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Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International will host a lean seminar in May in Nashville, Tennessee.“Practical Lean: Lean Manufacturing for Smaller and Mid-Sized Operations” will be held May 8–9 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. It will offer interactive training in lean…
PowerSteering Software Inc. recently released enhanced software that features an advanced reporting module and new demand management functionality driven by an active voice-of-the-customer program. PowerSteering Enterprise 4.7 provides more than 100,000 users with beefed-up strategy…
The official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will be held April 23–26 at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C.Representatives from the 2005 Baldrige Award recipient organizations will attend Quest for Excellence XVIII and share their exceptional performance…
Millstone Medical Outsourcing Inc. recently signed agreements with several medical device companies to provide post-manufacturing solutions to overcome start-up challenges. The company has contracted with Blackstone Medical Inc., Decision Biomarkers Inc., Ingen Orthopedics and Spine Wave…
Topas Advanced Polymers, a producer of polymers for the medical-device and packaging manufacturers industries, recently received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Leadership. The award is given each year to a company that has demonstrated excellence in technology…
The Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) recently asked Congress to eliminate allegedly anticompetitive practices in the hospital supply industry. Mark Leahey, MDMA executive director, urged the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee to protect patients from exclusionary practices…
Using prescription medicines to treat untreated and undertreated high blood pressure could prevent thousands of heart attacks, strokes and deaths in every U.S. state, according to a recently released study. “Reducing the Human Impact of High Blood Pressure,” examined the annual numbers…
Laser surgeons from around the world will gather April 5–9 for the 26th annual scientific meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery in Boston. Laser 2006 will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel and Hynes Convention Center. The event will offer a diverse line up of…
Mikel J. Harry, co-creator of Six Sigma, recently launched a new computer-based training program for the methodology. Historically, Six Sigma training can take up to 160 hours and can cost up to $12,000 per trainee. These factors have put high-quality Six Sigma training out of reach for…
Two recently released books look at the changes and best practices organizations should follow to comply with the 2006 Baldrige criteria.This year’s changes to the Baldrige criteria include a focus on organizations’ business ethics and governance systems, along with their emergency-…
Robert H. McGuckin III, an expert and pioneering researcher in the fields of U.S. job creation and productivity trends, recently died of neuroendocrine cancer at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 63. McGuckin was director of economic research at The Conference Board and former…
The Ice Cream Maker: an Inspiring Tale About Making Quality the Key Ingredient in Everything You Do (Currency, 2005), by Subir Chowdhury, was recently recognized by the U.S. Congress for its groundbreaking approach to quality management.The book has been distributed to all members of…
Ten publications will receive the 2006 Shingo Research Prize, which recognizes researchers throughout the world who promote new knowledge and understanding of manufacturing and business-improvement methods, systems and processes. The research award will be given at the 18thAnnual Shingo…
The winners of the prestigious Six Sigma Excellence Awards were announced recently at the seventh annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, was the conference’s keynote speaker, and conference organizer IQPC reported a significant increase in the number of…
The Conference Board’s 2006 Six Sigma Leadership Conference—Business Innovation Initiatives for Building Successful Results Through Six Sigma will be held March 28–29 at the Wyndam in Chicago. It’s being presented in collaboration with the Premier Performance Network. James A. Firestone, Xerox…
A conference focusing on the use of lean and Six Sigma in defense applications will be held May 8–10 in Washington, D.C. The Lean and Six Sigma for Defense conference will feature case studies that demonstrate how the methodologies have been used for defense purposes, along with experts to…
Cummins, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of engines, will host its annual Six Sigma Project Expo in May. The event will showcase 43 winners of the company’s annual Chairman’s Quality Award on May 9 in Columbus, Indiana. It’s open to the public. The projects displayed will…
Microsoft Corp. has partnered with USC Consulting Group LLC to roll out its new lean technology for manufacturing companies. Microsoft has redesigned its approach to key clients by developing a “trusted advisor” role in which it helps clients that use Microsoft applications solve business…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance has released a draft standard of its 2007 accreditation requirements for public comment. The draft includes increased requirements for managed care organizations and preferred-provider organizations seeking accreditation. They’ll be required…
Ten very different organizations recently received The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. The prize, which has been dubbed the Nobel Prize of manufacturing, recognizes organizations’ quality and efficiency achievements using lean principles. It’s the premier manufacturing…
Wal-Mart recently decreed to almost 70,000 of its suppliers that they must start using RFID chips—a nightmare for smaller companies that might not be able to afford to implement such a system. Fortunately, an RFID provider has agreed to supply the necessary system for $25,000. The cost…
In a strategic partnership, Fuji Machine Manufacturing Co. and Cogiscan will develop and market a new RFID technology for Fuji machines. The companies jointly developed the RFID Smart Reader kit for Fuji’s XP-series machines. The kit will complement the existing RFID kits for the CP-…
Leica Geosystems’ Metrology Division will showcase its Universal CMM product line at the upcoming WESTEC show in Los Angeles. The Universal CMM consists of a Leica Laser Tracker combined with the Leica T-Scan and/or the Leica T-Probe II. Specifically designed for the measurement…
Editor’s Note: An incorrect version of this story was included in the Feb. 21 issue of “Quality Insider.” The following is the correct version. We apologize for any confusion this mistake may have caused. Instron Corp. now offers on-site temperature-calibration services for a variety…
Ampro Computers recently expanded its investment in software developed by Infor for managing and reporting on key areas of its business. Ampro supplies custom computer boards to allow manufacturers to integrate computers into their products in a way that minimizes the product size, cost…