Dale H. Besterfield, Ph.D., P.E., performs training for SPC, DOE, and TQM. He operates his own consulting firm, Besterfield & Associates, and works with public and private organizations. Fortune 500 companies, universities, and small businesses have used his services. He has conducted public seminars on SPC/SQC, TQM, and DOE in cooperation with the Atermican Management Association and a number of universities. In addition, he was an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quailty Award.
After leaving Washington University and spening two years in the army, Dr. Besterfield work for Union-Camp Paper Corporation in Trenton, NJ, as an industrial engineer, quality engineer, and first-line supervisor. In 1962, he was employed by the College of Engineering, Southern Illinois University, Taipei, Taiwan. He organized and participated in a six-day seminar on quality assurance at Damascus, Syria, for the Arab world in 1994.
Dr. Besterfield is now an emeritus professor in the College of Engineering at Souther Illinois University at Carbondale, where he developed and directed the graduate program in manufacturing systems, a program with a strong quality focus. A recognized authority in quality control, he has authored over 22 publications. Dr. Besterfield is also a registered professional engineer in Missouri and California, a certified manufacturing engieer, and a member of ASQ, NAIT, and SME. He is a fellow of ASQ and received their E. L. Grant Award for outstanding achievement.
He has been blessed with 3 children and 6 grandchildren. One son and one daughter have followed in his footsteps and are engineering professors His oldest daughter is a CPA with a law degree.