All Features
Quality Digest
A recently released book uses lean principles to illustrate how to improve the value chains of various industries. Improving the Extended Value Stream: Lean for the Entire Supply Chain, (Productivity Press, 2006), by Darren Dolcemascolo, demonstrates the use of lean principles in the…
Praveen Gupta
I’ve been reading about the 1.5 sigma shift for some time. Several different interpretations have been published and people are losing sleep over this matter. Some have even driven a stake into the ground to fervidly defend their position. My intent in writing this column is to simplify…
Quality Digest
MagnaChip Semiconductor recently announced the launch of its Six Sigma management system designed to improve product quality, save money and enhance its business profile. The program started March 21 at the company’s headquarters in Cheongju, Korea. The initiative focuses on MagnaChip’s…
Quality Digest
Rath & Strong recently published a new, easy-to-carry guide to lean implementations. Rath & Strong’s Lean Pocket Guide (Charlene Adair, Rath & Strong, 2006) includes concise, easily accessible, practical instruction for understanding lean and implementing improvement projects.…
Quality Digest
The American Society for Quality recently awarded Milwaukee County a $5,000 grant to implement a pilot Six Sigma program. The grant was provided through ASQ’s Community Good Works Program, which provides money and expertise to nonprofit organizations that want to improve their…
Quality Digest
New software developed by Breakthrough Management Group Inc. and Raptor International promises to simplify the tedious process of data-set analysis. Already in use in South Africa and Australia, where it was developed, RapAnalyst uses advanced artificial intelligence techniques to identify…
Quality Digest
The International Organization for Standardization recently published a new standard designed for the assessment and reduction of greenhouse gases. ISO 14064 is offered as a solution to the problems posed by governments and businesses, which have used varying approaches to assess…
Quality Digest
In today’s competitive marketplace, the flow of goods and services to customers must not be hindered by avoidable obstacles such as downtime. To stay on top, managers must implement strategies that keep operations performing at top condition. These issues are the focus of the second…
Quality Digest
A poll performed by the American Society for Quality found that while 96 percent of respondents indicated that their companies’ corporate stance toward social responsibility will greatly affect the United States’ economic future, more than 40 percent of them don’t have a social…
Thomas R. Cutler
Kanban, e-kanban and digital kanban aren’t the same. Kanban is a Japanese term that means "signal." It’s one of the primary tools of just-in-time (JIT) systems. It signals a cycle of replenishment for production and materials, and it should maintain an orderly and efficient flow of materials…
Quality Digest
A conference focusing on the use of lean and Six Sigma in defense applications will be held next month in Washington, D.C. The Lean and Six Sigma for Defense Conference will be held May 8–10. It will feature case studies that demonstrate how the methodologies have been used for defense…
Quality Digest
Reliability Center Inc. will host a series of workshops for lead investigator training that include team leadership and the human side of failure. The schedule of the six workshops will be based upon clients’ requests, starting in the second quarter of 2006. Topics include the PROACT root-…
Quality Digest
TÜV America recently received accreditation to the SQF Program, a certification program for managing food safety and enhancing food-chain quality systems. The SQF Program is managed by the Safe Quality Food Institute and provides two standards based on the type of supplier. The SQF 1000…
Quality Digest
The International Organization for Standardization recently opened a new section on its Web site to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) achieve the benefits of standardization. The materials and articles address the benefits of registration to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and…
Quality Digest
Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International will host a lean seminar in May in Nashville, Tennessee.“Practical Lean: Lean Manufacturing for Smaller and Mid-Sized Operations” will be held May 8–9 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. It will offer interactive training in lean…
Quality Digest
PowerSteering Software Inc. recently released enhanced software that features an advanced reporting module and new demand management functionality driven by an active voice-of-the-customer program. PowerSteering Enterprise 4.7 provides more than 100,000 users with beefed-up strategy…
Quality Digest
The official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will be held April 23–26 at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C.Representatives from the 2005 Baldrige Award recipient organizations will attend Quest for Excellence XVIII and share their exceptional performance…
Mike Micklewright
Our company’s quality manual must mirror the ISO standard, must be between 25 and 40 pages in length and must be customized to our business. After the initial approval of the quality manual, no one within the company ever reads it again. The manual is a nonvalue-added element and it flies in the…
Avoiding blood trauma is a concern when pumping cardiac patients’ blood during surgery. With this in mind, a medical-device manufacturer decided to reuse the flow-path geometry of an existing arterial filter that had been proven safe and effective in many patients. The problem was…
Quality Digest
The Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) recently asked Congress to eliminate allegedly anticompetitive practices in the hospital supply industry. Mark Leahey, MDMA executive director, urged the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee to protect patients from exclusionary practices…
Quality Digest
Using prescription medicines to treat untreated and undertreated high blood pressure could prevent thousands of heart attacks, strokes and deaths in every U.S. state, according to a recently released study. “Reducing the Human Impact of High Blood Pressure,” examined the annual numbers…
Quality Digest
Laser surgeons from around the world will gather April 5–9 for the 26th annual scientific meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery in Boston. Laser 2006 will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel and Hynes Convention Center. The event will offer a diverse line up of…
Quality Digest
Millstone Medical Outsourcing Inc. recently signed agreements with several medical device companies to provide post-manufacturing solutions to overcome start-up challenges. The company has contracted with Blackstone Medical Inc., Decision Biomarkers Inc., Ingen Orthopedics and Spine Wave…
Quality Digest
Topas Advanced Polymers, a producer of polymers for the medical-device and packaging manufacturers industries, recently received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Leadership. The award is given each year to a company that has demonstrated excellence in technology…
Quality Digest
The Ice Cream Maker: an Inspiring Tale About Making Quality the Key Ingredient in Everything You Do (Currency, 2005), by Subir Chowdhury, was recently recognized by the U.S. Congress for its groundbreaking approach to quality management.The book has been distributed to all members of…