Greater Memphis Medical Device Council Offers Local Training Sessions for Medical Device Companies

For more information, contact: Diana Fedinec, Director of Public Relations and Media (901) 333-4247 dfedinec@southwest.tn.edu

A room full of 27 engineers from three major area medical device companies assembled at the Greater Memphis Medical Device Council (GMMDC) headquarters in Bartlett, June 27 - 28, for a two-day Root Cause Analysis (RCA) workshop that offered a systematic approach to problem solving. The RCA workshop was taught by renowned quality management coach and author Duke Okes, an American Society for Quality Fellow and instructor of review courses for CMQ/OE, CQA, CQT and CQIA certifications. Okes is also the developer and primary instructor for the Root Cause Analysis and Measuring Organizational/Process Performance courses.

GMMDC Executive Director Roy Smith partnered with the Mid-South Quality Productivity Center (MSQPC) to bring Okes to Memphis. “We were fortunate to partner with Duke to offer specialized training in Memphis because he is truly one of the best quality coaches in the country,” Smith said. “Our members reached out to the Council about making his training available in Memphis to give employees more opportunities to hone their skills and engage in quality improvement practices while saving money in travel costs. Our goal is to continue offering more of this kind of training close to home.”

During the seminar, Okes guided participants through a five-step process, posing familiar manufacturing challenges while encouraging students to take in new perspectives that involve in-depth analyses and a steering away from remedial actions that often result in the same problems repeating themselves.

“Duke is never afraid to ask the obvious questions because those kinds of questions help identify problems the quickest and most effective way – it prompts attendees to start experiencing a major paradigm shift in their thinking,” Smith said.

“RCA helps you to realize what is preventing you from getting the results you want because often those problems can be hidden,” Smith said. “The formulas taught during this seminar will give consistent results that will make a difference in the bottom line for our medical device companies.”

Donn Fisher, executive director/CEO of MSQPC, believes training in RCA serves as a good foundation for new engineers and recent graduates. “It’s a great career builder – it teaches one how to learn a systematic way of solving problems which is beneficial for any job,” Fisher said.

Fisher is working together with the GMMDC to bring Lean Six Sigma training to Memphis in January 2020. This will be the next level of training that will provide tools to improve overall business capabilities that rely more heavily on statistical processes. “The medical device companies that get on board with this training have the potential to become much more competitive and efficient,” Fisher said.

To submit an application for the Lean Six Sigma training offered in January 2020, visit msqpc.com or contact Donn Fisher at dfisher@memphischamber.com or 901-543-3551.

For more information about the GMMDC or becoming a member, visit gmmdc.org or contact Roy Smith at rsmith@gmmdc.org or 901-490-2578.