Joseph Fries

ISO/Quality Management Systems/Aerospace

Joe began his career with IBM as a Quality Engineer, and later held positions for aerospace suppliers as Quality Assurance Manager.  In that role he led efforts to attain ISO 9001 certification at Norwich Aero Products; and at Pioneer Plastics, completed implementation of the Boeing D1-9000 quality assurance system, including Boeing’s Advanced Quality System utilizing Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods.  Joe was a facilitator of Continuous Improvement teams and implemented the Kaizen process, also training and leading Kaizen events. He was also an accredited Source Inspector for Pratt & Whitney and Allison Engines.

Automotive

Joe’s automotive background includes quality management positions for two Tier 1 suppliers across a variety of sites and products. He oversaw QS9000 and ISO/TS 16949 implementation and maintenance for Matsuo Industries and was responsible for the TS/IATF quality systems at BOS Automotive Products, Exedy America Corp. and JTEKT North America. During his 17 years in the industry, he was responsible for all aspects of Quality Assurance and Quality Control operations in automotive systems including: metal stamping, spring-making, injection molding, assembly processes, heat treat and more.

Joe has established internal audit systems and trained internal auditors, and is an expert in automotive core tools. As the primary contact for all customer and supplier quality issues, he ensured customer satisfaction for Honda, General Motors, Ford, FCA, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

In addition, he was a volunteer member of the AIAG Traceability work group and contributed to the creation of the CQI-28 AIAG Traceability Guideline 1^st Edition. Joe is currently an IATF 16949^® Certified Lead Auditor, conducting 2^nd and 3^rd party audits.