Denise Robitaille

Consultant, trainer, and author

Author of more than a dozen books on a variety of quality topics, Denise Robitaille has participated internationally in standards development for more than 20 years, serving in several leadership roles, including her current position as chair of TC176/SC1. That committee is responsible for the development of ISO 9000, the guiding document on quality fundamentals and terminology that is the foundation for ISO 9001.

Robitaille also chairs PC302, the committee responsible for revising the ISO 19011 standard on auditing quality management systems. She has facilitated the implementation of ISO 9001 for multiple organizations for more than 25 years, is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality, and a certified lead assessor.

Thu, 03/28/2024 - 12:03
Committee Draft of ISO 9001 Is Out Changes include genuine improvement; some will make implementation more difficult
Wed, 07/24/2013 - 13:21
Editor’s note: Denise Robitaille is a member of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176, the committee responsible for updating the ISO 9000 family of standards. She will be reporting on the revision progress to ISO 9001, which will be completed in 2015. Read…
What’s Happening With ISO 9001? Stakeholders have offered suggestions for the upcoming revision
Thu, 05/02/2013 - 16:43
Editor’s note: Denise Robitaille is a member of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176, the committee responsible for updating the ISO 9000 family of standards. She will be reporting on the revision progress to ISO 9001, which will be completed in 2015. Read…
Who Are Your Customers? A one-size fits-all survey won’t tell you
Mon, 11/05/2012 - 11:52
In order to assess how well you have served your customers, you must first understand their needs and expectations. It’s impossible to gather meaningful data if you aren’t asking the right questions. Before you can begin to ask the questions, you…
Preventive Action Is About Risk It’s not a sequel to corrective action
Mon, 12/19/2011 - 15:22
The ISO 9001 requirements pertaining to preventive action would get a lot more attention if people grasped the very simple fact that this is all about managing risk—which is really about managing the consequences of change. Whenever we change…
How Is a Scrabble Game Like a Quality Management System? In games and business, strategy rules
Wed, 05/11/2011 - 11:35
The headline’s question seemed a bit far-fetched to me when it was originally posed. The answer provided another delightful illustration of the myriad analogies we find in our everyday lives that relate so effortlessly to our work as quality…
Root Cause Analysis: Helping Us Understand Why Things Go Right Why not use investigative tools to discover the cause of success?
Wed, 03/23/2011 - 05:30
Every once in a while when I’m conducting training, I have the good fortune to have someone ask a particularly atypical question that gets me thinking and helps me to develop more tools and techniques. This serves to not only augment my own bag of…
Root Cause Analysis: Helping Us Understand Why Things Go Right Why not use investigative tools to discover the cause of success?
Wed, 03/23/2011 - 05:30
Every once in a while when I’m conducting training, I have the good fortune to have someone ask a particularly atypical question that gets me thinking and helps me to develop more tools and techniques. This serves to not only augment my own bag of…
Is That All There Is? For ISO 9001 compliance, documentation is only the beginning
Wed, 02/16/2011 - 04:30
I’ve been working with a client on implementing an ISO 9001-compliant quality management system. As always it’s a unique and interesting project, since organizations have different cultures, processes, products, and customers. No two quality…
Funds Sought to Host ISO/TC 176 in United States Help underwrite an international standards meeting and demonstrate your commitment as a quality organization
Mon, 11/22/2010 - 16:08
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 176 is made up of members who develop international standards on quality management and assurance, including the ISO 9000 series. Members of the U.S. Technical…
Defined by Negation Quality management principles are noticeably lacking in election campaigns
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 05:30
Election time is once again upon us. And, like a bumper crop of kudzu run amok, campaign ads have besieged local broadcasts with the tenacity of an unrelenting pestilence. My mailbox is equally stuffed with innuendo-laden campaign fliers. A…