Welcome to the Quality and Operational Research (QOR) Newsletter. QOR newsletter is an international peer reviewed publication.
The objective of the QOR Newsletter is to publish current and high-quality articles and cover content of interest to academics, researchers, and professionals in the business, government and non-profit sectors.
The content of QOR Newsletter includes: technical and opinion articles on quality, excellence and operational research; insightful reviews about publications; important events such as conferences, workshops and webinars; success stories about projects; calls for a chapter or paper; introductions to new technology; career opportunities with potential employers and resumes from prospective employees.
The scope of QOR Newsletter includes: Leadership and Management, Excellence Models and Challenges in Digital Era, Industry 4.0 and Quality 4.0, The Future of Quality and Organizational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, Quality Management and Innovation, Quality and Risk Management, Customer Satisfaction, Quality Standards, Quality Systems, Supply Chain Quality Management, AI and Quality, Lean Six Sigma, Operational Research and Smart Cities, Project Management, Smart Optimization, Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Digital Process Operation, Robotic Process Automation, Supply Chain Management, Optimization Theory and Applications, Climate Change, Cleaner Production, Circular Economy.
Distinguished experts and academics contribute to the newsletter and include:
Editorial Review Board – Paulo Sampaio, Dawn Ringrose, Luciana Paulise, Jesus Velasquez, Marcio Cardoso Machado, Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber, Alberto Pinto, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Adriana B. Rodriguez, Ernesto D.R. S. Gonzalez, Atanu Chaudhuri, Vikas Kumar, Tatiana Gherman
Communication related to the newsletter should be directed to the Editor, Mohammad Hossein Zavvar Sabegh, at [email protected]
Ethics
The QOR Newsletter requires its representatives and contributors to meet the following requirements:
Act with integrity – be truthful and transparent, be objective and factual, accurately represent qualifications, author documents in area of expertise.
Demonstrate respect – consider the well being of others, show respect for others, treat others with courtesy, act in a professional and socially responsible manner, respect diversity in opinion.
Safeguard proprietary information – protect confidential information, avoid conflict of interest, give credit where it is due, do not plagiarize or use the intellectual property without permission, document the permission or reference sources appropriately.
Contribute to an inclusive atmosphere – remain open to the exchange of ideas regardless of sex, race, color, age, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other legally protected status. Do not participate in harassment, discrimination, retaliation or other forms of misconduct.
Author Guidelines
As a peer-reviewed publication, content submitted by authors is read with care and may be subject to major and minor revision requests. When content is approved, the author receives a confirmation notice and the anticipated date of publication. To assist authors, the following paragraphs share guidelines for a: technical article, opinion article, success story and book announcement.
Technical Article Format
Research based articles that are up to 5 pages in length. Consideration will be given for longer articles if such offer special value.
Format:
Title: Cambria 12
Abstract and Main text, Keywords, Affiliation, Email address, References and Appendixes: Calibri 11
Figures, Footnotes, and Table Captions: Calibri 9
Table Context: Calibri 9
Formulas: Cambria Math 10
Line spacing should be 1.5
Margins: 1”
Structure:
Title Page – includes the name(s) of the author(s); a concise and informative title; affiliation(s) of the author(s) (i.e. institution, department, city, state, country); e-mail address of the primary author and telephone number; official photo(s) and short bio(s) for each author (limited to 100 words per author)
Numbered sections – the abstract is not included in section numbering. The remainder of the article is divided into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to ‘the text’. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
Abstract – is concise and factual, the abstract should state briefly: the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, references should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Keywords – are placed immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, use American spelling and avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’). Abbreviations should be used sparingly and limited to those firmly established in the field.
Introduction – should state the objectives of the work and provide adequate background. A detailed literature survey or a summary of the results should be avoided.
Material and Methods – should provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.
Results – should be clear and concise.
Discussion – should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined results and discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.
Conclusion – the main conclusion of the study may be presented in a short conclusion section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion and/or Discussion section.
References Citation in Text – ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either ‘Unpublished results’ or ‘Personal communication’. Citation of a reference as ‘in press’ implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Web References – as a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be provided . Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading or can be included in the reference list.
References in a Special Issue – ensure the words ‘this issue’ are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.
Reference Style at the End of Article – there are a number of ways to reference material. The following list provides some examples:
Reference to a journal publication: Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J. A. J., & Lupton, R. A. (2010). The art of writing a scientific article. Journal of Scientific Communications, 163, 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Sc.2010.00372.
Reference to a journal publication with an article number: Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J. A. J., & Lupton, R. A. (2018). The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon, 19, e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00205. R
Reference to a book: Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style. (4th ed.). New York: Longman, (Chapter 4).
Reference to a chapter in an edited book: Mettam, G. R., & Adams, L. B. (2009). How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In B. S. Jones, & R. Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the electronic age (pp. 281–304). New York: E-Publishing Inc.
Reference to a website: Cancer Research UK. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. (2003). http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/ Accessed 13 March 2003.
Reference to a dataset: [dataset] Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., Nakashizuka, T. (2015). Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/ xwj98nb39r.1.
Reference to a conference paper or poster presentation: Engle, E.K., Cash, T.F., & Jarry, J.L. (2009, November). The Body Image Behaviours Inventory-3: Development and validation of the Body Image Compulsive Actions and Body Image Avoidance Scales. Poster session presentation at the meeting of the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, New York, NY.
Appendices – if there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly, for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.
Opinion Article Format
Opinion articles are up to 5 pages in length and reflect the author’s viewpoint on a particular subject, technique or recent finding.
Structure:
Title of Article – provides a succinct description of the content of the article. Each word is carefully chosen to convey the most information in the smallest package possible, with the goal of attaining maximum “findability” in journal article databases and internet search engines. By carefully reading the full title of an article, you can tease out valuable clues as to its content.
Abstract – a 150 to 250-word paragraph that provides readers with a quick overview of your essay or report and its organization. A concise and factual abstract is required. It should state briefly the purpose of the article, the principal results and major conclusions.
Keywords – are placed immediately after the abstract, maximum of 6 keywords, American spelling, avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of”). Use abbreviations sparingly and only those firmly established in the field.
Description – authors are not required to use special sub-sections for this section but it is important to write coherently so that a wide range of readers can understand the content. Tips include ensuring the content flows smoothly, is logically arranged and connected and remains relevant to the central focus of the essay.
Conclusion – may be presented in a short conclusion section, which may stand alone, or form a subsection of a Results and/or Discussion section. Tips include: helping the reader understand why the article should matter to them, summarizing the content (research problem, main topics, key points); if applicable, recommending new areas for future research.
References: Papers: Authors, publication date, title of paper, Vol.., Issue… , publisher, Website link: Books: Authors, publication date, title of book, Publisher, Website link: Web References: as a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading or can be included in the reference list.
Success Story Format
Success stories are up to 5 pages in length and describe a project (activity) that was undertaken and the results achieved.
Structure:
Title – captures the overall message of the story, includes an action verb, capture the reader’s attention.
Problem Overview – describes the problem being addressed and why it’s important, uses data to frame the problem including costs (e.g. time, cost, social, economic, environmental), specifies the affected population(s).
Program Description – identifies who was involved including partners, describes the program (activity) that was undertaken including where and when it took place and how it addressed the problem, identifies the target audience, describes how the program was evaluated, states how the organization (and partners) contributed to the program.
Program Outcomes – identifies the short-term or intermediate outcomes that demonstrate how the program addressed the problem (e.g. efficiency, effectiveness, reputation, market share), provides a conclusion that describes objective evidence such as the measurement results.
Additional Information – should include the following:
Name of the Organization
Name and credentials of program contact
Address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers
Organization’s Web site address (if available)
Any other supporting materials such as: testimonials, quotes from partners or participants, samples of materials produced, press releases, promotional materials, project photos, video or audio clips, measurement tools and results etc.
Book Announcement
A book announcement should be up to 2 pages in length and include the following information:
Book Title
Author Full Name and Affiliation
Abstract (200- 230 words)
Audience for the Book (role, industry sector)
Keywords (up to 4 words)
Table of Contents
Features (up to 7 features)
Product Details (publisher, language, ISBN)
Link to Purchase
Cover Page Image (PNG file)
Short Bio for Author (up to 100 words)
Photo for Author (PNG file)
Fees
The following table provides a description of each item that may be submitted to the newsletter along with the fees if applicable and important notes:
Row
Item
Fee (Canadian Dollars)
Important Notes
1
Success story about an organization, Announcement about a new product, service or organization
$500 per page
$250 for half-page
$125 for quarter page
Submitted by Leader or Manager. Timing from submission to decision will be 15 to 25 days
2
Announcement about a large event (e.g. conference)
$200 per page
Submitted by Conference Chair. Timing from submission to decision will be 10 to 20 days
3
Announcement about a small event (e.g. webinar, workshop, training course)
$100 per page
Submitted by Event Organizer. Timing from submission to decision will be 10 to 20 days
4
Call for paper in a journal or chapter in a book
$50 per page
Submitted by Editor of Journal or Book. Timing from submission to decision will be 10 to 20 days
5
Announcement related to career opportunity (e.g. position description, employee profile)
$25 per half-page
Submitted by Prospective Employee or Employer. Timing from submission to decision will be 5 to 10 days
6
Article authored by a researcher or professional
$50 per article
Submitted by Author. Fee payable after paper has been reviewed and accepted. Timing from submission to decision will be 45 to 60 days
Additional Notes:
Peer Review – content is reviewed by experts before publishing to ensure conformance with the scope, ethics and guidelines of the QOR Newsletter. The review may include minor and major revisions within a specified time frame. Content accepted for publication will be confirmed with the relevant party along with the approximate date of publication.
Timing – is the best estimate of the publication date and may be subject to change.
Fees – there are no fees for content submitted for consideration.
Newsletter Team
Editorial Review Board
The members of the Editorial Review Board include the following professionals:
Paulo Sampaio Professor of Quality and Organizational Excellence, University of Minho, Portugal
Born in Braga, Portugal, in 1978, he graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Minho in 2002 (5-year degree). He completed his PhD in Industrial Engineering in 2008 at the University of Minho. He began his career at the University of Minho in September 2000, as Junior Lecturer in the Department of Production and Systems of the School of Engineering. In the academic field, he had been lecturing courses in the fields of Quality and Organizational Excellence.
His research activities are developed under the Industrial Engineering and Management Research Line of the ALGORITMI Research Centre, within the Supply-chain, Logistics and Transportation Systems (SLOTS) Research Group.
Always privileging research and development for industrial applications, he has been participating in several R&D projects supported by Portuguese Institutions and under European funding programs, namely, INNOVCAR, 12 754 548,62 €; iFACTORY, 9 246 492,55 €; HMIExcel, 5 110 000,00€.
Dawn Ringrose Principal at Organizational Excellence Specialists, Canada
She has earned a Master of Business Administration and Fellow Certified Management Consultant designation. Dawn has consulted to management in areas that positively contribute to organizational performance since 1984. Leveraging a wide range of certifications, practical experience and desire to transfer knowledge to others, she has developed a turnkey toolkit that is designed to make the excellence journey more simple, straightforward, time-efficient and cost-effective.
Dawn currently serves as: a Board Member with the Global Benchmarking Network, an Executive Team Member with the Organizational Excellence Technical Committee QMD ASQ and an Advisory Board Member with the ISCM Foundation.
Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber Professor at Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
G.-W. Weber is a Professor at Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland, at Faculty of Engineering Management, in the Chair of Marketing and Economic Engineering. His research is on data mining, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, mathematics, operational research, finance, economics, optimization and optimal control, neuro-, bio- and earth-sciences, medicine and development; he is involved in the organization of scientific life internationally. He received Diploma and Doctorate in Mathematics, and Economics / Business Administration, at RWTH Aachen, and Habilitation at TU Darmstadt (Germany). He replaced Professorships at University of Cologne, and TU Chemnitz, Germany. At EURO (Association of European OR Societies) where he is “Advisor to EURO Conferences” and IFORS (International Federation of OR Societies), where he is member in many national OR societies and working groups, at Pacific Optimization Research Activity Group, etc.
Ernesto D.R. Santibanez Gonzalez Associate Professor at Department of Industrial Engineering, CES 4.0 Initiative, Faculty of Engineering, University of Talca, Chile
His major research interests are on problems that arise at the interface of climate change and sustainability, such as, sustainable and resilience supply chain and logistics, supply chain analytics, sustainable operations management, smart city, circular economy to name a few. Current research of Dr. Santibanez-Gonzalez is characterized by integrating mathematical models, big-data, and internet technology to understand and model how climate change and sustainability strategies will impact the society, and the performance of companies and organizations.
He is serving as Associate Editor of Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier), Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (Springer), International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (Emerald), Modern Supply Chain Research and Applications (Emerald, new journal), International Journal of Big Data Mining for Global Warming, and Heliyon Business and Economics (Elsevier). He is also Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Operations and Computers, a new journal sponsored by Chinese Academy of Science and Elsevier.
Alberto Pinto Full Professor at the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal
Alberto Pinto is Full Professor at the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto and Researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support – INESC TEC. His research focuses on Dynamical Systems and Game Theory, namely renormalization in low dimensional dynamics and applications to biology, economics and sociology. Alberto Pinto has authored, with David Rand and Flávio Ferreira, the book Fine Structures of Hyperbolic Diffeomorphisms (Springer) and has published over 100 scientific papers, some of them in the most prestigious international journals such as The Annals of Mathematics, Communications in Mathematical Physics, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. Since 2105 he is editor of the Springer Monographs in Mathematics series. He is also member of the Editorial Board of MDPI Algorithms.
Alberto Pinto is the founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief, with Michel Benaïm, of the Journal of Dynamics and Games, published by the American Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
Marcio Cardoso Machado Full Professor of Supply Chain and Coordinator at Paulista University, Brazil
Marcio C. Machado is a Professor at Paulista University – UNIP, in the Chair of Administration Graduation Program, and at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo - PUC-SP, at Department of Administration. He was a professor in Production and Operations Management of the Aeronautical Institute of Technology – ITA, the most prestigious school of Aeronautical Engineering in South America. His research is in quality management, business excellence models, supply chain management, social network analysis, safety. He received a Doctorate in Production Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He has been a member of the Scientific Committee at the International Conference on Quality Engineering and Management (ICQEM) in 2016, 2018, and 2020 editions. He worked for 30 years in the aeronautical engineering and maintenance sector. Marcio C. Machado has supervised many MSc. students, authored and edited books and articles.
Luciana Paulise Deputy Director at ASQ West South-Central Regional, USA
Luciana Paulise is a culture coach, speaker and writer, CEO of Biztorming Training & Consulting LLC. She is an MBA, Quality Engineer and Scrum Master, and is specialized in driving cultural change, employee engagement and innovation. As a coach, she has helped a wide range of companies, from small businesses to corporations to transform their culture to improve both customer and the employee experience. Luciana is also an accomplished book author and contributor for Forbes, ThriveGlobal and other international media outlets.
Luciana is also ASQ West South-Central Regional Deputy Director, Vice president of the Innovation Technology & Aerospace Committee for the Argentina - Texas Chamber of commerce, and has served for various non-profits as chair and advisor. She is bilingual English-Spanish.
Ing. Jesús María Velásquez Bermúdez Chief Scientist at Do Analytics & Decisionware, Colombia
Doctor in Engineering of the Mines Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2006). Magister Scientiorum & Industrial Engineer of the Universidad Los Andes (Colombia, 1975). Postgraduate studies in Planning and Engineering of Water Resources (Simon Bolivar University, Caracas) and in Economics (Los Andes University). Chair of CLAIO 2008. Consulting engineer with experience in management of projects in advanced mathematical modeling (advanced analytics), industrial automation and information systems, for large companies in multiples countries.
LOGYCA Award for Innovation and Logistic Excellence 2006 (GS1-Colombia). ACOLOG Award to the Investigation in Logistic (2006). Prize ACIEM-ENERCOL Award to Colombian Engineering (1998). Alberto Leon Betancourt Operations Research Award (1986). President of the Colombian Society of Operations Research (SOCIO, 2000-2008). Vice-president of the Latin-Ibero American Association of Operations Research (2004-2008). Member by Colombia Executive Committee of the International Federation of Operations Research Societies (2002). He is also Mathematical Programming Entrepreneur and Researcher and author of lots of books.
Adriana B. Rodriguez Performance Improvement Manager at BayCare Health System, USA
Adriana B. Rodriguez hold a doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering and a M.S. degree in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida and the ASQ Master Black Belt and SME Lean Silver certifications.
Adriana started her careers in academics, lecturing in the areas of Quality Management, Applied Computer, and Math. Her research areas included customer experience, process optimization, lean six sigma, strategy design and data analytics.
In the consulting sphere in corporate America, she has led more than 25 global interdisciplinary projects in various service companies, and in the healthcare sector, and oversaw programs and proof of concepts in Operations, Sales Analytics, IT and Clinical environments. Adriana has managed performance improvements projects’ pipeline, developed and deployed training programs, advised C level executives, and mentor more than 100 lean six sigma candidates across different levels of the organization.
She is an active member of the American Society of Quality (ASQ).
Nguyen Thanh Hai Regional Partner at Six Sigma Management Institute by Dr. Mikel J. Harry, Vietnam
Hai is the Vice President Dr. Mikel J Harry Six Sigma Management Institute (SSMI) Asia in Vietnam, Minitab Partner in Vietnam - Consulting Support program. He has extensive experience in Process improvement especially in the FMCG, Garment, and Healthcare and Manufacturing domains. He is certified PMP, SSMI Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, SSMI Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, Mini MBA, and Quality Trainer of Minitab
Atanu Chaudhuri Associate Professor of Operations and Technology Management at the Durham University Business School, United Kingdom
Atanu Chaudhuri obtained his PhD in Operations Management from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Aalborg University, Denmark.
Atanu has more than 8 years of industrial experience having worked in the automotive, consulting and research sectors and more than a decade of academic experience. He was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2017 by Aalborg University’s Study Board of Industry and Global Business Development.
Research pursuits focus on supply chain implications of additive manufacturing, supply chain risk management and resilience. He is the Senior Associate Editor of International Journal of Logistics Management and has published over 40 articles in leading journals such as Transportation Research: Part E, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Production Planning and Control, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management.
Vikas Kumar Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management and Director of Research at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, United Kingdom
Vikas Kumar holds a PhD degree in Management Studies from Exeter Business School, United Kingdom. He has published more than 200 articles in leading international journals including the International Journal of Production Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, Expert System with Applications, Journal of Business Research, Computers & Industrial Engineering, and Production Planning & Control.
He serves on the editorial board of several journals and is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences. Vikas has successfully secured funding in the excess of £1 million and is involved in several international collaborative projects in Southeast Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe. His current research interests include Sustainable Supply Chains, Industry 4.0, Circular Economy, Food Supply Chains, and Operational Excellence.
Tatiana Gherman Senior Lecturer at University of Northampton, England
Tatiana Gherman is an Associate Professor with more than a decade of teaching and research experience. She holds a PhD in Behavioural Operational Research from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Tatiana is currently researching how machine learning and artificial intelligence tools can support various business functions to help make business management practices more effective, with particular interest in how to design artificial intelligence techniques grounded in and informed by patterns of social interaction and communication. Her research interest and expertise include: artificial intelligence/machine learning, data science, big data, advanced quantitative analytics, group decision support, human-computer interaction, workplace studies, behavioural studies, conversation analysis, and ethnomethodology.
Editorial Advisory Board
The members of the Editorial Advisory Board include the following professionals:
Tony Bendell Lead Trainer at The Anti-Fragility Academy & MD at Services Limited, Southwell, England, UK
Professor Tony Bendell is a strategic thought leader, respected academic and international expert speaker, consultant, and trainer, who is the former Rolls-Royce PLC funded Professor of Quality & Reliability Management at the University of Leicester UK. He is a well-known invited keynote speaker at Conferences and Events worldwide.
As Director & Principal Consultant at Services Limited, and Lead Trainer at the Anti-Fragility Academy, he works with client organisations & their leaders to make them stronger.
He has worked as an associate consultant of Coopers & Lybrand, and subsequently trained management consultants for Deloitte. He has published extensively and is principle author of the bestselling Financial Times book on Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage, available in 6 languages, and the FT book on Implementing Quality in the Public Sector. His most recent book on `Developing Anti-Fragile Organizations; Governance, Opportunity and Risk in Turbulent Times’ was published by Gower in July 2014. He is now working on a new book ‘Time to Rethink Risk Management: Managing Through a Global Crisis’.
Alaa Garad Associate Professor at University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom
Award-winning, course creator, dynamic and multi-talented academic and practitioner with extensive expertise in academic programmes accreditation, course development, consultancy, executive education, and business development with 24+ years of experience in designing, leading, implementing, and managing projects in various industries/sectors. Successful in creating, implementing and refining long-term strategy, focused on collaborative partnerships, performance management, future foresight, and investing in people. Acknowledged for programmes and processes developed to improve efficiency, profitability, competitive positioning across all organizational levels. Areas of expertise include:
• Human Resource Development
• Strategy Articulation & Deployment
• Consultancy and Executive Education
• TQM & Business Excellence
• Learning Organizations
• Developing Strategic Partnerships
Latest Publications:
Garad, A. and Gold, J. (2021). The Learning-Driven Business; a Complete Guide for Organizational Learning. Bloomsbury, London, UK.
Kennan S. and Garad A. (2020), Competencies of Quality Professionals in the Era of Industry 4.0; A Case Study of Electronics Manufacturer from Malaysia, International Journal of Quality & Reliability https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-04-2019-0124
Selim Ahmed Head of World School of Business at World University of Bangladesh (WUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Dr. Selim Ahmed is the Head of School Business, World University of Bangladesh. Previously he worked at International University of Agadir (Universiapolis), Morocco as an Assistant Professor. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration and Master of Management degree from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). His PhD research topic was “Lean Six Sigma and its Effect on Quality Performance in Malaysian Hospitals”. He has published many peer reviewed journals and editorial advisory board member for several international journals. He is the reviewer more than 40 Scopus & Web of Science indexed journals. In 2018, he received “Top Reviewer Award” from Publons. In 2015, he received “Best Paper” award from 12th Academy for Global Business Advancement (AGBA) Conference, Kuantan, Malaysia. He was the “Secretary” for 12th International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (ISAHP, 2013). His research interest areas are quality management, behavioural science, organizational behavior, healthcare management and etc.
Surya Prakash Assistant Professor at Department of Mechanical Engineering, BML Munjal University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Dr. Surya Prakash did his Ph.D. from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India in Supply Chain Network Design and Modelling. He has Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS-Pilani) (India) that are top rated technical university of India. He has over eight years of experience of teaching and academics. He is prolific researchers with 20+ quality research articles, 5+ Book Chapters, 10+ Conference papers and filed 2 Indian patents. He is handling many consultancy projects for industries in QMS and Oil and Gas domain. He was awarded twice by BMU for best all-round performance, and best research paper award. His areas of research interest are Industry 4.0, supply chain management, risk management, logistics, network optimization, artificial intelligence and operations management.
Ayten Yalciner Assistant Professor at Industrial Engineering Department, Sakarya University, Turkey
Her expertise area is manufacturing and service information systems. Studies also includes digitalization, industry 4.0, decision-making systems and supply chain & logistics. Artificial intelligence, technology and innovation management fields are also her interested fields.
She completed her Ph.D at Sakarya University Institute of Science, Industrial Engineering Department, with his thesis titled "An Enterprise Manufacturing Information Model Proposal" in 2008.
Ayten worked as a programmer and system analyst at the Information Processing Center for 6 years, and then worked as a research assistant in the Industrial Engineering Department. She worked as the Manager of Sakarya University Artificial Intelligence Systems Application and Research Center between 2009 and 2012. She was a researcher at the USA-Florida Institute of Technology between 2011 and 2012.
Kush Shah Senior Manager, Operational Excellence at General Motors, Greater Detroit Area, USA
Kush Shah is globally recognized for his expertise, professionalism and outstanding contributions to the field of quality. He has a proven track record for solving tough quality problems. He has demonstrated his unwavering dedication in advancement of organizational excellence by introducing quality concepts for many organizations and individuals that resulted in significant improvement in organizational performance and customer experience.
Kush is currently a Senior Manager, Operational Excellence at General Motors and is responsible for providing OpEx training and coaching at all levels of organization globally. He was recognized as GM Professional Fellow for his significant professional contributions and endorsement by both internal and external experts in the field of quality.
He has served in many leadership positions at the American Society for Quality (ASQ) including National Director on the ASQ Board of Directors, the Chair of Automotive Division and the Chair of Detroit Section. Kush was recognized as an ASQ Fellow.
Rameshwar Dubey Reader (Operations Management) at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr. Rameshwar is also Adjunct Professor (Supply Chain Management) at Montpellier Business School (France) and Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Management (India).
He also serves as a Senior Editor - International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management and Associate Editor - Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, International Journal of Information Management, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Management of Environmental Quality and Consulting Editor - Hospital Topics.
Before joining Liverpool Business School, Dr. Rameshwar was a full time Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Montpellier Business School and taught at some leading international schools - Indian Institute of Management (India), Faculty of Engineering, São Paulo State University (Brazil), Southern University of Science and Technology (China), Stockholm School of Business (Sweden) and Audencia Business School (France).
His research interests include supply chain management, operations management and business analytics with strong focus on humanitarian operations management, sustainable supply chain management, supply chain design issues and application of emerging technologies in disaster relief operations.
Guilherme F. Frederico Professor of Operations, Supply Chain and Project Management at Federal University of Paraná, School of Management, Curitiba, Brazil.
Also a Professor and Researcher at Information Management MSc and PhD programs at this same university, he holds a PhD (Industrial Engineering) from Federal University of São Carlos and a B.Eng (Civil Engineering) and MSc (Industrial Engineering) from São Paulo State University.
Professor Frederico has been working in collaboration with the Centre for Supply Chain Improvement at University of Derby in the United Kingdom as a Visiting Professor and Affiliate Researcher. His research interests and expertise in the Supply Chain Management field are related to Maturity Management, Performance Measurement, Project Management, Knowledge Management and Impacts from Industry 4.0.
He has published his research in international journals such as Supply Chain Management an International Journal, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Benchmarking an International Journal, International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management and International Journal of Business Excellence.
Prior to his academic career, he worked in the Supply Chain Management field with large global companies such as Bunge and Deere & Company.
Zubair Anwar Thought Leader at BIETS Centre of Excellence Global, he is a senior management professional, with more than 21 years of experience in leading and providing business solutions.
He is an ASQ Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Certified Six Sigma Green Belt. He holds a BS Degree in Electrical Engineering and MS in Engineering Management and has completed postgrad courses from universities in the United States.
Zubair has several international publications. He contributed to a number of publications including: “The Sage Encyclopedia of Quality and Service Economy”, “The Certified Supplier Quality Professional – Handbook” and “The ASQ Supply Chain Management Primer” and 7th Edition of “Juran’s Quality Handbook”. He has also authored a number of research papers. Areas of specialty include: strategy formulation/implementation, CAPEX/OPEX, general management in the service sector and implementation of Six Sigma & quality systems in large organizations.
He is also involved with a number of organizations including: ASQ – Member of ASQ Award Board, Chair of TCC Quality 4.0 Committee, Chair of Service Quality Body of Knowledge, Peer Group Member of TCC QBOK, Technical Reviewer for World Conference on Quality & Improvement; TUM School of Management (Germany) - Adjunct Faculty and Guest Speaker; IEEE - Senior Member.
Jorge Román Currently an international consultant in business excellence and benchmarking at Dubai Police Headquarters.
Dr. Román has a PhD in Management from Lleida University (Spain) and is a Mechanical Engineer with an MBA from Northeastern State University in Tulsa, Oklahoma (United States). His areas of expertise focus on the application of quality improvement to business in service and products such as benchmarking for best practices, lean management and business excellence frameworks as well as serving as an author and keynote speaker.
In his current position, Dr. Román is: Member of the Scientific Council at Dubai Police, Member of International Advisory Board - Policing Insight Magazine, Judge on the Board of The International Best Practice Competition, Editorial Review Board at the Quality Management Forum (ASQ), Editorial Board of the International Journal of Excellence in Government, International Examiner for the Baldrige Training Program, Judge on the Board of the Global Performance Excellence Award (APQO) and Steering Committee Member on the Organizational Excellence Technical Committee (ASQ) and Subject Matter Expert for the Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance.
Greg Hutchins An author of many books, Greg coined the phrase – Future of Quality: Risk®.
Greg Hutchins is the Founder of QualityPlusEngineering.com, 800Compete.com, WorkingIt.com and
CERMAcademy.com. He is an author of a number of books that have spanned topics such as: ISO 9001, Supply Chain Management and Future of Work. As a subject matter expert, Greg has led Future of Work initiatives with a number of global organizations such as IEEE - USA, NSPE, AIP and PMI.
At WorkingIt.com, the publication Working It: Disruption Rules is in its fourth edition.
At Quality+Engineering, Greg has developed an offered the Certified Enterprise Risk Manager® consisting of ERM, Project Risk Management, and Risk Assurance and published the Working It Hacks and CERM Risk Insights newsletters. As the first firm approved for Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assurance, Analytics® by the United States Government, Quality+Engineering has used ISO 31K, COSO, SEI:CMM, SCAMPI; ISO 9001 to provide enterprise risk architecture, design, deployment, and assurance for enforcement regulators and compliance companies through professional engineering attestation. Through this same firm, Greg has also provided enforcement and compliance consulting services across sectors such as: water, electric power, chemicals, food and natural gas; published a book on Risk Based Audits; conducted many assurance assessments: forensic, assurance, performance (Yellow Book/Red Book), quality (ISO 9K, COBIT 28K, ISO 27K etc.), technology (NIST 800s, COBIT, 27K), and analytical (DHS, FAA, FDA, DOE).
Christopher Kluse Assistant Professor of Quality Systems, Department of Engineering Technologies, Bowling Green State University
Dr. Christopher Kluse is the program coordinator and an assistant professor of the ABET accredited Quality Systems program at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Prior to his appointment at the university, Christopher was employed for over two decades in the automotive industry as a Quality Manager, Quality Engineer, and Operations Manager. While employed in industry, he was an adjunct instructor of Quality Management at Eastern Michigan University and an adjunct instructor and subject matter expert at Southern New Hampshire University. Christopher holds a PhD in Technology Management with a concentration in Quality Management.
Rajeev Agrawal Fellow of The Institution of Engineer’s in India.
Dr. Rajeev Agrawal holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering (BIT, Mesra, India), a Master degree (MNNIT, Allahabad, India) and Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering (GEC, Jabalpur, India).
Building on 20 years of professional experience, Rajeev serves on the editorial board of international journals including IJBSR (Inderscience Publishers) and as a guest-editing special issues in journals and proceedings. He has published and presented research papers with IEEE Explore Proceeding, Springer, Emerald, Science Direct and Inderscience Publishers and has been sponsored to do work with industrial consultancies.
Currently, Dr. Rajeev Agrawal is an Associate Professor with the Mechanical Engineering Department and an Associate Dean of Research with the Malaviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur. He manages research projects and engages with Lean Six Sigma, Quality Tools, Supply Chain Quality Management, Management Systems and Reconfigurable Manufacturing System.
Willy Vandenbrande Founder of QS Consult located in Belgium
As the founder of QS Consult, a European consulting agency that assists organizations with Quality Management, Willy Vandenbrande has been active within quality management for over 30 years. His academic qualifications include: Master degree in Civil Engineering Metallurgy, Master degree in Total Quality Management, Six Sigma Black Belt Certification (ASQ).
A well-known speaker, Willy has delivered many thought-provoking presentations at international conferences including WCQI and EOQ. He has also written numerous articles and columns on Quality Management.
Willy is an ASQ Fellow, an Academician to the International Academy for Quality (IAQ) and Chair of the Quality in Planet Earth Concerns Think Tank of IAQ. In 2019, Willy was recognized by his peers with the Jack E. Lancaster Medal (ASQ) for outstanding leadership in promoting quality worldwide.
Coordinators
Coordinating members include the following professionals:
Lien Herliani Kusumah Lecturer and Researcher at Mercu Buana University, Banten Province, Indonesia
She received a scholarship from OAD-Austria to carry out a Doctoral research program at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Management, Department of Industrial Management and Innovation Research, Technische Universität Graz (TU-Graz) Austria. In 2006, she completed the Doctor of Industrial Engineering and Management program at the Institut Teknologi Bandung with a postgraduate scholarship program from the Indonesian Directorate of Higher Education. From 1990 to 2004, she was a lecturer and researcher at IKOPIN, then from 2005 until now, she is a lecturer and researcher at Universitas Mercu Buana (UMB), Jakarta Indonesia. She has been active as a senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute for Corporate Governance (IICG) since 2007 and OES Global Research Canada since 2018.
Nithya Ramachandran Assistant Professor at Business Studies Department, University of Technology and Applied Sciences (Ibra), Sultanate of Oman
She is a Commerce & Management graduate and earned a PhD (2011). Today, Nithya is an Academic Representative, Quality Assurance Department, working for OAAA (Oman Academic Accreditation Authority) accreditation.
An accomplished professor with over 17 years of teaching and research experience in the areas of finance and entrepreneurship. She is a speaker in national and international conferences, an author for several publications and faculty mentor for research projects.
Her work experience has spanned in promoting and supporting academic accreditation process in educational institutions both in India and Oman. She strongly believes that education can bring socio-economic change in every human. Currently she is undergoing CISR® Certification: CISR Scholar - UN SDG Team working on SDG 4 & 5.
Adeshola Kukoyi Founder at Equilibrium Perspectives, Lagos, Nigeria
Adeshola Kukoyi is a business sustainability advocate, L&D practitioner and futurist; offering consulting, innovation, research and community development services. He is a Senior Coordinator at the Central Industrial Liaison and Placement Unit, University of Lagos, Nigeria; Founder, Sun and Green International as well as Equilibrium Perspectives.
He pursued a unique, multidisciplinary-oriented and dynamic career driven by passion for sustainability in all spheres of life. Had bachelor's and master's degree education in Biochemistry and Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Lagos. Member, Nigerian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Associate, Nigeria Institute of Training and Development. Editorial Team Member, Independent Journal of Management and Production (IJM&P). He is a quality stakeholder with 13+ years’ experience in the implementation of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) at University of Lagos. Author of Economic Impacts of Natural Polymers, Natural Polymers: Industry Techniques and Applications, Springer International Publishing (2015).
Jessica Vallecillo Rochester, Michigan, United States
Jessica is a Process Improvement Leader at Sodexo Mexico, which is a Global company with the mission to improve Quality of Life for people in services-wide interactions. Jessica holds the ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt and LSSI Lean Logistics certifications. She got her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM. She has proven expertise and passion with demonstrated track record of results in her 9-year journey to achieve Operational Excellence and Customer Loyalty. Jessica had worked with manufacturing, supply chain, logistics and sales operations for Industrial and Retail markets and used a hands-on and pragmatic consultative approach and a data-driven behavior. Jessica had led 15+ large scale strategic and tactical projects using Lean Six sigma methodology and Problem-Solving skills delivering design and implementation of scorecards, routines and processes streamlining workflows, adopting standard work, standards compliance and excellence that ultimately improve and sustain core business capabilities and etc.
Muhammad Irfan Seasoned Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment professional in Dubai, UAE
Muhammad has more than 13 years’ experience in Facility Management, Oil & Gas, and Industrial Services. He has experience implementing ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 17025. His academic background includes a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Technology (Preston University) and his credential include PMP®, ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Certified KPI Professional, Dubai Quality Award Assessor and NEBOSH IGC. Muhammad currently works as QHSE Executive with the Ejadah Asset Management Group Dubai.
Thobile is a dedicated Quality Management specialist with a strong academic background in operational excellence. Holding a Master's degree in Chemistry, she brings a solid foundation in scientific principles and analytical thinking to the field of quality management. She also holds an International Leadership certificate (Quality Management) from Germany, a PGLSS Lean Six Sigma certificate from India, and currently is pursuing her MBA at Botho University, Botswana. Her expertise includes implementing and auditing ISO 9001, ISO 17020, and ISO 17025 standards. Thobile's achievements include being honored with the National Quality Awards in 2017, where her laboratory was distinguished as the best Government Laboratory for its successful implementation of QM strategies. She currently works as a quality management system consultant for Business Excellence Consultancy Company.
Chandan Kumar Jha Assistant Professor, Department of Operations and Analytics, SOIL School of Business Design, Manesar, India
He holds a Bachelor Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.P.U.T Rourkela), a Master Tech degree in Industrial Engineering & Management (IIT Dhanbad, earlier known as ISM Dhanbad) and has done Doctoral research in management (internal defense completed successfully at IIM Ranchi). Chandan is a member of IEOM, POMS and The OR Society and has presented his research work at national and international conferences such as the Society of Operations Management and IEOM. Research interests include the applications of operational research techniques to solve socio-economic problems, primarily in the education, health and energy sectors. In addition to academic and research pursuits, Chandan has served as a consultant on projects and Edtech startups.
Priyanka Ramnauth Quality Manager at global healthcare organization, Vacoas, Mauritius
Priyanka is committed to saving lives through service interactions. Since 2012, she has earned ISSAC Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Six Sigma Master Black Belt certifications and developed expertise in Operational Excellence and Customer Loyalty. Her diverse background spans software development, operations, logistics and sales operations in the I-Gaming industry. Combining hands-on pragmatism with data-driven insights, she has successfully led over 30 strategic and tactical projects using Lean Six Sigma methodology and problem-solving skills. Priyanka excels in designing and implementing scorecards, streamlining workflows, and establishing standard work practices. Her efforts have consistently improved and sustained core business capabilities, driving standards compliance and operational excellence.
Published Issues
Volume 4 / Issue 2 - September / October 2024
Issue includes:
Stress and Cognitive Function: The impact on Quality in Manufacturing Environments
Enterprise-Wide Optimization Systems Case: Oil & Gas Artificial Brains and Pipelines Optimization
OES Webinars are Diving Deeper into the Data!
Volume 4 / Issue 1 - March / April 2024
Issue includes:
An Innovative Approach to Face-to-Face Service Improvement
Update to Global Assessment on the Current State of Organizational Excellence
Role of Blockchain Technology in Building Supply Chain Resilience
O Canada! Performance is Slipping and What We Can Do About It
Learnings & Challenges for Building Successful Business Relationship Collaborations
WE CULTURE book, published by Quality Press
Volume 3 / Issue 1 - June 2022
Issue includes:
DGEP – DUBAI, We Learn 5th Cycle
OEA Report Launch
IMC Quality Award Overview
Volume 2 / Issue 2&3 - August/September 2021
Issue includes:
Failure of Public Sector Improvements: ISO 18404
Update to Global Assessment on the Current State of Organizational Excellence
Human Side of Leadership
Volume 2 / Issue 1 - March 2021
Issue includes:
(Artificial) Hypothalamus Project
ISO 9001 Certification is Losing Its Relevance
What helps in difficult times—while staff is being laid off
Volume 1 / Issue 4 - December 2020
Issue includes:
What Should We Learn from the Pandemic?
Ethics in Leadership
Ready to Carry Out a Successful Vaccination Campaign?
Important notice regarding copyright. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11593.98406 has been assigned to the December 2020 issue. Please cite as follows:
Author/Authors name, Title of Article, Quality and Operational Research (QOR) Newsletter, December issue, 2020, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11593.98406 ” , Published by Organizational Excellence Specialists, Canada
Volume 1 / Issue 3 - August 2020
Issue includes:
Where is the Value in Assessment?
The 30-minutes meeting challenge – Leaders spend more than 70% of their time in meetings
Volume 1 / Issue 2 - July 2020
Issue includes:
Transition to Quality 4.0
What is the Global OE Index?
How to Leverage Lean for a Scaling Healthcare Transformation
Volume 1 / Issue 1 - June 2020
Issue includes:
Mathematical Programming 4.0 & The Hypothalamus of the Enterprise