All Features
Craig Cochran
Last year, I had the good fortune of doing some consulting with B&C Specialty Products in Hopeulikit, Georgia. B&C does light manufacturing, primarily plastic molding and assembly, and they also distribute imported products produced by companies in the Far East. They have about…
Quality Digest
(FARO Technologies Inc.: Lake Mary, Florida)—FARO Technologies Inc., the world’s single source for a complete line of portable CAM2 solutions, is sponsoring a team for the 2007 season of the Porsche Supercup. Siegfried Buss, managing director of FARO Europe, explains: “Together with our…
Quality Digest
(GKS Inspection: Minneapolis)—GKS Inspection Services Inc., a global provider of dimensional measurement, 3-D laser scanning and terrestrial scanning services, has purchased a FARO portable CMM articulated arm for its Minneapolis office. GKS’ Michigan office already uses its four FARO arms…
Quality Digest
(Hexagon AB: Stockholm, Sweden) – Hexagon AB has entered into an agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of the French companies D&P Systems and Topolaser System s.a.s. D&P Systems develops and supplies multidimensional systems for measuring, planning and machine control for…
Quality Digest
(Illinois Tool Works Inc.: Albuquerque, New Mexico) – Illinois Tool Works Inc., parent company of MAGNAFLUX, recently announced its acquisition of Quasar International Inc., the inventor of process compensated resonant testing (PRCT), a revolutionary new nondestructive testing method.…
Quality Digest
Organizers of the Measurement Science Conference have issued a call for papers to be presented at the event. The MSC will be held March 10-14, 2008 at the Disneyland Hotel Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Those interested in presenting a paper at the conference should submit a…
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…
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
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…
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,…
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
(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…
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—…
