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Quality Digest
Widespread Linux-based application development in business, mission and life critical areas prompted McCabe Software to develop McCabe IQ, hosted directly on RedHat Linux.“The same software quality management benefits that our customers have come to expect are now available directly on…
Quality Digest
Mikel J. Harry, founder of Six Sigma Academy in 1994 and one of the world’s leading authorities on the methodology, is rejoining the company as chief knowledge officer and vice chairman.
“We are delighted that Mike is joining us. We love that he has chosen to return to his company,” says Scott…
Brian Copeland
Every day, I hear from frustrated quality assurance (QA) managers who’ve been informed by project management that their six-week testing schedule has been reduced to two weeks or less. It usually involves some sob story about how the development team is a month late because of the…
Quality Digest
Thailand’s Public Service Management Quality Award (PMQA), modeled on the Singapore Quality Award, will be presented for the first time next year. The PMQA’s seven criteria are those of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—leadership, strategy development and deployment planning…
Quality Digest
A recent letter to the U.S. Congress and other elected officials from information quality professionals expresses concerns about the provisions of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (public law 107-252), which sets guidelines for replacing punch card or lever-type voting machines with electronic…
Thomas R. Cutler
In a repetitive manufacturing environment, Six Sigma’s quantification is much easier than in the engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing environment, where no two products are identical.
Six Sigma is a program that affects the entire company. What have been missing for ETO manufacturers are the…
Steven Ouellette
So far, we’ve discussed Stupid Six Sigma Tricks #10: Conflating systems, methods and tools and #9: Confusing breakthrough with continuous improvement. This month, I’ll spend some time on a more subtle, and no less costly mistake that, in its extreme form, we’ll call Stupid Six Sigma Trick #8:…
Quality Digest
While more than 50 percent of respondents in a new report indicated that they had implemented Six Sigma programs, only 16 percent of the programs meet the methodology’s core requirements. The survey, performed by the Aberdeen Group, also found that the 16 percent of programs that…
Quality Digest
Conference organizer WCBF will host a conference for Six Sigma professionals in the software and information technology industries Nov. 7–9 in San Francisco. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Gateway Hotel. The conference is designed to blend real-world examples with practical advice,…
Quality Digest
Valley Baptist Health System recently selected Six Sigma software from Streamline Health Solutions Inc. to manage its document management and workflow solutions. Hospital representatives report that they expect better operational efficiencies that will result in higher-quality care for…
Quality Digest
The Society of Women Engineers announced on Oct. 11 that Siddika Demir is the recipient of its 2006 Emerging Leaders Award for her leadership in quality assurance. Demir is the manager of corporate services and Six Sigma for Bechtel Corp. She is charged with setting Six Sigma strategy for…
Thomas R. Cutler
In a repetitive manufacturing environment, Six Sigma’s quantification is much easier than in the engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing environment, where no two products are identical.
Six Sigma is a program that affects the entire company. What have been missing for ETO manufacturers are the…
Quality Digest
Vice presidents, directors and managers from leading companies convened at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St. Louis for the Global Benchmarking Council’s third-quarter conference last month. “Unleashing Success through Breakthroughs in Lean Sigma and Quality” was attended by hundreds of Six…
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
The right combination of trees can result in better air, as well as reduce greenhouse gases, according to researchers at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The scientists at SUNY Syracuse report that the ideal mix can reduce the emission of…
Quality Digest
Shanya Salamaca, RABQSA manager of certification services, now represents auditor authentication bodies on the American Aerospace Quality Group Registration Management Committee.“This is a very pleasing recognition of the value and contribution RABQSA is offering the aerospace industry,”…
Quality Digest
Focusing on ways end users can use RFID technology, the RFID Summit will take place in Novi, Michigan, on Nov. 2. The morning session will deal with other industries’ uses. The afternoon will feature automotive applications and case studies. As part of this event, an exhibit floor will…
Quality Digest
Reynolds and Reynolds Company recently received the Association for Services Management International’s (AFSM) Service Quality Award for the fourth consecutive year. ServicePartners, the research division of The Gasparovic Group Inc. presented the award.“As a dealer services company, our…
Quality Digest
The principal IEC and ISO standards for information technology security were recently released as a collection on a CD–ROM.The IT Security Standards Collection provides the most important IT security standards, from evaluating and implementing to maintaining and managing information…
Michael H. Brill
Referring to human relations, my father advised me always to "save the surface," which is something like "don’t burn your bridges," only more subtle. The connection between the homilies becomes literal in the paint industry: You must save the surface of an iron bridge to avoid burning…
Quality Digest
Archtype Joint LLC, a laboratory that designs and tests joints, recently received registration to ISO/IEC 17025 from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. The accreditation makes Archtype the only independent certified company in North America specializing in joint design…
Quality Digest
CogniTens will enlarge its customer support staff and move into a larger office in Tokyo, to handle increasing customer demand for its dimensional measurement solutions. The office will be led by Isao Ito, CogniTens’ manager in Japan. “As the headquarters for some of the largest global…
Quality Digest
InterTech Development Co. has released a new self-calibrating leak detection device than can achieve accuracies of 0.02 sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute). The new CalVal allows manufacturers to achieve high calibration standards without slowing production for time-consuming…
Quality Digest
Lumetrics Inc., a manufacturer of precision noncontact thickness measurement systems, recently received the CE Mark of technical approval for its OptiGauge system. CE marking is required for most products sold in European countries, and signifies that the product meets European guidelines…
Quality Digest
The contents of a premier metrology facility in the United Kingdom recently went on the market following the business’ closure. The South Yorkshire Trading Standards Unit was an internationally recognized metrology facility with state-of-the-art equipment. Some of the equipment listed…
