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Quality Digest
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently added clinical performance information to its online Health Plan Report Card. The “Living with Illness” report addition shows how effectively health plans treat patients in four areas: diabetes, cardiac care, asthma and mental illness. The…
Quality Digest
Senior managers can guarantee a project’s success or failure through their support—or lack of it. That’s the message of a new book, Quality Makes Money (American Society for Quality Press, 2005), by Patrick Townsend and Joan Gebhardt. The book is the authors’ effort to reenergize the U.S. “quality…
Quality Digest
Bank of America’s employees were recognized for their Six Sigma achievements at the bank’s annual Best of Six Sigma Expo held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bank of America implemented Six Sigma in 2001, which has helped the bank reap about $2 billion in revenue gains and cost saving. Its goal is to…
Quality Digest
George Group recently joined Decisioneering Inc.’s Six Sigma Partner Program to promote the use of Decisioneering’s Crystal Ball simulation and optimization software throughout Six Sigma initiatives.The Crystal Ball line of Microsoft Excel-based software is used by industries ranging from Six Sigma…
Quality Digest
Seeking to promote eco-friendly practices among its suppliers and reduce incoming component inventory, Samsung India recently tightened its vendor compliance regulations and started a Six Sigma program. Dubbed “Together Win through Six Sigma” (TWIN), the program aims to improve vendor productivity…
Quality Digest
A recently released book illustrates how to apply Six Sigma to improve sales and marketing teams’ ability to generate viable leads and improve customer service. In response to these concerns, we formed a new organization, the International Quality Federation (IQF). The IQF is an all volunteer…
Quality Digest
An innovative four-week Six Sigma Black Belt training course sponsored by Excel Partnership will begin in July. The course will take place one week a month for four months, beginning July 25–29, followed by Aug. 15–19, Sept. 19–23 and Oct. 24–28. Courses will be held in San Francisco and will…
Quality Digest
A new Six Sigma course offered at the University of Notre Dame is specifically designed for health care professionals. “Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for Health Care Professionals” addresses the complex challenge of controlling costs while improving quality in the medical field. A blended-learning…
Quality Digest
Voltaix Inc.’s employees have recently received lean manufacturing training in an effort to improve the company’s semiconductor performance.The training was provided by the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program Inc. Earlier this year, 15 Voltaix employees received Six Sigma Green Belt…
Tom Pyzdek
Some years back I, along with Drs. Doug Montgomery, Bryan Dodson, John Ramberg and others in the quality community, became concerned that there was no standardized criteria for becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt—or any other Six Sigma belt for that matter. The leading quality organization at that time…
Quality Digest
The American National Standards Institute will host its 2005 Annual Conference on Oct. 6 at the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, D.C. The conference, “From A to Veeck: Standardization and the Law,” will provide an opportunity for anyone involved in the standards process to get up to speed on…
Quality Digest
A recent study of internal quality assurance functions found that hybridized quality structures provide the most reliable outcomes. “Improving the Quality Function: Driving Organizational Impact & Efficiency,” performed by Best Practices LLC, concludes that companies that use at least three…
Quality Digest
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently added five new measures to the 2006 edition of its Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS). The online tool is used by U.S. health plans to measure and report on their performance in key areas of clinical care and customer service…
Quality Digest
The International Electrotechnical Commission’s Standardization Management Board (SMB) recently released a new document outlining its strategy in alignment with the IEC’s Masterplan 2000. SMB Standardization Strategy 2005–2007 identifies eight objectives: Ensure the development of market-…
Quality Digest
Iowa’s Easter Seals nonprofit organization recently adopted Six Sigma practices and it now expects to save thousands of dollars in ongoing Six Sigma projects. The organization partnered with Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. in 2000 to begin Six Sigma training, and to address production and supply…
Quality Digest
The International Organization for Standardization is the “world’s largest developer of standards,” according to the World Trade Organization’s World Trade Report 2005. The recently released report was written by WTO economists and discusses the benefits standards deliver in terms of consumer…
Quality Digest
McBain Instruments and VisiTech International Ltd. recently partnered to distribute three confocal microscopy systems. The distribution agreement will include three of VisiTech’s scanning systems: the VT-Infinity, a high-speed multi-point confocal module with adjustable pinholes capable of 800…
Quality Digest
YESTech Inc. recently opened a new office in Singapore to provide sales, training and technical support to its growing Southeast Asia customer base. The office will provide training and sales for YESTech’s YTV Series of automated optical inspection systems and YTX Series of X-ray inspection systems…
Quality Digest
By adding a laser probe to a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), Sonaca, a large Belgian aerospace-structures supplier, has greatly increased the completeness of its inspections, obtaining full documentation of every component’s geometry. When the company inspected sheet metal components in the…
Quality Digest
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is now accepting applications from laboratories interested in becoming accredited to a new voting system testing program. The Voting System Testing program has been established as part of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program.…
Quality Digest
The Coordinate Measuring Systems Conference Society recently announced its pick of 15 white papers to be presented at this year’s Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference. The event will be held July 18–22 at the Hyatt Regency Austin in Austin, Texas. The papers to be presented cover a wide spectrum…
Quality Digest
Europe-based FGP Sensors & Instrumentation recently began handling all of Endevco Corp.’s calibration services, allowing for direct service. “The collaborative efforts of Endevco and FGP mean we have raised the bar once again in setting the standard for providing better quality and service for…
Quality Digest
The Boston office of Intertek ETL Entela recently received Automotive EMC Laboratory Recognition Program (AEMCLAP) accreditation through the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. The facility is the only New England lab to receive the accreditation. The scope covers bulk current…
Quality Digest
Leading groups of international experts that develop standards for the International Organization for Standardization recently gathered in Geneva to discuss the efficiency and global relevance of ISO’s standards development system. Every working day, 10 or more ISO meetings took place in different…
Quality Digest
The Standards Council of Canada recently approved an extension to the scope of TÜV America Inc.’s accreditation to include testing services for the safety of machinery. TÜV America’s scope is now among the most comprehensive, enabling the company to offer testing services for mechanical safety,…