From: "Dennis R. Arter" 
Subject: CSD-QAD Survey Results

+++++++++++++++++
FEBRUARY 16, 1996                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CSD & QAD Conduct Membership Survey

The Customer Supplier & Quality Audit Divisions Of the American
Society for Quality Control recently completed a joint survey of
their memberships. In early November 3,581 surveys were mailed to
members drawn in three random samples. The sample groups included
1) QAD Members; 2) CSD Members; and 3) A special sample of those
belonging to both divisions (about 15% of the QAD sample are CSD
members and about 45% of the CSD sample are QAD members). A second
mailing was made to non-respondents in late November. In total
1,118 useable surveys were returned, for an overall response rate
of 31%.

The areas investigated in the survey included:

     A -- Value sought / received by members
     B -- Topics of interest
     C -- Opinions on the CSD / QAD Resolution of Partnership
     D -- Demographic & Classification Information


A. Value Sought/Received By Members

Learning is the most often cited reason for membership among
members of both divisions. About four-fifths of QAD members want
to learn about auditing and / or to stay current with standards.
Similarly three-fourths or more of CSD members seeking to learn
about customer-supplier relations, supplier management and
customer satisfaction practices. Actual involvement in Division
activities is limited. About 90% of the members indicate they read
their Division newsletters, but 20% or fewer have ever
participated in Division conferences.

Members' overall satisfaction ratings tend to be positive, but
show some opportunities for improvement. Nearly one-in-six members
(16%) of each division indicated some level of dissatisfaction.
The vast majority (>86%) rated division newsletters as high or
medium value, while conferences and seminars were rated valuable
by only one-third to two-fifths (33-41%). Frequent improvement
suggestions common to both divisions included "Provide more local
learning opportunities" and "Use more case studies". Other
frequently suggested improvements for QAD included: "Expand
newsletter/more articles" and "Increase newsletter frequency".
CSD improvement suggestions were more likely to include: "Provide
best practices/benchmarking info", "Supplier management topics",
and "Merge the divisions".


B. Topics Of Interest

As would be expected, the topics of greatest interest vary by
Division membership. However, thirteen of the topics were rated as
"high value" by more than half of those responding in each of the
three samples. In fact, four topics made the "top seven" of each
sample group, including: Internal audits; Root cause analysis/
corrective action; Process audits; and Evaluating for
effectiveness.

Others in the "top seven" for each sample include:

  QAD: Quality Standards, Conducting an audit, and Reporting audit
       results
  CSD: Customer-supplier partnerships, Supplier certification and
       Customer satisfaction measurement
  CSD/QAD: Customer-supplier partnerships, Quality Standards, and
       Handling customer complaints


C. Opinions On CSD/QAD Resolution of Partnership

A majority of each sample group expressed support for the Joint
Resolution of Partnership. Support was overwhelming (four-in-five)
for three items of the Resolution, including:

        -- Exchange articles of interest / technical resources
        -- Sponsor joint technical conferences
        -- Promote and develop specialized tools & techniques

Nearly two-thirds (65% or more) support continued exploration of a
merger between the divisions. About one-in-nine (10-11%) is
against further merger consideration and about one-in-five
(17-24%) is unsure how we should proceed. The most frequently
cited benefits of the proposed partnership included: 1) Broader
knowledge/learning opportunities all in one place; 2) Eliminate
duplication/increase efficiency of activities; and 3) Integrate
two related groups/common interests. The most frequently
mentioned concern was combining might lead to dilution or loss of
focus or identity of each division. Other leading concerns were
that key topics might not be addressed sufficiently, or that a
merger might be difficult, fraught with in-fighting and politics.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Quality Audit Division, about 15,000 members strong, promotes
the application of auditing as an improvements tool in internal,
external, and registration applications. The Customer-Supplier
Division, about 5,000 members strong, promotes improved supplier
performance and increased customer satisfaction through the
application of quality concepts and technologies. Combined, they
would become the second-largest Division of the American Society
for Quality Control.

For further information, contact

Dennis R. Arter, Quality Audit Division
Columbia Audit Resources
6951 W Grandridge, Kennewick, WA 99336
509/783-0377, fax/783-1115, darter@mcimail.com

or

Richard A. Gould, Customer Supplier Division
Western Digital Corporation
8105 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92718
714/932-6479, fax/932-5633, gould_r@a1.wdc.com

--------------------------------------------------------
Dennis R. Arter, "The Audit Guy"   ->NEW ADDRESS<-
Columbia Audit, 6951 W. Grandridge Blvd, Kennewick, WA 99336
509/783-0377, fax/783-1115, internet: darter@mcimail.com