I was teary eyed reading that Scott. I went to QCI and loved seeing the 'rides' and meeting Don, Elizabeth and Jeff. How did that come about? I had the pleasure of completing the QCI Facilitators Course in 1982 whilst HR, OH&S and Quality Improvement Manager at Tenneco Automotive Springs (nee National Springs) Sydney Australia. It was conducted by the first Australian Management Consultancy - WD Scott. We did something not done in Australia we were told - to train Quality Leaders and Members not only through the QCI Leaders Manual and Worked Examples and those Quizes but to apply such to a real production problem. Well, we did two - one of General Motors 'Beehive' spring and Toyota Corolla Rear 'Stabiliser Bars'.

When the two Teams of Leaders presented their analysis and solutions, the Management Consultants - Brent Coulson and the Director Hugh Whitmore. They said to us all, including the Board of Directors, that this was the first time (1982) they had seen since having the QCI International Distributorship for Australia from 1981 which Don Dewar had come to Australia and signed the agreement to then guide them through how to use all the amazing QCI International materials. The two presentations were made by the QC Leaders and the Board approved the changes and captured such and internally audited the procedures under their ISO 9001 QM System and its processes.

So, in 1984 I joined WD Scott and conducted Quality Circles Management, Team Leaders and Member project-based training throughout Australia for Telecom, BHP Steel, Komatsu, NRMA Insurance. WD Scott also won and distributed the complementary Juran Institute materials. We commenced McLean Management Consultants in 1988 and needed to secure the QCI Distributorship from then Coopers & Lybrand WD Scott. In late 1988, I went to see QCI International in Red Bluff Ca.

Don sat me down and showed me a 16mm film from the British Productivity Council called "Right First Time" and gave me the Quality Digest January 1989 with Allan Mogensen Interview by "Editor Scott M. Paton" no less - I still have it Scott. Don sat me down and smiled, to say, "that film (Paraphrased) has all the ingredients of quality and productivity we know to date and you will see and hear about John Krafcik's paper on Toyota and their Production System Policy under a term called 'Lean'. The Motorola Corporation have completed their Productivity wave and are looking to their US Registered Trademark Quality Program called Six Sigma to help redress their quality problems with a 'X 10 Quality Goal' and hold off the competition in Japanese Radios and European Mobile/Handheld Telephones."

I attended the AQP Conference in Montreal with Don and sat with him as we heard the General Motors VP Cadillac talk about the Toyota Executives who visited and reviewed the GM US$1.6 billion investment in Robotics and became the largest corporate write-off in US industrial history. We shared many meals and as you see Scott, Don, Elizabeth and the QCI-International Team and the 'Editor" are part of what helped me in my career and our management consultancy.