Before I begin this column, I want to offer a heads-up to those who believe that Quality Digest Daily should only cover standards, test and measurement equipment, performance excellence methodologies, and the like. This will not be a piece related to any of those topics, unless you believe, as I do, that the measure that matters most is the quality of the human heart and soul. If you’re cool with that, read on.

This has been a fun week for us at Quality Digest, as we’ve had a chance to support World Metrology Week and one of our long-standing partners, the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS).  As many of you know, the CMS is the organization behind the annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC), which convenes again this July in fabulous New Orleans.

NSF International, a global independent public-health organization with 66 years of experience, including 25 years of pharmaceutical expertise through its NSF Health Sciences Division, is launching NSF Reference Standards, which will produce reference standards that are traceable to official U.S. and European pharmacopeial standards. Pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide use reference standards as comparative standards to demonstrate the identity, purity, quality, and strength of their pharmaceutical products and ingredients.

Any way you slice it, the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort is one big place. Total number of rooms? More than 2,000. Massive swimming pool? How about two of the biggest ones you’ve ever seen? Fine dining and refreshments? Take your choice of two terrific steakhouses (one American, one Japanese), classic Italian, a cafe, a sports bar, and a food court. The ballrooms are palatial.