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(VDACS: Richmond, Virginia) -- As gas prices have risen in the United States, so have complaints about gasoline pumps. Employees with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) have been particularly busy responding to complaints, as well as inspecting weighing and…
(ISO: Geneva) -- Organizations wishing to apply the quality management requirements of ISO 9001 to the acquisition, supply, development, operation, and maintenance of IT systems and related support services now have a valuable tool in ISO/IEC TR 90005, “Systems engineering—Guidelines for the…
(NCQA: Washington) -- Data on clinical performance and patient experience for more than 85 million Americans enrolled in more than 400 commercial health plans are now available from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. NCQA’s Quality Compass, the United States’ most widely used database of…
(ANSI: New York) -- The American National Standards Institute recently announced the recipients of its 2008 Leadership and Service Awards, who have been recognized for significant contributions to national and international standardization activities, as well as an ongoing commitment to their…
(ASQ: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) -- The American Society for Quality recently awarded its 2008 Richard A. Freund International Scholarship to Amar Thiraviam, in Daytona Beach, Florida. This $5,000 scholarship, named after a past ASQ president, supports a quality professional’s graduate studies.…
(EFQM: Brussels) -- EFQM, a nonprofit membership foundation headquartered in Brussels, has announced the 11 finalists of the EFQM Excellence Award 2008. From this list of finalists, the award and prize winners will be named on October 28 in the Musée du Louvre at EFQM’s award dinner in Paris.
The…
(AHRQ: Rockville, Maryland) -- Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
In a study…
(CMS: Baltimore, Maryland) -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced payment of more than $36 million in bonus payments to many of the more than 56,700 health professionals who satisfactorily reported quality information to Medicare under the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- While athletes from around the world prepared to spotlight their exceptional physical skills in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, behind the scenes Olympic coaches are taking a new approach to building a winning performance. They’re turning to business improvement methods that…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- The Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards, organized by WCBF, has announced that Mark Pigott, chairman and CEO of Bellevue, Washington-based PACCAR has been named the winner of its prestigious Six Sigma and Business Improvement CEO of the Year Award.
Six Sigma…
(BSI Group: London) -- All tasks encountered at work involve a process, some more complex than others. The output of many processes is often dependent on multiple inputs.
Are you sure that the output is the best that your process can achieve?
Could the output be improved by adjusting some of…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The seventh edition of the ISO International Standard for currency codes has just been published. ISO 4217:2008—“Codes for the representation of currencies and funds,” is the only worldwide, multi-industry, standardized currency code.
“Information interchange on an international…
(ANSI: New York) -- Continuing education programs are growing in popularity as employees in a variety of industries work to keep up with new technologies and business strategies. According to a report released recently by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics,…
(ISO: Geneva) -- ISO 20712 standard answers the need to standardize a system for giving safety information related to aquatic activity that relies as little as possible on the use of words to achieve understanding. Water-safety signs and flags can be invaluable aids in bringing people’s attention…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Paul Borawski, American Society for Quality (ASQ) executive director and chief strategic officer, was recently awarded the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) Leadership Award. The award was presented at the CESSE Annual Meeting in Detroit, July 15–…
(ANSI: New York) -- In the state of California, crane operator certification bodies are required to be accredited by a California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA)-approved accreditation body. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Personnel Certification…
(ISO: Geneva) -- Have you printed your bus schedule today? Sent an e-mail? Made an online payment? At a time when information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming increasingly critical for fulfilling everyday tasks at home and at the office, an ISO/IEC standard will ensure that the…
(ANSI: New York) -- Two months remain for the nomination of documents that will be included in this year’s survey of Standards That Make a Difference.
First organized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 2002, the survey compiles information about standards that are “making a…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization has published a combined book and CD giving organizations advice on how to make integrated use of management system standards.
The integrated use of management system standardsThe integrated use of management system standards…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- While athletes from around the world prepare to spotlight their exceptional physical skills in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics this August, behind the scenes Olympic coaches are taking a new approach to building a winning performance. They are turning to business improvement…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- WCBF’s Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards has announced that Mark Pigott, chairman and CEO of PACCARhas been named Six Sigma & Business Improvement CEO of the Year.
Six Sigmahas played a major role in PACCAR’s worldwide growth and profitability since 1997. The…
(LAI International Inc.: Scottsdale, Arizona) -- A Six Sigma program recently completed by LAI International Inc.—a supplier of precision components and subassemblies for original equipment manufacturers—has reduced production time by 20 percent for a critical structural aerospace component.
A…
(Avery Point Group: Atlanta, Georgia) -- After years of steady gains, lean has achieved a slight edge over Six Sigma as the more desired skill set. The accelerating demand for lean talent is an indicator that companies are increasingly looking to lean as a means to help them combat the current…
(Minitab Inc.: State College, Pennsylvania) — A new, complimentary e-book will help companies get a jump-start when implementing Six Sigma programs.
Quality Companion—Getting Started provides an excellent introduction to Minitab’s process improvement software. “Quality Companion is an ideal tool…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- An executive order issued by President Bush that establishes mechanisms for improving government performance was greeted by ASQ as a welcome measure for ensuring effective and efficient application of taxpayer resources.
“We commend the president for his farsightedness in…