All Features
Fred Mason
The past few columns about inspection and measurement have led to discussion of different systems for measuring based on images. One type of measurement done via image analysis is dimensional, or coordinate, measurement. The systems are called video, or vision measuring, systems. Here…
Quality Digest
Noting an increasing number of complaints about accredited certification bodies issuing certificates based on accreditation standards such as ISO 17025, the International Accreditation Forum’s technical committee (TC) is currently voting on a proposal that would allow the accreditation…
Quality Digest
(Canadian Standards Association: Ottawa, Canada) -- The Canadian Standards Association, in cooperation with the Canadian General Standards Board and other stakeholders, announced recently their intent to develop a national standard for protective equipment for fire, police and paramedic…
Denise Robitaille
Three blind men sat in the market place. One said to the others: ‘Would it not be a wondrous thing to know the nature of an elephant?’ His companion agreed, ‘Yes, it would indeed be wondrous.’A merchant standing nearby overheard the men’s conversation. He went over to the trio and said, ‘I…
This month we provide the basics for compliance with the European Union’s Directive 2002/95/EC—“On the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.” This directive is commonly referred to as “RoHS,” for Reduction of Hazardous Substances…
Quality Digest
(American National Standards Institute: New York) -- The American National Standards Institute has issued a preliminary program for the third ANSI Conference on U.S. Leadership in ISO and IEC, to be held May 23–24 in Chicago. The event will bring together representatives from the U.S.…
Quality Digest
(National Institute of Standards and Technology: Washington, D.C.) -- National Institute of Standards and Technology engineers, together with colleagues from industry and other standards organizations have completed a five-part series of standards designed to evaluate the accuracy—and…
Quality Digest
(Chiodo Companies Inc.: Estero, Florida) -- The Chiodo Companies recently announced a strategic partnership with Roche Diagnostics aimed at setting and advancing a DNA-based standard for mold detection. The partnership encompasses a joint marketing effort and the co-development of new and…
Quality Digest
(National Institute of Standards and Technology: Boulder, Colorado) -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have worked with the private sector for years to develop measurement methods and standards for electronic displays used in industrial, medical, and consumer…
Quality Digest
(Intertek: Boxborough, Massachusetts) -- Intertek, a provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of global and local industries, recently announced it has launched a certification program for blast-resistant products.Since September 11, 2001, government organizations such as the U.S.…
Quality Digest
(Statit Software Inc.: Corvallis, Oregon) -- Statit Software provides statistical process control technology for quality improvement and recently announced a strategic alliance with Symmetry Services Group, a woman-owned small business in Vienna, Virginia. “At a time when the federal government is…
Peter Tzaklev
The quality level of Bulgarian companies is far from the six sigma level, but so far they have been satisfying requirements. Many manufacturing firms in Bulgaria are registered to ISO 9001, especially those that are working for foreign customers in a sort of outsourcing. Every year,…
Quality Digest
(WCBF: Chicago) WCBF is launching its Global Six Sigma Awards 2007 program by issuing a call for entries from organizations across the globe that are implementing Six Sigma methodologies to secure business improvement. The Global Six Sigma Awards’ key objective is to identify the most…
Praveen Gupta
I first read about training in listening skills about 25 years ago. I didn’t really understand the difference between hearing and listening. I thought people had hearing problems. Now I get it.Everybody talks I see people talking loudly on cellular phones at airports, in shopping malls…
There’s a certain manufacturer that makes carbon-based friction material in the form of a disk. A press and die are used in the final manufacturing operation to cure the carbon material into a functioning friction pad. Peak temperature uniformity is a critical characteristic during the…
Quality Digest
(John Wiley & Sons Inc.: Hoboken, New Jersey) -- The principles and techniques of lean began more than 50 years ago at Toyota Motor Corp. Since then, lean has become known among industry people as the most consistently successful approach to organizing and operating a business or…
Quality Digest
(Ford Motor Co.: Dearborn, Michigan) -- Ford Motor Co. recently awarded its highest supplier honor—the World Excellence Award—to 55 of its global suppliers for their exemplary performance in 2006. More than 150 people, including Ford’s largest production and nonproduction global suppliers, attended…
Quality Digest
(Stat-Ease Inc.: Minneapolis) -- Stat-Ease Inc.’s new workshop, “DEO for DFSS: Variation by Design,” is intended to help quality professionals create ideal products and processes that are robust to varying conditions and meet all specifications. This two-day computer-intensive class is a…
Quality Digest
(National Institute of Standards and Technology: Gaithersburg, Maryland)—National Institute of Standards and Technology engineers, together with colleagues from industry and other standards organizations, have completed a five-part series of standards designed to evaluate the accuracy—…
Quality Digest
(KUKA Robotics: Clinton Township, Michigan) -- KUKA Robotics Corp., a global manufacturer of industrial robots, has announced that the Oak Park Knights 1216 of Oak Park, Michigan, sponsored by KUKA Robotics, recently won the San Diego regional competition and placed 30th out of 86 teams…
Quality Digest
The quality of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles is virtually equal to that of Toyota and Nissan, according to the first quarter 2007 model-year Global Quality System report. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles are at 1456 TGWs (things gone wrong), compared with Nissan at 1457 and Toyota at…
Quality Digest
(SAS: Orlando, Florida) -- SAS Enterprise Intelligence Awards were recently presented to Whirlpool Corp. and JPMorgan Chase at SAS Global Forum (formerly known as SAS Users Group International) in Orlando, Florida. SAS, a provider of business intelligence and analytical software and services,…
Bill Kalmar
Recently, the AAA organization named its annual list of Five Diamond restaurants. As experienced travelers and faux epicureans, as I consider myself, my wife and I have become accustomed to seeing quality proclamations and awards on a yearly basis, but I didn’t actually know what…
Quality Digest
(ITI Global: Milford, Ohio) – Hitachi Medical Corp. has received from its parent organization, Hitachi Ltd., the 2006 Innovation Award recognizing the most innovative product and process developed for the year. Hitachi Medical received the award for the multimodality console product…
Quality Digest
(Food and Drug Administration: Rockville, Maryland) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has unveiled a new Web page that will keep the public informed about the status of post-approval patient studies for certain recently approved medical devices. “FDA is committed to improving its medical…
