Introduction

Me: My name is Sinead O’Leary. I am a Senior Quality Engineer working for a Medical Device company in Limerick. I have been with the company since graduating and through the years I have gained a vast amount of experience in the medical device industry through my involvement with different systems and projects as well as growing in knowledge from the experience of my colleagues. Some departments see Quality as being negative stopping a project or preventing progress however I see it as quite the opposite and would consider myself lucky in how many areas my job allows me to gain experience in and work with people with such different personalities, experience and knowledge which I can then use to generate new ideas for improvements.

My team: I was promoted to Senior Quality Engineer last year which has been a great challenge. Studying for a BSc. in Manufacturing Management has really helped me with the tools and theoretical knowledge I need to manage a team as well as projects on a day to day basis. As part of this role it is important for me to motivate my team as well as create an efficient and effective working environment. In my role, I supervise a number of Quality Engineers who specialize in a particular product line. They see these products from birth to the customer including everything in between. I also manage a number of complaints investigators again who specialize in the analysis and investigation of customer complaints for a particular product line. In addition, I manage the customer complaints system and am responsible for the system as well as any improvements that are required.

My project: Studying to become a Green Belt in Six Sigma, I saw the project required for this course as a great opportunity to use the tools I have learnt during the course to date and apply them to a review of the customer complaints system. As the rate and type of customer complaints is unpredictable it is important for the system in operation to be as efficient and effective as possible so it can cope with any eventuality.

My company does not utilize lean or Six Sigma methodology and as I have not other experience outside of this company a lot of the tools and terminology have been foreign to me during the course of this degree, however as I have always found, the best method of learning is through doing so let the journey begin!