(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- For Christopher Parker, corporate director of quality systems development and lean manufacturing for Benchmark Electronics Inc., located in Winona, Minnesota, applying quality tools to a local volunteer activity was a concept that hit home—literally. When a massive flood damaged his hometown in August 2007, the community didn’t know where to begin.

“In any type of problem management, the key is finding a place to start,” says Parker.

After becoming the city’s new emergency response coordinator, Parker modified W. Edwards Deming’s “plan, do, check, act” (PDCA) to reflect the city’s emergency situation. The new reactive model worked so well that the city established a sense of normalcy within the first week. In fact, Parker was asked to present his plan to the Southeast Minnesota League of Municipalities, located in Chatfield, and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management office, based in St. Paul, to help standardize emergency plans for small communities.

For many, quality is not simply a business ideal, but a skill that can be used to improve the lives of others. To recognize these individuals and countless others in the quality community for their contributions, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) has developed a Quality for Life program.

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