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  • info@nsieng.com

Who We Are

Hello!

At NSI Engineering, we believe a happy workplace starts with a happy process, and a happy process is built through an engaged team that understands the importance of systems-based thinking and risk-based analysis.

With an emphasis on organizational change management, risk-based thinking, and continuous improvement, we work not only to improve upon a process, but to help our partners build leadership skills, communication skills, systems thinking and engagement within their teams.

 

We Value

Happiness

Loyalty

Compassion

Resilience

Responsibility

Balance

Testimonials

Helping Make the World a Better Place Since 2004

Founded in 2004 on principles developed through 20 years of research in the areas of Organizational Development, Continuous Improvement and Quality Management, NSI Engineering delivers world class quality management services supporting all industries. Comprised of professionals with a wealth of real-world problem solving experience, we have direct experience partnering and collaborating with organization leaders and project managers to make the world a happier place. 

I would hire NSI again. NSI Engineering engages in the projects to a level that is above expectations...
M.R.CAHSR
...NSI did an excellent job performing QA/QC...
J.M.Transportation Planning
...more complete and of higher quality...
D.J.Sound Transit
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Our Team

We are a tight-knit group of quality nuts who understand that every roadblock is an opportunity. Not just to improve a process, but to build up the leadership, communications, strategic thinking, and engagement level of our team.

Laura Uden

President & Quality Engineer

Qualifications

  • Ph.D. Management, University of Salford
  • M.S. Systems Engineering, San Jose State University
  • CSEP
  • CMQ/OE
  • PMP
More About Laura

Carrie Cabak

C(X)O & Quality Engineer

Qualifications

  • M.B.A., Willamette University
  • M.S., Quality Assurance, San Jose State
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Technology, California Polytechnic State University
  • Senior member, American Society for Quality
More About Carrie

Eric Satrum

Quality Manager

Qualifications

  • M.B.A.-Willamette University
  • US Army 1996-2004
  • Quality Ambassador and Quality Coach
More About Eric

Bill Dunkel

Quality Engineer

Qualifications

  • M.S., Industrial & Systems Engineering, San Jose State
  • Licenced Professional Industrial Engineer
  • 30 years experience in quality improvement and process development
More About Bill

Brian Pierce

Quality Professional

Qualifications

  • BS Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University
  • 2 years’ experience residential design, construction coordination and owner’s oversight.
  • 15 years’ experience strategic planning, staffing and management.
  • 18 years’ experience leadership, personnel development, and technical supervision.
  • 19 years’ experience in project management including Phase Gate, Waterfall, Agile, Agile for Hardware, Certified Product Owner and Scrum Master.
  • 32 years’ experience in continuous process improvement, ISO9001/AS9100/QS9000 Quality Management System compliance and internal auditing.
  • 32 years’ experience in new product development, requirements management, product certification and risk mitigation.
More About Brian

Want to Learn More?

Laura Uden

President & Quality Engineer

One of my favorite stories is when we helped a team comprised mostly of non-management staff at Nevada Power lead improvement for their entire power plant. One of the team was what we’d call a “tribal leader” named Jeff Johnson. Jeff had charismatic authority (not an assigned position of power, but people admired him, valued his opinions, and followed his leadership). He started the project as an opponent of any management efforts, but in the end helped lead the entire improvement activity, and also began to “live” the tools of quality, to the point where he was talking to his father-in-law at Thanksgiving dinner about a problem with the Boy Scouts troop he was leading and he did a root cause analysis on it.
Helping individuals and teams see a new way of working together that’s more efficient and effective, while also being more meaningful, rewarding, fun, and joyful. All of the Deming principles combined. 

Carrie Cabak

C(X)O & Quality Engineer

Oh man.  There are so many favorites but must say that all of them involve either working towards our vision (i.e. the strategic planning we’ve done that supports our new website development) or people (i.e. having 1:1s with folks; watching as each individual is growing, and the team as a whole becomes stronger).  
Vision, process, people and project problems. Vision: understanding our hopes, cababilities and goals for our business, and collaboratively developing a path toward our future. Process: figuring out best practices for the future while looking at what we did in the past. People: being there when others face roadblocks and need a partner. Finding options that work for us. Project: contracts, estimates, filling in when designated leads are unavailable, driving root cause analysis using systems thinking.
The people with whom we work!
Honesty, transparency, commitment to getting work done.
It’s hard to think “strategic” without “system-based” or “system” when contemplating broad scale, across-the-board thinking. 

Eric Satrum

Quality Manager

I have two favorite things about my work, the first is the people and clients! The second is that my work is most definitely not boring! Constant change.

Bill Dunkel

Quality Engineer

Working with our clients seems more like helping them find their way to becoming the organization they desire to be than helping them solve problems.  We suppose we are always solving problems, but our problem solving helps build a better future where traditional problem solving often just prolongs the status quo.
I had always been a boots-on-the-ground process improvement type but I wondered why so many organizations had little regard for Industrial Engineers like me.  The answer came around 1995 when I took a course on quality from Bob McQueen at SJSU. From there I became involved in the OLC for a little while and learned a lot about the leadership and organizational aspects of quality management.  Years later, when I retired, I joined NSI for the chance to get back into that field and put into effect, what the OLC team had taught me.  NSI has a unique understanding of quality management from top to bottom that can help transform organizations in immediate, tangible ways.
People are more important than anything else.  Everyone deserves respect, has a special perspective, and is just as valuable as anyone else.  Processes and infrastructure should be designed and continually  improved to enhance the effectiveness and job satisfaction of people.  Through this, we help  the organization prosper through the healthy interaction and prosperity if its members.
Those are all bits and pieces of the whole.  We bring the holistic perspective that integrates the atomistic bits and pieces that are needed for organizations to excel in quality management and systematically transform themselves into what they envision themselves to be in the future.

Brian Pierce

Quality Professional

High ethics, effort optimization and a focus on success all while having quite a bit of fun.

To paraphrase an observation from a friend, why would you argue over the paint color if the boat is sinking?

With my experience as a design engineer the first thing that pops into my head are the philosophies of Mr. W. Edwards Deming and the criticality of integrating quality into design and design processes.

I love solving problems, bringing value to my customers, working with my teammates to collaborate on just about anything and generally making things better!

Trainer of Trainers

Developed and delivered “Trainer of Trainers” courses; instructing and coaching adult learners to enable them to return to their work site and to confidently deliver content to their peers.

Tell me more!