All News
(Mnitab: State College, PA)-- Minitab Inc. has released Quality Companion 3.2, an update to its software for managing and executing quality improvement projects.
This update introduces new functionality, including a powerful tool for value stream mapping (VSM), a primary technique used in lean…
Gemba is a Japanese term that has been translated as: place, real place, actual place. Westerners have further defined gemba to include: where the action is, the go-and-see place, where the work is done, the place to go for improvement, and the place where value is added, and more.
The environment…
(The Conference Board: New York) -- The number of U.S. companies with an offshoring strategy has more than doubled from 2005 to 2008 and very few plan to relocate activities back to the United States, according to Duke Offshoring Research Network's fifth annual report on offshoring trends,…
Search the internet for “What is SPC?” and there are many definitions and descriptions of statistical process control that are correct but not complete. They are true but not the whole truth.
From the search results, a general definition and description of SPC could be as follows.
Definition: SPC…
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a systematic analysis technique that facilitates the identification of potential problems (failure modes) within a design or manufacturing process. Problems can then be ranked in order of importance to prioritize improvement actions. These actions are…
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers presents a new book from Michael J. Termini, Concept to Customer: Portfolio, Pipeline, and Strategic Project Management (SME, 2009). Termini wrote Concept to Customer in response to the many questions from project managers and novices who have sought his…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Senior leaders from the three organizations selected for the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, as well as representatives from past award recipients, will share their best practices and results at one-day regional conferences on Sept. 15 in Milwaukee, and…
(Dyadem: Toronto, Canada) -- Dyadem recently upgraded its Stature enterprise risk management platform. Stature 4.0 will enable Dyadem’s customers to make more informed and strategic decisions about the production processes and products they manage.
The Stature platform is built on the…
It started slowly but surely. With the slump of the U.S. economy, companies started downsizing first by the dozens, then by the hundreds. Today, thousands of organizations across the country have in one way or another had to perform some kind of cost-cutting measure.
And as unemployment started…
(InfinityQS: Chantilly, VA) -- Learn how to maximize your investment in InfinityQS by attending its third annual user conference. Infusion 2009 features a new three-track format to empower you with the tools and skills you need to help your business save time and money.
Hear from InfinityQS…
This is the second report from the author, who is currently working in Afghanistan. Don’t miss his first article, “Ensuring Quality in a War Zone.”
--Editor
They told us the road was clear. They didn’t say it was safe; it was a dirt road that ran seven kilometers through the district of Shah…
(EtQ: Farmingdale, New York) -- The EtQ decision tree allows users to create a web-based list of related questions that are dependant on each other, so that the results of the questions will impact the business process and produce quantitative results such as a risk ranking, subsequent questions,…
(MFGWatch: Atlanta) -- Results of a survey recently conducted by MFGWatch give a snapshot on the state of sourcing, sourcing preferences, company growth projections, and reactions to economic conditions. More than 200 purchasing professionals and engineers from the manufacturing industry…
Baldrige award medallion.
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Seventy organizations have taken the first step toward the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for innovation and performance excellence.…
(Moresteam.com: Columbus, Ohio) -- Cardinal Health, a global manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and technologies, uses innovative lean Six Sigma training methods to pursue their goal of total process and safety excellence. In a Feb. 19 web cast available to the public, Cardinal…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- Learn how to effectively confront the barriers for the deployment of lean and Six Sigma in a health care setting at Worldwide Conventions and Business Forum’s (WCBF) 8th Annual Lean, Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit. The event will be held March 18–19, with…
(Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute: Atlanta) -- Georgia rural hospitals that face growing financial pressures are receiving assistance from a new Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) pilot project that is helping them improve processes and reduce waste. Supported by the…
(Quality Digest: Chico, California) -- Be sure to check out the new, fully redesigned Quality Digest homepage and web site. Not only is the new site more aesthetically pleasing than ever, it’s easier to navigate, so you can now find your favorite topics, columnists, departments, and articles…
(WCBF: Las Vegas) -- WCBF will host the Seventh Annual Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit in Las Vegas, April 1–4, 2008. The focus will be on lean, Six Sigma, and other process improvement methodologies within the health care system. The summit will feature nine presummit…
Heartbeat Software Inc. has named Six Sigma Black Belt Irena Petsche its new vice president for professional services. Heartbeat Software is a provider of software for the life sciences industry. Petsche has 20 years’ experience in the software industry and was most recently director of…
Leading quality professionals can learn how to achieve management buy-in, bring about organizational harmony, identify best strategies for implementation while maintaining compliance, and integrate benchmarking and metrics into lean Six Sigma initiatives at the International Quality and…
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…
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. and Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center recently presented four Michigan hospitals with awards for significant successes with a lean Six Sigma pilot program.The awards were given to Bay Regional Medical Center, Gratiot Medical Center, Mercy…
Shared Services Healthcare Inc. recently recognized Standard Register with its Top Medical Surgical Vendor for 2005 award. Shared Services Healthcare, an affiliate of MedAssets, is a group-purchasing organization composed of health care institutions in the southeast United States. The recognition…