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Quality Digest
TUV America Inc. is now certified to perform ANSI/ESD S20.20 registration services.  ANSI/ESD S20.20, Electrostatic Discharge Control Program Standard,    was created to help U.S. military and commercial corporations design, establish,    implement and maintain an electrostatic discharge control…
Quality Digest
TUV America Inc. has added Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series    18001 services to its repertoire.  OHSAS 18001 is an occupational health and safety assessment series for occupational    health and safety management systems created to enable organizations to control    occupational…
Quality Digest
Microsoft Corp. has released new enhancements for its Microsoft Office Solution    Accelerator for Six Sigma.  The additions to the software are intended to help businesses cut costs, improve    processes and reduce the time it takes to complete projects. Available now at    no charge to all…
Quality Digest
Lilly Software Associates Inc., a provider of enterprise and supply chain solutions    for manufacturers and distributors, will host a regional lean manufacturing    seminar series this month in nine U.S. cities.  Attendees will hear from Lilly Software representatives and other industry    experts…
Quality Digest
Breakthrough Management Group, a provider of Six Sigma training, consulting    and software, has signed a strategic reseller agreement with Iowa-based GeoLearning    Inc., a developer of learning management platforms and Web-based training solutions.   Under the terms of the agreement, GeoLearning…
Quality Digest
The Quality Function Deployment Institute will host its 16th annual symposium    in Lombard, Illinois, from July 7 to July 16.  The event features presentations from quality experts and industry leaders,    case studies and forum discussions. Attendees will learn QFD in theory and in    practice,…
Quality Digest
CommerceQuest Inc. and Savvi International have announced an alliance that    expands the effectiveness of Six Sigma throughout the subscribing business enterprise    by leveraging business process management (BPM) information technology.  The announcement, made at the Leadership Conference of the…
Quality Digest
SupplyWorks Inc., a provider of direct materials supply management software    for manufacturers, has released SupplyWorks MAX version 5.0.  New functionality in the suite includes enhanced kanban-based replenishment    to support lean manufacturing, new wireless connectivity based on Microsoft…
Quality Digest
Albertsons Inc. has started a major roll-out of a companywide Six Sigma quality    program designed to reduce management layers, increase leadership spans, improve    customer focus, drive new format leadership and formalize its quality program.   Six Sigma Academy will assist in the training and…
Quality Digest
Datasweep Inc., a recognized leader in software solutions that help global    manufacturers drive performance, quality and value across the product lifespan,    is named in Red Herring’s prestigious "100 Top Private Companies"    for 2004.  The list sets the standard as the industry’s definitive…
Quality Digest
The Professional Development Institute has announced that it has entered into    an agreement with Motorola University. Under the agreement, Motorola University    will provide its Six Sigma expertise and services to Ohio-area businesses through    the Professional Development Institute at…
Quality Digest
A new standard intended to increase public safety around construction sites has been published by the American Society of Safety Engineers.  A10.34-2001, Protection of the Public on or Adjacent to Construction Sites, establishes safety guidelines for employers, contractors, building owners and…
Quality Digest
Six Sigma Brokers LLC has announced the public launch of its new deployment    methodology, STARR.  The methodology is a "control gate" approach to Six Sigma deployment,    which contains effective checks and balances at each stage, accelerating progress    while minimizing costly mistakes and…
Quality Digest
The Society of Automotive Engineers will dedicate the DTI-SAE Global Knowledge    Center at Tsinghua University in Beijing with a formal signing ceremony and    reception on June 15.  A cooperative effort between SAE International and the Delphi Tsinghua Institute,    the Global Knowledge Center…
Arthur G. Davis
   Falling revenues and changing customer requirements have forced many companies    to look for ways to reduce the workload on current staff while developing long-term    solutions. When companies are forced to downsize, the increased workload on    remaining employees frequently results in stress…
PowerSteering Software
PowerSteering Software, the leading provider of Six Sigma enterprise program management software, has announced the availability of PowerSixSigma, its first software solution designed exclusively to meet the advanced requirements of Six Sigma quality initiatives.
Using its popular PowerSteering…
Quality Digest
Supply chain and inventory management professionals will gather in San Diego    Oct. 10-13 for the 2004 APICS International Conference and Exposition.  The conference will feature speeches from industry leaders and authors, along    with more than 100 educational workshops addressing enterprise…
Quality Digest
BSI Management Systems has reissued its position on the harmonized standard    for electromagnetic compatibility testing for medical devices.  EN 60601-1-2:2002, the international standard for EMC testing of medical electrical    equipment, is formally recognized as a harmonized standard under the…
Quality Digest
Minitab Inc. has agreed to include Rath & Strong’s two latest publications--Who’s    Fault Is It Anyway?, and Rath & Strong’s Guide to MINITAB: Release    14--in Minitab’s companion textbook list, available on the Minitab Web    site.  Whose Fault Is It Anyway: A Modern Fable About Six…
Quality Digest
Top companies depend on savvy purchasing techniques to increase supply chain    performance measurements, according to research by benchmarking and consulting    firm Best Practices LLC.   Supply chain research, drawn from executive interviews and surveys of more    than 100 top-performing…
Using    Six Sigma initiatives to focus on improving the performance of business and    manufacturing processes isn’t a new concept. But a growing number of manufacturers    seeking to stay competitive and improve profitability are, instead, turning    to Six Sigma to provide stronger value to…
Quality Digest
The Lean Learning Center will co-sponsor the "Benchmarking Best Practices    in Lean Manufacturing" conference with Clemson University, May 25-27 in    Charleston, South Carolina.  Lean Learning Center founders and partners Andy Carlino and Jamie Flinchbaugh    will serve as the conference…
Ronald J. Bowen
After undergoing an often costly and usually painful process to achieve ISO 9001:2000 registration, organizations invariably ask, "What do we do now to ensure that we maintain our registration and gain maximum benefit?" Under ISO 9001:1994, the old answer was fairly straightforward: Continue doing…
Denise Robitaille
Do not ever, ever, do anything just to please an auditor. This is quickly becoming one of my new favorite mantras. For many individuals, this statement would seem to be self-evident, and yet there are instances when an organization has felt compelled to change a process or implement a new practice…
Craig Cochran
Supplier management is one of the most troublesome disciplines within a management system. There’s nothing inherently difficult about it, though. Companies make it difficult by instilling the process with lots of unwieldy bureaucracy. The trick is to strip the process down to its essential elements…