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Quality Digest
Authorized generic drugs can lead to lower medicine prices and overall savings to the health care system, according to a new study commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and prepared by IMS Consulting. An authorized generic is a drug that is distributed by…
Quality Digest
A new partnership between two software organizations highlights Six Sigma’s use in the mining industry.An Aug. 9 webinar will introduce the partnership between OSIsoft and BESTECH, and explain the use of their software by BHP Billiton, one of the world’s largest mining companies. The…
Quality Transformation With David Schwinn
Once upon a time, in a real, live U.S. corporation, top management decided that Six Sigma was a good idea. They trained up many Black Belts to lead projects to produce documented savings as defined by the existing accounting system. To encourage people to be successful, the Black Belts—…
Quality Digest
The use of Six Sigma in sales and marketing applications will be the focus of an upcoming WCBF conference. The 3rd annual Six Sigma in Sales and Marketing conference will be held Aug. 23–24 in Chicago. It will include a keynote address entitled “Applying Six Sigma to Sales and Marketing…
Quality Digest
CIGNA HealthCare Corp. recently launched a lab that will develop integrated Six Sigma-level end-to-end service for its medical, dental, pharmaceutical and behavioral health plan participants. The "Innovation Lab" will be staffed with 100 specially trained consumer advisers representing…
Quality Digest
A Canadian bread company used Six Sigma to determine how to maximize efficiencies on its delivery operations. Before it selected CHEP to provide delivery pallets, Canada Bread Frozen Bakery had experienced costly delays and occasional difficulties with the inbound flow of pallets,…
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
Boston Centerless Inc. has been named a 2006 Silver Medal recipient in the Northeast Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing contest.Referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Manufacturing” by Business Week magazine, the Shingo Prize is recognized as a premier manufacturing award and…
Quality Digest
An International Organization for Standardization subcommittee has called for the development of a standard that would identify, assess, eliminate or reduce the risks associated with consumer products in the supply chain. According to the Consumer Policy Committee (COPOLCO), rapid changes…
Quality Digest
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently called for better public information about consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) and other forms of insurance. The white paper "Protecting Consumers in an Evolving Health Insurance Market" also examines the rapid growth in enrollment…
Quality Digest
If you’re an upwardly mobile professional male, you probably know more about ISO 9001 registration than your female, blue-collar peers. Such were the findings of a study performed in the United Kingdom. Study authors James Tannock, of Nottingham University Business School, and Henry Brown…
Quality Digest
The number of applications to the 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award significantly increased, with 86 applicants compared to 64 from last year’s event.A major gain in the number of health care organizations applying for the award, along with the addition of a new nonprofit award…
Quality Digest
Organizers of next week’s Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference have announced the 19 papers to be presented at the event. Following are the selections for the 2006 CMSC Conference: Large-Scale Metrology Instrument Performance Evaluations at NIST, by W.T. Estler, D.S. Sawyer, B.…
Fred Mason
Measurements add value to the parts you manufacture. That may not be a widely accepted position, because the act of measuring is an additional step in the manufacturing sequence, and every step has a cost associated with it. With pressure to reduce costs and improve productivity, some might think…
Quality Digest
GKS Inspection Services, a division of Laser Design Inc., recently opened a CAD-modeling office in India. The office, which is in Pune, employs 12 engineers who provide reverse engineering and inspection services. Because it’s growing so rapidly, GKS says it plans to hire 10 more…
Quality Digest
Metronics Inc. recently introduced the Quadra-Chek 300, a digital readout system that combines multiple video measuring functions in a single, compact display unit. A combination cross-line generator and automated edge detection provide users with improved accuracy, and increased measuring…
Quality Digest
Metrology Resource Co. and Siemens Optical Solutions recently introduced a single-point confocal displacement sensor that combines confocal microscopy with high-speed scanning. The Seimens SISCAN Model SC has applications in a wide variety of industries. It provides high-speed distance…
Quality Digest
Optical Gaging Products Inc. recently moved its Western region technology center to a new facility in Tempe, Arizona. The newly remodeled, 8,000-sq.ft. building is equipped to support sales, applications analysis and training for the company’s Western customers, and to act as a single-…
Quality Digest
Companies are now expected to be able to lower recalls and warranty costs with a new Automotive Industry Action Group guideline that monitors parts undergoing heat treatment. Heat treatment is a special process that improves strength, fatigue life, ductility, wear and corrosion resistance on…
Denise Robitaille
I have long maintained that renumbering procedures from the defunct ISO 9001:1994 standard to reflect the numerical scheme of ISO 9001:2000 is an exercise of questionable value. After all, aren’t they just numbers? What difference can it possibly make if your purchasing procedure is…
Quality Digest
The International Electrotechnical Commission recently released the second edition of a standard related to requirements for software systems in nuclear power plants. IEC 60880: Nuclear Power Plants—Instrumentation and control systems important to safety—Software aspects for computer-…
Quality Digest
Lean Six Sigma consulting firm Bellwether Services was recently awarded a five-year support agreement by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). NAVSEA is the Navy’s umbrella command for its comprehensive quality-improvement and efficiency programs. The Navy has implemented Six Sigma, lean…
Quality Digest
An upcoming conference for financial services professionals interested in Six Sigma will be held in Hong Kong. "Building Profitable Platforms for Growth in Financial Services," will be held Sept. 26–27 at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Preconference workshops will be held…
Quality Digest
Two research companies are partnering to discover the real reasons professionals quit their jobs, and they’re asking for your help.dxResearch and The Benchmarking Exchange report that the purpose of the study is to benchmark the nature and degree of dissatisfaction with an organization…
"Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the languages of all the earth…" —Genesis 11:9 The story of the Tower of Babel occupies but nine verses of the Book of Genesis, but it contains a valuable lesson for today: a multiplicity of languages makes…
