All Features
Gallup
Jim Clifton, Gallup’s chairman and CEO, says businesses have, in most cases, maximized every possible benefit from practices based on neoclassical economics, such as Six Sigma, reengineering, and total quality management (TQM). The significant competitive advantages from these practices have hit a…
J.D. Power and Associates
(J.D. Power Asia Pacific: Shanghai) -- Overall new-vehicle initial quality in China has improved by 14 percent in 2009, compared with 2008, as the quality gap between China’s domestic brands and international brands narrows, according to the recently released J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 China…
J.D. Power and Associates
(J.D. Power Asia Pacific: Shanghai) -- Overall new-vehicle initial quality in China has improved by 14 percent in 2009, compared with 2008, as the quality gap between China’s domestic brands and international brands narrows, according to the recently released J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 China…
Denise Robitaille
There have been a couple of great columns in recent weeks in Quality Digest Daily dealing either directly or indirectly with the subject of root cause analysis. Mike Micklewright gave us his spin on medical consequences of inadequate root cause analysis and Dirk Dusharme illustrated the pitfalls…
Baumer
(Baumer: Southington, CT) -- To eliminate the problems associated with fluid leaking from tanks, pumps, vessels, trays, and other containers, Baumer has introduced the FODK 23 optical sensor for leak monitoring. The evaluation electronics for this sensor are housed in a chemically-resistant, IP67-…
In the fast growing market for wind power systems, quality assurance according to international industrial standards has become an important issue. Wind power plants are no longer a niche playground for environmental proponents, but a serious business where cost efficiency, life-cycle costs,…
TR Cutler Inc.
(TR Cutler Inc.: Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- TR Cutler Inc.’s president and CEO, Thomas R. Cutler, has devised a new professional coaching system for manufacturers worldwide named C.E.O., or Continuous Experiential Optimization.
“Throughout decades of business process improvement approaches,…
Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc.
(Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc.: Pompano Beach, FL) -- The Digital Pocket Microscope from Paul N. Gardner Co. offers up to 200X magnification, suitable for most quality inspection work.
The DPM contains a high-resolution color camera offering crisp, clear images. The integrated LED illumination can be…
FDA
(FDA: College Park, MD) -- The Food and Drug Administration recently announced the publication of the new FDA Food Code, a model code and reference document that provides a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the food industry. The…
Tripp Babbitt
I have identified myself as a “reformed” lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Some will see this as an affront to lean and Six Sigma. I want to assure you that there are many things to like about lean and Six Sigma. The issue at hand is that a better solution is available that can help organizations…
GKS Global Services
Didrick Medical Inc. is a small privately owned company located in Naples, Florida, that designs and fabricates active-function artificial finger prostheses, called the X-Finger, for partial finger amputees. The owner refined the design for more than six years before he took it to the marketplace…
Everyday objects such as toothbrushes or shaving devices have to meet increasingly higher design and quality requirements. Shorter product life cycles place high demands on development and production processes. In between the single product development steps, the aesthetically shaped prototypes…
Standardization should support your business strategy, otherwise, why bother? You cannot support a strategy unless you have one.
Strategic thinking means thinking forward to the areas you intend to grow over the next four to 10 years, especially in standards committee activity. You can benefit…
Forrest Breyfogle—New Paradigms
Lean, lean Six Sigma, total quality management (TQM), and other techniques have helped companies improve processes through the execution of projects. However, much of these efforts have resulted in siloed process improvements that don't benefit the enterprise as a whole.
To illustrate this…
Qualitest USA LC
(Qualitest USA: Plantation, FL) -- Qualitest introduces the latest addition to its hardness tester family. The QualiBrineller is an advanced load cell type Brinell hardness tester applying loads from 62.5 kgf to 3,000 kgf. The rugged design makes the tester suitable for production/shop…
Vickers Laboratories Ltd.
(Vickers: West Yorkshire, England) -- A Leeds-based chemicals company is expected to become the first in the United Kingdom to develop a “gold standard” for the precise measurement of chemicals in products typically used by every individual and business in the United Kingdom.
Vickers…
WCBF
(WCBF: Chicago) -- Based on the enormous success of WCBF’s Six Sigma event series to date, the 2010 Lean Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit is expected to be the largest senior-level conference to focus on Six Sigma in health care implementation. Nowhere else will you find such…
Micropelt GmbH
(Micropelt GmbH: Freiburg, Germany) -- Aircraft maintenance will be easier in the future, with sensors monitoring the aircraft skin. If the sensors detect any dents or cracks they will send a radio message to a monitoring unit. The energy needed for this will be obtained from thermoelectric…
Laser Design Inc.
(Laser Design Inc.: Minneapolis) -- Laser Design Inc. announces that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has installed a Laser Design SURVEYOR WS Series 3-D laser scanning system in its Materials Reliability Division located in Boulder, Colorado. The fully automated, CNC…
BSI
All organizations—regardless of industry sector—must begin today to inventory their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to prepare for an incoming regulatory wave, according to an expert from BSI Americas.
Wilhelm Wang, BSI product manager for sustainability, has followed the development of…
(QuEst Forum: Dallas) -- QuEST Forum unveiled its inaugural report on the state of quality in the telecommunications industry at the 2009 Asia Pacific Best Practices Conference, which was held Oct. 20–22 in Shanghai. QuEST Forum pursues the goal of global telecommunications quality and…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
I recently got a phone call from one of our service providers asking me to participate in a short survey to assess their service quality. This provider handles part of our business infrastructure and so I was more than happy to answer some questions. I won’t name the company for reasons I will…
Jon Miller
I was flipping through some Japanese books on sayings and speeches given by Taiichi Ohno looking for inspiration for a new article when I found the following passage:
“Within the Toyota Production System, a lack of ability to do kaizen becomes a critical flaw. Does this mean that if you do…
SGS
(SGS: Rutherford, NJ) -- SGS announced that it is the first registrar in the world to be accredited to The Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) and The Responsible Recycling Standard (R2) by ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB). SGS is proud to endorse a certification service for…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Eligibility and application forms for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are now available on the Baldrige web site. The Baldrige Award Application Forms booklet includes instructions for the two-step Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award application process…
