About the Expert
Dennis Arter is an auditor, author, and trainer. He instructs large and small firms on how to use the power of audit to achieve improvement. Dennis”s industrial experience includes nuclear power plant components and operations, high level nuclear waste research, shipyards, food processing (soup, poultry, potato), telephone switches, large software design and maintenance, chemical processing, government (FAA, IRS, USDA, FDA, EPA, GSA), aluminum, zinc, and steel foundries, banking, insurance, mortgage, building wire, aircraft components, aircraft assembly, automotive components, computers, fiberglass, carpets, medical devices, hospital kits, blood banking, clinical laboratories, pharmaceuticals, appliances, wood products, and composites. He has been in the quality profession since leaving the American submarine service in 1975.
Six years as a nuclear submarine officer and five years as a staff support engineer (QA and QC) to a nuclear utility gave experience in project planning, facility operations, supplier relations, and government regulation. Five years as a quality advisor to the Department of Energy provided exposure to research, contractor operations, program development, and training. 30 years as an independent consultant to large and small business and government organizations required hands-on solutions to real world problems. Participation in USA standards development, as well as visits to the UK, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Bahrain, China, So. Africa, Mexico, Croatia, Turkey, and Norway, provide a global perspective on quality issues. First hand exposure across many manufacturing and service sectors has given him an enhanced perspective of how organizations function and where the future is taking them.
Dennis has presented his course on quality auditing to over 10,000 people since 1980. In 1988, he was selected by ASQ to present his auditing course worldwide on behalf of the Society. He is the author of the classic text Quality Audits for Improved Performance, first published by ASQ Quality Press in 1989 and now in its third edition. The book has sold over 50,000 copies and is published in Spanish as well as English.
Dennis is an ASQ Fellow and past member of the Society’s Board of Directors. He is active in several ASQ committees, divisions and councils. He was on the team that developed the ASQ Certified Quality Auditor program and holds a CQA charter certificate. He managed the team that developed the first Quality Audit Handbook, published by Quality Press in 1997. He was an active participant in the worldwide effort to revise the ISO 9000 series of standards in the late 1990s. He was co-chair of the 2nd and 3rd China-America Conference on Quality in Beijing and Shanghai.
Over the last several years, Dennis has researched three major forces affecting the quality profession: artificial general intelligence, climate change, and integrated management systems. He has presented this research to audiences in North America, Africa, and Europe.
Dennis has a degree in biochemistry from the University of Illinois. He resides in the State of Washington, USA, with his wife of 40 years. He is a grandpa and enjoys computer networking and open source software.