By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Michael P. Meaney, a Training Systems Program Manager at NAVAIR Orlando, Fl., became the first NAVAIR AIRSpeed Black Belt to be certified by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) as a Six Sigma Black Belt.

Meaney, who finished his NAVAIR Black Belt training last month, is also now one of the first NAVAIR Black Belts working directly with the fleet. He is currently assigned as part of the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) to apply Lean and Six Sigma within the Naval aviation fleet, so that the entire NAE can become more efficient and effective. The first AIRSpeed project to rely on NAVAIR Black Belts will be for Commander Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 in Jacksonville, Fla.

“The ASQ certification test is challenging, with a heavy concentration on statistics,” said Meaney, who met the experience prerequisite to take the test because he has completed a number of improvement projects outside the government as a consultant. He was also certified in 1998 by ASQ as a Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence and has since maintained this certification.

“I have been consulting in the field of quality management since 1998,” explained Meaney, whose experience includes providing organizations with strategic planning assistance, quality systems development, and general quality systems management consulting services including Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints and ISO9000 quality systems implementation.

“My work in this area primarily focuses on helping top organizational leaders with managing change, planning for and dealing with resulting cultural issues, and with implementing continuous process improvement including statistical process control,” he said. “I’m excited about AIRSpeed and looking forward to performing these services for NAVAIR – especially at the fleet level.”

The ASQ is a professional association that advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide.

“ASQ provides certification as a way to provide formal recognition to professionals who have demonstrated an understanding of, and a commitment to, quality techniques and practices in their job and career,” said Daniel M. Duhan, President, American Society for Quality. “This is a great accomplishment and, although not a formal registration or licensure, bestows a high level of peer recognition, as well.”

Meaney plans to sit for a Department of Navy version of the ASQ test in April.

“One of my professional goals is to be selected by NAVAIR as a Master Black Belt,” said Meaney, “The Master Black Belt position enables NAVAIR to take full advantage of my knowledge and experience in meeting the challenges NAVAIR faces in the future.”

For more information about NAVAIR AIRSpeed and AIRSpeed Black Belts, go to http://www.navair.navy.mil/navairairspeed/.