It's only been a few weeks since we completed the Apex QA AS9100 & ISO 9001 Lead Auditor course, and now we have completed the AS9100 third party lead auditor course. While the Lead Auditor course focused on the fundamentals of being a lead auditor in an AS9100 or ISO 9001 environment, the 3rd Party Lead Auditor course focuses on preparing to become an auditor on behalf of certification bodies. Becoming an authenticated 3rd party auditor means we could conduct certificatio

Learn more about Big W Engineering's values from our appearance on The 96% Perfect Podcast

Taking a vacation to the beach 3 months after starting a business is probably not something you'll find in any entrepreneurial self-help book. The best entrepreneurs, however, will remind you to never lose focus on your true north star. Partnership exists in many layers and contexts, but all stems from the same source inside of us, whether it be related to business partnerships or family. Likewise, even vacations have their own risks which need to be mitigated to ensure mi

As we officially close out 2025, I’m yet again thankful for all the connections I’ve been able to make over the last 3 months, and very optimistic about 2026.  Big W is now AS9100 & ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certified One of the first things we learned in our networking is that there is a need for ISO 9001 support, both locally and nationally.  As such I’ve decided that our best value proposition is to share our extensive quality engineering experience within these management sys

We are excited to say that we have just completed Apex Quality Assurance's 5-day AS9100 & ISO 9001 Lead Auditor training! With this certification we're looking forward to providing any AS9100 or ISO 9001 audit needs, while also being able to provide an auditor perspective to any other QMS implementation or support work. We are also planning to complete ISO 9001 Lead Implementer training to demonstrate mastery in QMS creation and implementation, as well as AS9100 Third Party

With Thanksgiving upon us I’m reminded that 2025 is quickly coming to a close.  As you look ahead to 2026 I hope you consider Big W Engineering Solutions to help you scale up, expand your capabilities, or overcome tough challenges.  Coming soon:  ISO 9001 & AS9100 support After spending some time getting to know the local industry, I’ve come to the conclusion that offering certification support up to AS9100 is where I can provide my greatest value.  I have over a decade in qu

A lot of people were surprised at my decision to leave the corporate world. I was at a great company, led an amazing team, and had just cleared some very significant hurdles on the product my team supported. When I started we were a scrappy bunch with just over a dozen quality engineers with seemingly impossible qualification tasks, the two most infamous suppliers in the organization, and buried in quality escapes and overdue CARs. Three years later we had completed the impo

If you've worked with Titanium, you know that cold working it comes with some real restrictions.  What if it didn't have to be that way? ​​ Ultrasonic-assisted forming has been studied since the 1950s , with industrial application in wire drawing and tube bending since the early 1970s. It's carried out by applying vibration to forming dies during deformation using frequencies in the kilohertz range and displacements in the micrometer range. A large body of research has do

I became a manager during a time of very significant change. The entire reason the role I was hired into existed was due to a combination of an increase in scope as well as an increase in customer expectations, and as such we had been resourced to significantly increase our staffing. My department was created as one department split into two, and my first order of business was to double my staffing. In addition to increasing expectations and increasing scope, our entire pr

I had the privilege of serving in 2/34th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan.  We were the tip of the spear in implementation of the then new COIN counterinsurgency strategy, which was further symbolized by being the first brigade-sized element in all of the US Army to be issued the new OCP “multi-cam” uniforms, which later served as a template for the current field uniform that replaced the ACU.  The COIN strategy focused on the population as the center of mass, and

A quick look into where we came from and what inspires us to do what it takes to build a solid reputation.