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Quality Digest
Digirad    Corp., a provider of cardiovascular imaging services and solid-state nuclear    medicine imaging products, recently achieved registration to ISO 13485:2003. The standard specifies a quality management system for medical device manufacturers    and complies with the Canadian Medical…
Quality Digest
Five    pharmaceutical facilities from all over the world were recently named finalists    for the second-annual Facility of the Year competition. AstraZeneca, Baxter BioPharma Solutions, Daiichi Asubio Pharma Co., Janssen    Pharmaceutica and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals are the finalists in the…
Quality Digest
PharmaManufacturing.com    was recently named a finalist for the Best B2B Web Site award in American    Business Media’s 52nd annual Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Awards    program. PharmaManufacturing.com is affiliated with Pharmaceutical Manufacturing    magazine, a publication of Putman…
Quality Digest
HealthGate    Data Corp. has released a new version of its popular Quality Architect software,    a product that features innovative tools for continuous improvement in health    care environments. The new release includes an expanded library of evidence-based clinical content,    including order…
Quality Digest
Delegates    at the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) workshop agreed that futuristic, digitally    connected home networks need an international standard by which to comply. Household connectivity is growing rapidly, with more and more electronic devices    and remote networks that control…
Quality Digest
Northrop    Grumman Corp. recently achieved its 25th Software Engineering Institute Capability    Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) level 5 rating, the highest possible rating    for benchmarking commercial and defense industry best practices for management    and engineering. The rating was…
Quality Digest
Effective    this month, Canada’s National Quality Institute will no longer offer auditor    certification. The organization, which is Canada’s leading nonprofit quality training    and recognition organization, reports that it wants to focus its energies on    personnel certification and…
Bill Kalmar
In    1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first orbiting satellite, Sputnik.    This elliptical sphere the size of a basketball took 98 minutes to encircle    the earth and emitted a faint beep as it made its momentous trip. It provided    no information back to mother Earth and yet it…
Quality Digest
six    sigma IQ recently announced the speaker panel for its upcoming Six Sigma Summit    in London.The panel includes Sir John Harvey-Jones, from the BBC television series Troubleshooter    and former chairman of ICI; Dieter List, Alstom Power Services director of business    performance…
Quality Digest
Cessna    Aircraft Co. reports that the implementation of lean and Six Sigma helped it    make significant gains last year. The company delivered 249 Citation jets, 822 single-engine pistons and 86 Caravan    single-engine turboprops, and won FAA certification for two new jets, among    other…
Quality Digest
Secretary    of the Army Francis J. Harvey recently announced three recipients of the Army    Performance Excellence Awards. The winners are: the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering    Center, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey (Gold Award); Fort Stewart and Hunter    Army Airfield…
Gregory Roth II
I,    for one, am tired of the quality flavor of the month. It isn’t quite that    bad but it seems like it at times. Have you been through statistical quality    control, TQM, total quality speed, re-engineering, zero defects, quality circles,    SPC, Motorola Six Sigma, AlliedSignal Six Sigma, GE…
Quality Digest
A    new business-process–outsourcing contract Wachovia recently made with    Genpact will allow Genpact to drive Six Sigma deeply into the banking giant. Genpact, which was established as a financial services subsidiary of GE Capital    and broke off from the company in 2004, reports that all of…
Quality Digest
The    4th Annual Six Sigma in Healthcare Conference will be held March 29–31    at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. James G. Springfield, president    and CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, will share Valley Baptist’s Six    Sigma journey in his keynote address. Valley Baptist has…
Quality Digest
The    W. Edwards Deming Institute will host “How to Create Unethical, Ineffective    Organizations That Go Out of Business,” a seminar for executives and leaders    in all types of organizations. The event, to be held April 24–26 in Boston, will expose the 27 faulty    management and corporate…
Quality Digest
e-TQM    College is now accepting applicants for its third annual Pan Arab Media Quality    Award. Candidates should submit in-depth, TQM-related, published articles or programs    for four award categories: best article, best feature, best interview and best    research. Subjects may include…
Quality Digest
Manipal    Hospital of Bangalore, India, recently received that country’s prestigious    Golden Peacock National Quality Award. The 15-year-old hospital has 600 beds and is India’s first multi-specialty    tertiary care center to be registered to ISO 9001. Additionally, its Manipal    Hospital…
Quality Digest
QA    Edge Inc. will host a three-day conference on computer validation May 1–3    in Malvern, Pennsylvania. “Risk-Based Approach to Computer Validation” will be held at Penn    State’s Great Valley Campus. The focus will be on using computer-validation    best practices to lower risk and overall…
Quality Digest
Aiming  to promote professional excellence and provide travelers with safe, secure and  efficient airports, Airports Council International’s upcoming conference  will focus on service quality in airports around the world. The Airport Service Quality Conference will include workshops, one-on-one…
David Zatz
Chrysler is stepping up their use of team-based manufacturing, moving away from the “Fordist” approach that’s been continually embraced and rejected by global automakers. Their approach brings up memories of the many other companies that have gone to teams, including some that were successful and…
Quality Digest
Trace    Laboratories recently acquired a new vibration testing system to expand its    services in vibration and mechanical-shock testing. Its new Unholtz-Dickie T2000 Series vibration-testing system meets the high-G    vibration- and shock-testing capabilities required by aerospace, automotive…
Quality Digest
Carl    Zeiss Industrial Metrology and Hartwig Inc., a machine-tool distributor, have    expanded their partnership to allow Hartwig to distribute Zeiss products in    the southeastern United States.Hartwig has been a Zeiss distributor since 2001, and its distribution territory    used to extend…
Quality Digest
Agilent    Technologies Inc. recently introduced an innovative measurement solution that    provides precise modulation measurements on the digitized communication signals    found in the digital-signal processor-based radio transceivers used in cell    phones, base stations, satellite and military…
Quality Digest
Metris,    a Belgian automotive and aerospace metrology-products producer, recently announced    the simultaneous acquisition of LK Ltd., 3D Scanners Ltd. and Arc Second Inc.Metris reports that the acquisitions will allow it to offer fully integrated    hardware and software solutions that cover…
Quality Digest
The    2006 Measurement Science Conference will be held Feb. 27–March 3 in Anaheim,    California. The event is expected to draw hundreds of metrology professionals from around    the U.S., and will be held at the Disneyland Hotel. The conference    will feature dozens of tutorials and workshops,…