All Features
Sarah Fister Gale
In a lean environment, training is the last part of the production process to be transformed by the new approach to efficiency. While smaller work groups are streamlining steps and multitasking to eliminate waste and improve output, individuals continue to be linked to single skills or production…
Quality Digest
Quality Systems Integrators recently introduced an online application that provides employee tests, quizzes, corrective action and compliance to ISO standards and FDA 21 CFR Part 11. The new product is an add-on to the TMSWEB Training and Document Management System, is completely Web-based and…
Quality Digest
As of Jan. 1, a new accreditation body formed by the American National Standards Institute and the American Society for Quality will replace the ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program as the U.S. national accreditation body. ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program, or ANAB, as the new…
Quality Digest
If you’ve ever wanted to be a Baldrige Award examiner, this may be your shot. The Baldrige National Quality Program is now accepting applications to fill positions for 2005 award examiners in each of five categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care and education. Notification…
Quality Digest
Quality Vision International Inc. recently announced that Vijay Patel is the new president of View Engineering Inc.Patel, who has worked for View Engineering for more than 20 years, has a strong background in technical and market management. QVI, View Engineering’s parent company, reports that it…
Quality Digest
Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd. recently became one of the first Indian companies to receive the prestigious Deming Application Prize. Indo Gulf is among the largest and most cost-efficient private-sector fertilizer companies in India. It manufactures and markets urea, a nitrogenous fertilizer under the…
Quality Digest
The Cambodian government recently announced its plans to implement ISO 14001 to protect the temples of Angkor, one of the world’s oldest and most beautiful historic sites. Angkor, which was built between 879 and 1191, is listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific…
Quality Digest
Intertek ETL Entela recently changed the name of its automotive certifications division to Intertek Automotive Systems Certification. Entela Inc. was acquired in April by Intertek Group plc, a global testing, inspection and certification company. Intertek Automotive Systems Certifications will…
Quality Digest
Carl Zeiss Industrial Measuring Technology recently received A2LA accreditation in the calibration field. The company now complies with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements and is approved to offer in-house and on-site A2LA calibration services for coordinate measuring machines. “The addition of A2LA…
Robert Kozak
Adding value by auditing using the process- and metric-driven approach requires new methods and an increased focus on supplier performance metrics (i.e., scorecards). A change in how auditors work the process approach is evolving, with more sophisticated techniques, more rigorous testing and…
Denise Robitaille
Good morning, everyone. On behalf of Galactic Registrars Interstellar Network (GRIN), I’d like to express our appreciation to your organization for selecting us as your ISO 9001 registrar. Before we begin the audit, there are a few items we need to cover. This is standard auditing protocol. Certain…
Quality Digest
A new organization for data and information quality managers recently formed, the International Association for Information and Data Quality, offers information and resources to help data quality professionals solve quality problems in their organizations. Noting that poor data quality costs…
Quality Digest
TRUMPF Inc. was recently awarded a Connecticut Quality Improvement Award for improvements made to a powerful laser. The company’s TCF 1, a diffusion-cooled CO2 laser based on coaxial electrode geometry, was improved to provide the high-quality beam characteristics of smaller, lower-wattage lasers…
Quality Digest
After months of development, the International Organization for Standardization published a revised version of its ISO 14001 standard on Nov. 15.The changes are mostly procedural in nature, and include: Clause 4.1 “Scope”—Requires that companies describe activities, products, operations and…
Quality Digest
President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Don Evans recently announced four winners of the 2004 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The winners are The Bama Co., in the manufacturing category; Texas Nameplate Co. Inc., in the small business category; Kenneth W. Monfort College of…
Quality Digest
A quality college in Dubai recently announced the establishment of an award in honor of H. James Harrington, Ph.D. Harrington, a Quality Digest columnist and founder of the Harrington Institute, is a leading quality consultant who frequently works in Dubai. The Harrington Best TQM Thesis Award was…
Quality Digest
Xerox Corp.’s chairman and CEO recently credited her company’s rosy financial state with its implementation of lean and Six Sigma.Anne M. Mulcahy reports that Xerox achieved more than $100 million in profit from lean and Six Sigma projects that have driven revenue, reduced costs and sped up work…
Quality Digest
Prentice Hall recently announced that it has published two books on the use and value of Six Sigma in differing workplaces. Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions: Foundations, DMAIC, Tools, Cases and Certification by Howard S. Gitlow and David M. Levine contains a step-by-step guide for…
Quality Digest
The University of Colorado recently became one of only a handful of colleges that offer Six Sigma training. “Six Sigma Black Belt” is a course offered through the university’s Center for Advanced Engineering and Technology Education. Those enrolled in the course are both students and professionals…
Quality Digest
WCBF has announced its two major Six Sigma conferences—one on Six Sigma in the health care industry and one on Six Sigma in the pharmaceuticals industry. The Six Sigma in Healthcare conference is the largest of its kind, according to WCBF. It will take place in New Orleans March 3–4, 2005, and…
Praveen Gupta
Six Sigma was first practiced in product development and manufacturing environments to improve customer satisfaction. There, significant improvements were achieved and sizable savings realized. After successfully implementing Six Sigma in manufacturing, Motorola applied Six Sigma in support…
Quality Digest
Pitney Bowes Inc. and Bank of America have reached an agreement that will deploy Six Sigma across the bank’s extensive mailing operations. Under the $112 million agreement, Pitney Bowes will provide Bank of America with technology and expertise from across its broad solutions portfolio, including…
Quality Digest
In hopes of making ISO 14001 easier to implement, the International Organization for Standardization recently published a revised version of the standard.ISO 14001: 2004 provides a framework for organizations to control the environmental impacts of their activities, products and services, and…
Quality Digest
Breakthrough Management Group recently announced the release of an enhanced version of its popular ProjX software suite. ProjX 2.0 is billed as a complete Six Sigma solution and includes enhancements such as advanced project selection and evaluation, expanded multilanguage and multibrand…
Quality Digest
The Juran Institute recently announced its plans to create the William W. Barnard Award for Personal Excellence in honor of Dr. Barnard, who recently passed away. William W. Barnard, Ph.D., was a senior vice president who worked for the Juran Institute for more than 18 years. The award bearing his…
