earth: Understanding a facility’s surroundings to inform questions about potential risks.

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AI for Audit Preparation: Generating questions about industry, regional, and supply-chain risks.

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Reliable Evidence: Using floor diagrams and guided video tours to examine processes and records.

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Skills and Trust: Practicing with technology and using pre-audit checks to build confidence.

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Broader Participation: Bringing more perspectives into supplier audits without additional travel.

Get practical ideas to strengthen your next audit, wherever you conduct it.

Additional Resources

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Remote Auditing Fundamentals, Second Edition (ASQ Book)

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Remote Audit Readiness (Quality Progress Article)

Track: Quality Leadership | Topics: Enterprise Quality, Customer Trust, Predictive Quality, AI, Continuous Improvement

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What does it take to move quality from reactive problem-solving to proactive prevention?

In this special episode of All Things Quality, we're joined by Marko Zgela, Director of Global Quality at Pentair, to discuss how organizations can strengthen customer trust, demonstrate business value, and make quality an enterprise-wide priority.

Drawing on his experience supporting 40 manufacturing locations worldwide, Marko explores:

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Enterprise Quality: Building consistency across teams and locations.

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Customer Trust: Looking beyond internal metrics to the full customer experience.

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Business Value: Communicating quality's impact to leadership.

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Shared Ownership: Making quality everyone's responsibility.

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Predictive Quality: Preventing failures through early risk detection.

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AI in Quality: Using emerging technologies to improve decisions.

Discover practical insights for building a more proactive, connected, and resilient quality culture.

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Additional Resources

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2026 Executive Quality Forum Report: Shaping the Future of Quality

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The Real Cost of Quality – Recorded Live at WCQI (Podcast)

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Principles of Quality Costs, Fifth Edition (ASQ Book)

Track: Quality in Practice
Topics: Healthcare quality, Electronic medical records (EMRs), Continuous improvement, AI in healthcare, Process optimization, Patient safety

In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Taryn Shipley, founder of Lean HealthTech and ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, about how EMRs can help—or hurt—healthcare quality, safety and performance.

Drawing on Taryn's recent Quality Progress article, we explore how EMR data can uncover workflow problems, why poorly designed systems contribute to clinician burnout, and how quality professionals can make technology work better for the people who depend on it.

Taryn also shares practical insights on:

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Using interoperability and analytics to improve patient care.

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Designing workflows that make the right thing easier to do.

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Preparing healthcare systems for AI and AI agents.

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Why going live is just the beginning of continuous improvement.

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Balancing performance metrics with the human experience.

Plus, in Quality News You Can Use, we highlight ASQ's Healthcare Division Monthly Member Chats, a recent article on AI in healthcare, and the upcoming 2027 World Conference on Quality and Improvement.

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Why EMRs Make or Break Performance — Taryn Shipley, Quality Progress

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Lean HealthTech — Connect with Taryn Shipley

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ASQ Healthcare Division

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Expert Answers: AI in Healthcare

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WCQI 2027 — May 23–26

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AI, Empathy, and the Future of Care — ATQ podcast

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All Things Quality on Spotify — More episodes, including AI in Healthcare, Part 2

Track: Thought Leadership

Keywords: Humanoid Robotics, AI, Future of Work, Automation

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Humanoid robots are moving from futuristic concept to real manufacturing conversations.

Note: This episode was recorded live at ASQ’s World Conference on Quality & Improvement (WCQI), so you may hear a little conference-floor background noise along the way.

We talk with Anitha Kapu, Director of Quality & Manufacturing at Amazon, about where humanoid robots fit today, where the hype may be getting ahead of reality, and what their growing presence could mean for quality professionals.

We explore safety, reliability, workforce concerns, new skills for quality engineers, and the role quality teams may play in helping this technology move from concept to operational reality.

Plus, Quality News You Can Use, featuring Ask Quincy, ISO 9001:2026, and The Quality Show.

Resources & links:

• Progress Report: Robotics & Manufacturing Trends — A quick look at robotics and manufacturing trends.
• The AI Advantage in Manufacturing — How AI is changing manufacturing performance and decision-making.
• Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals — A practical AI primer for quality professionals.
• Machine Learning Fundamentals — An introduction to machine learning for quality and manufacturing.
• ISO 10218-1:2025 – Industrial Robot Safety — Safety requirements for industrial robots.
• ISO 10218-2:2025 – Robot Applications and Cells — Safety guidance for robot systems and integration.

Track: Quality Community | Topics: Quality 4.0, Next-Gen Quality, Conferences, Professional Development

In this short episode of All Things Quality, host Pablo Baez talks with Thomas Jones, conference chair for BosCon 2026, the ASQ Boston Section conference taking place November 5–6, 2026, at the Hilton Boston/Woburn.

Thomas shares what BosCon is, what attendees can expect from this year’s theme — “Next-Gen Quality: Where Innovation Meets Assurance” — and how a focused regional event like BosCon offers a different experience from larger conferences like WCQI.

This episode also includes ASQ News You Can Use, with updates on the upcoming ISO 9001 release, ASQ’s September Standards & Auditing Member Gift, and the final call for WCQI 2027 presenter submissions.

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Resources and links:

BosCon 2026 – ASQ Boston Section -Learn more about BosCon 2026, hosted by the ASQ Boston Section.

ISO 9001 Revision Update – ISO/TC 176/SC 2 -Official updates on the upcoming ISO 9001 revision.

ASQ Standards & Auditing Member Gift -Access ASQ’s September member resource collection on standards and auditing.

WCQI 2027 Call for Proposals -Submit to present at WCQI 2027 before the deadline.

ASQ Membership -Join ASQ for member discounts, resources, learning, and community access.

All Things Quality Podcast -Listen, follow, and subscribe to ASQ’s official podcast.

Track: Quality in Practice | Topics: ISO 9001:2026, Quality management systems, Standards, ISO 9000, Quality culture, Risks and opportunities, Change management.---

ISO 9001:2026 is coming — but what’s actually changing, what’s staying the same, and how should quality professionals prepare without overreacting?

In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Lisa Uhrig, ANSI lead US expert for the ISO 9001 revision and U.S. TAG voting member. Lisa explains how the revision process works, what consensus means, why some changes were made, and how organizations can avoid misinformation as the updated standard approaches.

Lisa addresses key questions including:

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Who decides when ISO 9001 needs to be revised?

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What stage is the ISO 9001:2026 update in now?

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What are the biggest changes you should know about?

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What is not changing from ISO 9001:2015?

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Why were risks and opportunities separated?

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What role do quality culture and ethical behavior play in the update?

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How does ISO 9000 support the use of ISO 9001?

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Where can quality professionals find reliable implementation guidance?

Resources mentioned:

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ASQ Standards 101

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Lisa Uhrig’s new Quality Progress article, “ISO 9001: 2026”

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“Standards in Sync” by Lisa Uhrig, Marnie Schmidt, Sheronda Jeffries and Susan L.K. Briggs

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ISO/TC 176/SC 2 homepage

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ISO/TC 176/SC 2 guidance on ISO 9001

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ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group

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Questions or volunteer opportunities with ASQ Standards

• This episode is sponsored by BecomeMore Group — BecomeMore helps organizations build stronger leaders, strengthen ISO management systems, and use Lean Six Sigma through The DMAIC Way® to solve problems, reduce loss, and sustain gains. Learn more at https://www.becomemoregp.com/

Help us spread the grow our podcast! -Subscribe to All Things Quality for more conversations on the tools, standards, trends and people shaping the future of quality.

Track: Quality in Practice | Topics: Cybersecurity risk management; secure by design; KRIs; AI risk; vulnerability management

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Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue. In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Jayet Moon and Jeet Shah, authors of Cybersecurity Risk Management, live at the ASQ's World Conference on Quality & Improvement, about how cyber risk connects to quality, compliance, operations, AI, supply chain risk, and product safety.

They discuss secure-by-design thinking, foundational controls, KRIs, vulnerability management, and how quality professionals can partner with cybersecurity teams to build safer, more resilient systems.

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Resources & Links

• Cybersecurity Risk Management — Practical guidance for connecting cyber risk to quality, compliance, engineering, and trust.
• Expert Answers: Cybersecurity Risk Management — A quick primer on why cyber risk belongs in quality.
• Beware the Trojan Horse: Hidden Threats, Real Risks — A clear breakdown of assets, threats, vulnerabilities, impacts, and severity.
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 — A common structure for managing cybersecurity risk.
• ISO/IEC 27001 Overview — Background on the ISMS standard discussed in the episode.
• CISA Secure by Design — Guidance on building security in earlier.
• Jayet Moon on Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals — Jayet’s ASQTV segment on AI through a quality lens.
• AI Fundamentals Q&A with Jayet Moon — Pablo’s earlier ATQ conversation with Jayet.

Track: Quality in Practice | AI Adoption, ISO 42001, Quality Management, Q5.0

What’s missing from AI adoption? Natalia Brattan says the answer is You!

🎧 In this episode of All Things Quality, Natalia joins ATQ to talk about why Artificial Intelligence (AI) needs more than tools, prompts, and experimentation.

From hallucinations and hidden failure costs to SPC, governance, ISO/IEC 42001, and human judgment, this conversation explores how quality professionals can help make AI adoption safer, more repeatable, and more valuable.

This episode also includes Quality News You Can Use — a quick roundup of timely ASQ updates, resources, events, and member conversations to keep on your radar.

📚 Learn more -

• AI’s Missing Ingredient — Natalia’s Quality Progress article behind the conversation.
• AI Risks and Rewards — Internal audit’s role in responsible AI adoption.
• Taking Responsibility — ISO/IEC 42001 and AI management systems.
• Leveraging AI to Support Your QMS — Practical AI uses in QMS work.
• ISO 42001:2023 Foundations — Training on AI management systems.
• 3 Transformative Trends in Quality — Revisit Natalia’s earlier All Things Quality conversation on emerging trends shaping the quality profession.

🗞️ Quality News You Can Use Links

• ASQ Pocket Guide Series Promo — Use promo code PocketGuides2026 through August.
• All Things Quality on Spotify — Catch up on the latest episodes.
• myASQ Community — Log in to join the ISO 9001 update discussion.
• The Quality Show Registration — Register for the October event in Rosemont, IL.

Follow, share, and subscribe to All Things Quality for more conversations on quality, innovation, standards, and the future of the profession.

Track: Thought Leadership

Topics: Quality Strategy; Benchmarking; Supplier Quality; Cost of Quality; KPI Alignment; AI and Digital Transformation

In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Russ Snyder, Founder & Principal Consultant of 6 Sigma Supply Chain, about the 2026 ASQ/ASQE Insights on Excellence Benchmarking Highlights Report.

Russ shares practical takeaways on supplier quality, cost of quality, AI and technology, KPI alignment, and how organizations can turn benchmarking insights into action. He also challenges quality professionals and business leaders to look beyond assumptions — especially when it comes to supplier issues — and use better data to connect quality work to business performance.

Plus, Pablo shares a few quick ASQ updates, including the August Member Gift, an upcoming member benefit session on ASQ certifications, improvements to the ASQ Mobile App, and a free on-demand eQMS webinar that provides practical lessons on building a modern QMS roadmap. (0.1 RUs)

Resource links

• August Member Gift: Quality as a Business Strategy
• 2026 ASQE Insights on Excellence Benchmarking Highlights Report
• ASQE Insights on Excellence
• IoE Benchmarking Tool
• ASQ Mobile App
• Member Benefit Session: Unlocking ASQ Certification — What You Need to Know to Get Started
• The Right Formula for Quality: Scaling Your QMS, a free on-demand webinar from Octave, formerly ETQ.
• Russ Snyder on LinkedIn

Track: Quality in Practice

Topics: Responsible AI, Healthcare Quality, Human-Centered Care

Neha Chowrasia returns to All Things Quality to take the conversation about AI in healthcare from principles to practice. We explore human oversight, workflow integration, trust, ethical implementation, future-ready skills, and how healthcare organizations can embrace AI without losing sight of patients and people.

Related resources:

• Listen to Part 1: AI, Empathy, and the Future of Care
• Read Neha’s Quality Progress article, “Hand in Hand”
• Connect with Neha on LinkedIn
• Explore ASQ healthcare quality resources
• Download the ASQ Mobile App for additional tools and member resources
• Join ASQ

Track: Thought Leadership

Topics: Data center quality, AI infrastructure, standards, future of quality

In this episode of All Things Quality, Pablo Baez talks with Govind Ramu, Senior Technical Program Manager for AI Infrastructure Quality at Google, about the emerging field of data center quality, the role of DCE 9000, and why quality professionals should pay attention to the infrastructure powering the AI era.

Key takeaways:

• Why data center quality matters to the future of AI and cloud computing
• How DCE 9000 could help define quality expectations for data centers
• Where risk, reliability, supplier quality, auditing, and continual improvement fit in
• What quality professionals can learn from this fast-growing field
• Why NextGen quality professionals should watch the intersection of AI, infrastructure, and standards

This episode also includes quick ASQ updates on Quality Progress, the 2026 ASQE Insights on Excellence Report, the July Member Gift on applying AI in quality, recent Quality Press titles, and recent ATQ episodes listeners may have missed.

Resources mentioned:

• Govind Ramu’s QP article: https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/field-notes-surge-protection?id=0ace73751ba7458a9c8c2b0ae821d80a
• July QP cover story: https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/beware-the-trojan-horse-hidden-threats-real-risks?id=237f940b497f419eafaf7538be45ebc6
• 2026 ASQE Insights on Excellence Report: https://asq.org/quality-resources/benchmarking-reports/2026-asqe-ioe-benchmarking-highlights-report
• July ASQ Member Gift — Putting AI to Work in Quality: https://asq.org/membership/member-gift/july-2026
• ASQ Quality Press: https://asq.org/quality-press

Track: Technical Corner
Topics: AI, QMS, auditing, ISO 9001, risk

If AI helped write the CAPA, summarize the audit evidence, or suggest a root cause… what should the auditor ask next?

In this AI-assisted episode of All Things Quality, we explore how AI is showing up in quality management systems — and how auditors can respond without losing sight of the fundamentals. From data and risk to evidence, controls, and human oversight, this episode walks through practical questions every quality professional should keep in mind when AI enters the QMS.

Follow the links below to learn more about this topic:

• When the QMS Thinks for Itself — What QMS auditors should know about AI.
https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/standard-issues-when-the-qms-thinks-for-itself?id=c460fb5bcf3b444b9ac370c65582bdb8
• AI Risks and Rewards — How internal audit can support responsible AI adoption.
https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/ai-risks-and-rewards?id=d345dd464be743c09fbf2856912c0466
• Leveraging AI to Support Your QMS — Examples of how AI can support QMS work.
https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/expert-answers-leveraging-ai-to-support-your-qms?id=e2506c6d5c1d432b839fc566ef6fde5a
• Taking Responsibility — A look at ISO/IEC 42001 and AI management systems.
https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/taking-responsibility?id=de9ba88edd064801a1537532d65430e9
• AI’s Missing Ingredient — Why human judgment and quality thinking still matter.
https://asq.org/quality-progress/articles/ais-missing-ingredient?id=11d1df5360e84606ba169800e08cdd39

Track: Thought Leadership
Topics: Agentic AI, healthcare quality, Quality 4.0, automation

In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Darshi Bassi, quality improvement advisor at Mayo Clinic, about her quality journey, digital transformation, and the role of Quality 4.0 in healthcare.

Darshi shares lessons from her “My Quality Story” article and discusses how systems thinking, process improvement, AI, automation, and classic quality tools can help organizations improve — when they are used with purpose, discipline, and a clear focus on people and outcomes.

Also included is our “Quality News You Can Use” segment featuring ASQ updates, member resources, upcoming events, certification support, and more.

Featured Links and Resources:

• Darshi Bassi’s Quality Progress article: “My Quality Story: Evolving from ‘bug queen’ to ‘diamond’”
• Darshi Bassi’s Quality Progress article: “Catch All”
• ASQ Quality 4.0 resources
• ASQ Ascend Webinars: “Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Managing Quality Issues and Supplier Challenges Beyond Your Control”
• Quality Progress 40 Under 40 nominations
• ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt
• QuINCY Study Assistant for Certified Six Sigma Green Belt

• Related episode: ATQ Podcast: “AI, Empathy, and the Future of Care” with Neha Chowrasia

Recorded live at WCQI, Doug Wood and W. Frazier Pruitt — coauthors of Principles of Quality Costs, Fifth Edition — join All Things Quality to discuss the hidden costs organizations often miss, and why the future of quality depends on fundamentals, communication, business fluency, and people.

More resources:
What is Cost of Quality? — ASQ
2025 ASQE Insights on Excellence Cost of Quality Report
Targeting Quality Costs — Quality Progress
Cost of Quality: Finance for Continuous Improvement — ASQ Training
Connect with Doug Wood on LinkedIn
Connect with W. Frazier Pruitt on LinkedIn

Before WCQI 2026, I spoke with Seetharam “Ram” Kandarpa, Founder and Director of Shaarkview Consultancy, ASQ ConnEx Expert, and ASQ volunteer leader, about where quality is headed next.

We discuss his journey into quality, current challenges in the field, what Quality 5.0 means in practical terms, balancing technology with human judgment, and advice for quality professionals looking to grow in a changing landscape.

Listen now, share with a fellow quality professional, and follow All Things Quality for more conversations shaping the future of quality.

More resources:

• Seetharam “Ram” Kandarpa | ASQ ConnEx Expert profile
• ATQ Podcast Episode 9: Upskilling for Quality 4.0 & 5.0
• ASQ: Quality 4.0 overview
• ASQ Article: The Download: From Quality 4.0 to the Brink of 5.0
• ASQTV: Industry 5.0

In this episode of All Things Quality, we talk with Neha Chowrasia about AI in healthcare and why the future is not human vs. machine, but both working together.

We explore where AI is improving quality, safety, and efficiency, and why empathy, judgment, and human-centered care still matter most.

Based on Neha’s Quality Progress article, “Hand in Hand.”

More resources:

• Connect with Neha on LinkedIn
• Read Neha’s Quality Progress article, “Hand in Hand”
• Join ASQ
• Download the ASQ Mobile App for bonus material and more quality resources

What happens when the procedure looks right on paper, but real work tells a different story?

In this episode of All Things Quality, I’m joined by Andrea Baker, The HOP Mentor, for a practical conversation on Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) and what quality leaders can learn from the human side of work.

We get into how Andrea found her way into HOP, why safety and quality are more connected than many people realize, and how leaders can move from blame-based reactions to better learning. We also talk about procedure drift, person vs. system thinking, culture change, and where AI and technology can help—or hurt—when organizations are trying to understand how work really gets done.

More resources:

• Andrea Baker on LinkedIn
• Andrea’s 2026 ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference keynote presentation
• The HOP Mentor website
• Join ASQ

What does the next era of quality look like?

In this episode of All Things Quality, Danny Even Chen joins us to explore how AI, digitization, and changing expectations are reshaping the future of quality.

He also shares the framework he proposes for this next era: a five-dimensional view of quality that expands beyond product and service to include solution, knowledge, and experience.

• Read his Quality Progress article: Branching Into the Next Era of Quality
• Connect on LinkedIn: Danny Even Chen
• Attend ASQ's World Conference on Quality & Improvement (Orlando, May 17)
• Access Your April Member Gift –Lean Six Sigma in the Digital Age⁠
• Download ASQ's Mobile App⁠
• Send feedback /podcast ideas: ⁠mailto:pbaez@asq.org

In this episode, we introduce the basics of root cause analysis and walk through several essential RCA tools used to uncover the real causes behind problems. A practical overview for quality professionals looking to strengthen problem solving and continuous improvement. Plus, we share a few ASQ updates to keep you in the loop.

ASQ Updates -

• ASQ Certifications (Apply by April 13): https://asq.org/cert
• Free Webinar - Discover the Value of ASQ (April 23)
• ASQ World Conference on Quality & Improvement (Orlando): https://asq.org/wcqi (May 17)
• April Member Gift – Lean Six Sigma in the Digital Age: https://asq.org/membership/member-gift
• Quality Progress Articles (including “Hand in Hand”): https://asq.org/quality-progress

• ASQ Mobile App (Join today): https://asq.org/membership/mobile-app
• Provide Feedback / Ideas: mailto:pbaez@asq.org