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(ANSI: New York) -- Safety symbols—like those for high voltage, biohazards, a wet floor, and radioactive materials—depend upon consistency and bold graphics to warn against specific hazards and personal injury. A revised American National Standard from the National Electrical Manufacturers…
(NCQA: Washington) -- A set of measures assessing the quality of care for HIV/AIDS patients was released recently for public comment. Developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance in collaboration with the AMA-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI), the…
(NOVACES: New Orleans) -- The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery recently presented a contract to NOVACES to implement lean Six Sigma throughout the Navy Medical Logistics Command.As a provider of business process improvement methodologies, NOVACES will guide the implementation of a change in…
(Dyadem: Toronto) -- Dyadem, a provider of quality life cycle management and risk life cycle management software, has helped Maidstone Bakeries bring the world a better donut. In the process, Maidstone has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars through the use of Six Sigma methodology and…
(Enna Products Corp.: Bellingham, Washington) -- Enna Products Corp. and Norman Bodek have published a new hardcover book by Shigeo Shingo, Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking. Along with Taiichi Ohno, Dr. Shingo codeveloped the Toyota production system (TPS). Originally written in 1958-59,…
(Consumers Union: Yonkers, New York) -- Lead hazards in consumer products aren’t limited to the millions of toys recalled so far this year, according to Consumer Reports magazine.Consumer Reports lab tests detected lead at widely varying levels in samples of dishware, jewelry, glue stick caps,…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- Each year the Baldrige National Quality Program recruits experts from businesses, education organizations, health care providers, nonprofits, and other groups to serve as members of the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.…
How are physicists helping to eradicate malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills more than a million people annually? Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology helped a young company create weakened, harmless versions of the malaria-causing parasite. These parasites…
(NCQA: Washington) -- U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance recently unveiled the third edition of “America’s Best Health Plans,” an annual ranking of U.S. health maintenance organizations and point-of-service plans. This edition coincides with the November…
(GBMP: Boston) -- The Shingo Prize criteria and model have been developed to provide companies with a blueprint for attaining world-class excellence. Workshop participants will gain an understanding of the criteria and the underlying principles and tenets behind the Shingo Prize philosophy and…
(ASQ: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) -- Improved care and increased patient satisfaction are primary objectives in today’s competitive health care environment. The American Society for Quality is introducing a new lean Six Sigma Black Belt for health care course to address those objectives. The five-month…
(Inderscience Publishers: Geneva, Switzerland) -- A special issue of the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage with the theme “Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare” will publish research that leverages lean Six Sigma in clinical and business processes to confront the challenges…
(SBTI: San Marcos, Texas) -- Sigma Breakthrough Technologies Inc. has announced that the American Council on Education’s college credit recommendation service (ACE CREDIT) has recommended SBTI’s Master Black Belt program for graduate-level college credit.ACE CREDIT has evaluated and…
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, New York, has developed advanced technologies and systems that enable military helicopters (including the VH-71 presidential helicopter) and other military vehicles to successfully perform their missions.LMSIO recently achieved capability maturity…
(Productivity Press: New York) -- In The Kaizen Event Planner: Achieving Rapid Improvement in Office, Service, and Technical Environments, authors Karen Martin and Mike Osterling provide a practical how-to guide for planning and executing kaizen events in office and administrative settings, and…
(EFQM: Brussels) -- Amongst the impressive surroundings of the Athens Arena, the results of the 2007 EFQM Excellence Award were announced during EFQM’s annual Gala Celebration. The excellence award is Europe’s most prestigious recognition for organizational excellence given to Europe’s best…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The ISO 28000 series of standards on supply-chain security-management systems, which have just been upgraded from publicly available specifications to international standards, will help to reduce risks to people and cargo. The standards address potential security issues at all…
(SME: Dearborn, Michigan) -- The Society of Manufacturing Engineers has developed a new initiative to identify technologies that are affecting the manufacturing industry. “Technologies that Could Change the Way You Manufacture” is a member-driven program to discover and showcase new and emerging…
(MRI: Boston) -- Results of the Medical Record Institute’s 2007 Survey of Electronic Medical Record Trends and Usage (co-sponsored by Philips Speech Recognition Systems) are now available. This survey is an annual poll of information technology usage among health care providers.Responses from…
(The Conference Board: New York, New York) -- The Conference Board recently announced that Gail D. Fosler has been named president of the 91-year-old global research and business membership organization.Fosler has served The Conference Board in a number of capacities over the past 18 years, most…
(ASQ: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) -- Cutting costs, improving quality and boosting profits are phrases every company hears at some point. Six Sigma has long been used in the manufacturing market to meet these goals. However, the use of Six Sigma practices has expanded into health care, service and…
(AIAG: Detroit) -- For the first time in the association’s history, the Automotive Industry Action Group has appointed a tier-two supplier to the board of directors. Specialty Products joined the board effective Sept. 11, 2007. “Specialty Products brings a new perspective to the AIAG board as a…
(Intertek: London) -- Intertek, a testing, inspection, and certification company, has launched the Certified Fire Door Inspector Program, through which potential inspectors will be trained to perform inspections of fire-rated door assemblies to the 2007 edition of NFPA 80: Standard for Fire Doors…
(Duke University Medical Center: Durham, North Carolina) -- Using acupuncture before and during surgery significantly reduces the level of pain and the amount of potent painkillers needed by patients after the surgery is over, according to Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologists who…
(Pfizer: New York, and Sermo: Cambridge, Massachusetts) -- Pfizer Inc. and Sermo, the nation’s largest online physician community, recently announced a strategic collaboration designed to redefine the way physicians in the United States and the health care industry work together to improve…