All Features
Minitab LLC
(Minitab Inc.: State College, Pennsylvania) -- Minitab Inc. has released the Quality Companion Dashboard, a tool for users of Quality Companion by Minitab. The Dashboard is a complimentary utility that aggregates project data and lets Six Sigma professionals, managers, and stakeholders view…
(ISO: Geneva) -- ISO/IEC DIS 29500—“Information technology—Office Open XML file formats,” has received the necessary number of votes for approval as an ISO/IEC DIS international standard. ISO/IEC DIS 29500 is a standard for word-processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that’s intended…
Mike Thelen
Mark Graban, consultant and host of www.leanblog.org , and a good lean friend, once posted a web log topic on “lean or lame” (a phrase he coined). That topic drew a variety of comments from his readership. He described L.A.M.E. as “lean as misguidedly executed,” and it’s his description that so…
Mike Thelen
Mark Graban, consultant and host of www.leanblog.org , and a good lean friend, once posted a web log topic on “lean or lame” (a phrase he coined). That topic drew a variety of comments from his readership. He described L.A.M.E. as “lean as misguidedly executed,” and it’s his description that so…
Airline Quality Rating
(AQR: Washington) -- Air Tran has taken the top spot in the 18th annual national Airline Quality Rating study. Last year, Air Tran ranked third in the AQR. Following Air Tran in the top five of the AQR were Jet Blue, Southwest, Northwest, and Frontier. As for the overall rating for the industry,…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization recently approved the development of an international standard on energy management. The standard will provide organizations and companies a practical and widely recognized approach to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and…
NIST
Heart of the orthogonal tracking microscope system developed at NIST is this nanoparticle solution sample well etched in silicon. Careful orientation of the silicon crystal makes it possible to chemically etch angled sides in the well so smooth they act as mirrors. In this…
Olympus
This image shows how a microstamped primer on a cartridge casing is visualized using the Olympus LEXT platform. The image highlights the benefits of analysis and visualization using Confocal microscopy. Seen here are increases in resolution, depth of focus and contrast…
William Tandler
T
he actual purpose of GD&T:
It’s common to think that the primary purpose of GD&T is to unambiguously communicate design intent to manufacturing and inspection. In fact, the most important objective is to ensure that what we communicate is worth communicating, and that it…
Coordinate Metrology Society CMS
(Coordinate Metrology Society: Concord, North Carolina) -- The Coordinate Metrology Society, a membership association for measurement professionals, will host its 24th Annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC) 2008 from July 21–25, 2008 at the new Embassy Suites overlooking Lowes…
Denise Robitaille
A farmer was experiencing a serious problem with cranes eating his seed, so he decided to cast a net upon his fields in an attempt to capture the cranes. Along with the cranes, he snared a stork. The stork pleaded for his life saying, "Honorable farmer, I am not like these others who came to steal…
OSHA
(OSHA: New York) -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting public comment on proposed information collection requirements for the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Established in 1982 to promote cooperation among government, industry, and labor in the area of…
(ANSI: Washington, D.C.) -- From increased energy efficiency to integration with the latest information and communication technologies, the world’s attention is focused on commercial, government, and residential buildings that are accessible, safe, and sustainable. In today’s global trade…
Pilgrim Quality Solutions
(Pilgrim Software Inc.: Tampa, Florida) -- Pilgrim Software Inc., a provider of enterprise compliance and quality management software solutions, has announced the dates and locations of the third round of its “Knock Out Non-Compliance,” nationwide quality systems workshops tour. Pilgrim will…
Best Practices LLC
(Best Practices LLC: Chapel Hill, North Carolina) -- The research findings in a recent report from Best Practices LLC are the culmination of extensive benchmark surveys and executive interviews. Initial surveys were conducted with executives at leading pharmaceutical companies. Analysts at…
Greg Hutchins
This is the first of a new QualityInsider column that will discuss new practices, processes, tools, and lessons learned in what I think is the future of quality—risk management. I’ll feature quality and other professionals who use quality and risk in supply management, auditing, health care,…
(EIU: London) -- Although professional services firms often rely on their reputation to attract customers, only 40 percent of respondents in a recent Economist Intelligence Unit survey consider reputation to be a key factor in choosing a professional services firm. And 86 percent say they research…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: New York) -- “Topping,” “hat-racking,” and “de-horning”—all names for a nonstandard pruning procedure that severely cuts back large trees—has long been considered an easy and inexpensive way to manage the size and improve the safety of mature trees. Researchers now caution that topping can…
Greg Hutchins
This is the first of a new QualityInsider column that will discuss new practices, processes, tools, and lessons learned in what I think is the future of quality—risk management. I’ll feature quality and other professionals who use quality and risk in supply management, auditing, health care,…
Patricia C. La Londe
Cardinal Health Alaris Products, which makes pumps and disposables used during infusions, was in critical shape in the late 1990s and needed to address improvement on all fronts. The prescription included improvements in customer satisfaction and in the company’s finances, which required the…
cranetrodibrepruuug
(Tefen USA: New York) -- The imminent surge of more than 70 million aging baby boomers could overwhelm the U.S. health care system and engulf the nation’s tenuous economy, according to “Will the Boom Bust Health Care?” a new study by management consulting firm Tefen USA. A recent report from…
(AHRQ: Rockville, Maryland) -- According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) 2007 National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report, quality improvement rates are lower than the 3.1 percent average annual improvement rate reported in 2006…
IBM
(IBM: Armonk, New York) -- Through the use of service oriented architecture (SOA), health care providers, clinics, and hospitals are set to improve productivity, increase quality, and reduce costs. Sponsored by IBM and a select group of business partners, the health care strategy is based on…
Mike Staver
It’s an election year in the United States, and if there ever was a need for clarity in communication, it’s now. Yet no matter how specific the question or how many times it’s asked, the candidates from both parties just seem to drone on and on. If you think you don’t suffer from the same problems…
Project Management Institute
(Project Management Institute: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania) -- Students pursing a university-level degree in project management or a related field may be eligible for scholarships through the newly-established Dr. Harold Kerzner Scholarship Fund. The endowed scholarship fund was created by…