Quality leadership training path · on the way
Lead the quality team, not just the paperwork. Run a management review that ends in decisions.Be the quality leader the owner listens to. Talk in decisions and dollars, not slides.Somebody has to lead the AI rollout. Make it the person who knows quality.
Train people to do the job right, run projects without heroics, build a quality culture, run a management review that ends in decisions and put a dollar figure on poor quality. Every course is on the way, each with its own waitlist.
For new quality managers, supervisors and plant leaders.
Be first in. Join the waitlist for this path.
Your signup tells us which of these courses to finish first. One email when the first one opens.
- 8 courses planned
- Nothing to pay to join
- We'll email you when one opens
Sound familiar?
If you just got put in charge of quality, you've heard these.
Management review is a slide deck. Nobody decides anything.
Clause 9.3.3 asks for decisions and actions, not a presentation. A review without them is a meeting, and an auditor can tell. Management Review That Drives Decisions is on the way, for running a review that ends in decisions, not slides.
I was the best machinist here. Now I'm supposed to train everyone.
Doing the job well and teaching it are different skills, and nobody hands you the second one with the promotion. Supervisor Essentials and Job Instruction is on the way, for training people to do the job right the first time.
We say quality comes first. Until the truck is waiting.
People believe what leaders do on the late day, not what the poster says. Quality Culture and Ethics in Practice is on the way, for building the culture ISO 9001:2026 now asks leaders to show.
The owner asked what scrap costs us. I didn't have a number.
Scrap, rework and escapes cost money whether anyone adds it up or not. Without a number, quality is hard to argue for in a budget meeting. Cost of Poor Quality is on the way, for putting a dollar figure on it.
What it's for
Go from the one who knows quality to the one who leads it.
A review that ends in decisions
When the management review ends in decisions and actions instead of slides, you're the person the front office checks with before it commits money or people.
Quality in dollars
When you can put a dollar figure on scrap, rework and escapes, you stop asking for budget on faith. You show where the money goes, and the owner can act on it.
A team that gets it right when you're not there
Train people to do the job right the first time and build a culture that holds on the late day. That's the kind of leader who gets trusted with more.
No course can promise you a raise or a title. What these courses are for is the skill, and the work to show for it.
Why it matters
Quality starts with how the team is led.
In Gallup's 2024 meta-analysis of 183,806 business and work units, the most engaged quarter had a median 32% fewer quality defects than the least engaged quarter.
Gallup's research also finds that managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. The supervisor who trains the new hire and the quality manager who runs the review set more of that tone than any poster.
You probably got the job because you were good at the technical work. Leading the team, running the review and making the case in dollars are different skills. They can be learned, and that's what this path is for.
The full path
From leading people to leading the system.
People first, because that's where a new leader feels it: training and projects. Then culture and the principles under it, then the review and the cost numbers, then an AI rollout. Each course stands alone.
The planned route
Every course on this path is on the way, so join the waitlist on the ones you want and we'll email you when each one opens.
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On the way
Supervisor Essentials and Job Instruction
Train people to do the job right the first time.
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On the way
Project Management for Operations and Quality Teams
Run projects that finish on time without heroics.
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On the way
Quality Culture and Ethics in Practice
Build the culture ISO 9001:2026 now asks leaders to show.
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On the way
Total Quality Management
The principles under every quality system.
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On the way
Management Review That Drives Decisions
Run a clause 9.3 review that ends in decisions, not slides.
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On the way
Cost of Poor Quality
Put a dollar figure on scrap, rework and escapes.
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On the way
Lead AI Change
Bring a team through an AI rollout.
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On the way
AI for Owners and Leaders: Policy, Risk and Return
Set the rules, weigh the risk, measure the return.
Who's behind it
From an auditor who also runs the operation.
Will Trikha
Founder and CEO, QMS Learning · Third-party registrar auditor
Will Trikha is a third-party registrar auditor with more than 20 years in aerospace and quality. He sees the job this path is about from both sides of the table: as the auditor who reads the record, and as the operations leader who answers for it.
He's COO of PTX Defense, an AS9100D-certified aerospace manufacturer, so he lives with quality requirements from the supplier side. He founded QMS Leader, which implements quality management systems for manufacturers, and he's trained people at PTX Defense, Alva Manufacturing, Paramount Extrusions, Rikelo Motion Systems and Global Airtech.
While you wait
- Lesson 1 of every live course is free. Browse the live courses.
- Check a certificate. Every certificate can be confirmed at academy.qmslearning.com/verify.
- Training a team? Email will@qmslearning.com.
Questions
Straight answers.
Do I have to take them all?
No. Each course stands on its own, with its own price, so join the waitlist only for the ones your job needs.
When do the courses open?
We don't give dates until a course is ready. Join the waitlist on any course and we'll email you when it opens. Signups help decide what we build next.
Is this an accredited certification?
No. QMS Learning courses end with a QMS Learning certificate that anyone can check at academy.qmslearning.com/verify. It isn't an accredited certification or a professional society credential.
I just got promoted from the floor. Is this for me?
Yes. This path is for new quality managers, supervisors and plant leaders: people who were good at the work and now lead the people who do it.
Does ISO 9001 really expect this from leaders?
Yes. Clause 9.3.3 requires management review outputs to include decisions and actions, and ISO 9001:2026 asks top management in 5.1.1 to promote quality culture and ethical behaviour. At most small shops top management is the owner or GM. The quality manager can prepare the data. The owner reviews it and owns the decisions.
When will these courses open?
We don't promise dates. The waitlist tells us which courses to finish first, and we email you once when a course you joined opens. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
The Quality Leadership path
Tell us which course you need first. Join the waitlist.
- Supervisor Essentials and Job InstructionOn the way
- Project Management for Operations and Quality TeamsOn the way
- Quality Culture and Ethics in PracticeOn the way
- Total Quality ManagementOn the way
- Management Review That Drives DecisionsOn the way
- Cost of Poor QualityOn the way
- Lead AI ChangeOn the way
- AI for Owners and Leaders: Policy, Risk and ReturnOn the way
One email when the first course on this path opens. Nothing to pay to join.