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The technical committee charged with planning the 2007 International Lean & Six Sigma Conference is seeking proposals for technical sessions and workshops.Technical presentations are typically 45 minutes and include a question-and-answer period, although the committee will consider…
The Department of the Navy has teamed with the American Society for Quality on a new lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification process.The agreement will allow the Navy and ASQ to develop a testing-standards program geared toward the unique needs of the Navy and Marine Corps. The program…
A new series of five books explores innovative ways to create organizational excellence.Quality Digest columnist H. James Harrington authored all of the five books from the Five Pillars of Organizational Excellence series, published by Paton Press. The first of the series, Process…
European software firms are neglecting quality assurance in application development, according to a recently released study. Compuware Corp. found that 78 percent of the surveyed organizations didn’t apply a formal quality assurance methodology to their software development processes. A…
Huntsman Corp., a global manufacturer of commodity chemicals, recently selected SunGard’s AvantGard GETPAID software suite to help improve efficiency in support of its Six Sigma initiatives. Huntsman plans to integrate the software with its SAP enterprise system to help improve cash…
More than a half-dozen leading Six Sigma practitioners have joined together to update their courses to meet modern project managers’ needs.According to the International Society for Six Sigma Certifications LLC, Six Sigma training has remained rather stagnant for many years. For that…
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…
The Automotive Industry Action Group’s second Early Warning Standards—Warranty Conference will examine escalating automotive warranty costs. The event will be held June 6 at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan. Panel discussions and presentations will deal with improving working…
Three teams took top honors at the 21st International Team Excellence Competition in Milwaukee.The competition was part of American Society for Quality’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement, held May 1–3. The live contest featured 27 teams from around the world hoping to achieve…
Jill M. Considine, chairwoman and CEO of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), has won the prestigious Six Sigma CEO of the Year Award.Considine will be formally presented with the award at WCBF’s Global Six Sigma Awards Gala Dinner on June 28 at The Venetian Resort in Las…
WCBF recently announced the 31 Six Sigma projects from 23 companies that are finalists for the Global Six Sigma Awards.The finalists were selected from 65 applicants and were chosen by an independent panel. Listed by category, the finalists for the 2006 Global Six Sigma Awards are…
STAT-A-MATRIX, a consulting and training company that’s part of the SAM Group, and Cotecna, a Swiss provider of trade security and other services, recently entered into a partnership and licensing agreement. Under the agreement, Cotecna will provide training and consulting services in quality…
A recently released book is the product of the European Foundation for Quality Management’s comprehensive studies of work and European businesses.Above the Clouds (initiated and edited by Hervé Legenvre, Josephine Woolley and Lorraine Mallinder, Greenleaf Publishing, 2006), aims to…
Ixperion will host a conference on the use of lean and Six Sigma in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.Lean Six Sigma for Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals will be held June 20–21 at the Hotel Mercure in Budapest, Hungary. Preconference workshops will be held on June 19. The…
RABQSA International recently released a new certification scheme for auditor certification of information security management systems (ISMS).Many organizations recognize the importance of their information assets, so they’re implementing information security management systems to identify…
Canada’s National Quality Institute recently launched a new certification program. The Leadership Excellence Program Certified Excellence Professional Program will offer certification to quality professionals who have worked in a quality or healthy workplace position. The program has five…
Quality Vision International Inc. recently broke ground on a new facility that will house its Kotem Technologies division in Hungary. The headquarters office, which is scheduled to open in 2007, is located in Budaörs, about 10 km southwest of Budapest. The new facility is also part of…
Rockwell Automation recently received Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 Customer Service Leadership Award.The award recognizes Rockwell Automation’s commitment to understanding customer requirements, and to providing high-quality products and services to customers around the world. In…
The U.S. Army recently announced that 41 students from its Sustaining Base Leadership Management program successfully completed lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification. The program is part of the Army Management Staff College, a 12-week program that focuses on executive-level leadership,…
The International Society of Six Sigma Professionals will host its 7th Annual Six Sigma Leadership Conference May 16-19 at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The conference will feature a keynote address from Charles O. Holliday Jr., chairman and CEO of DuPont.…
Cellnet Technology Inc. recently named Prasana Venkatesan as vice president of product development and supply chain. Venkatesan is a lean manufacturing and Six Sigma leader with more than 20 years of experience in energy-industry product development and manufacturing. He previously…
In an effort to improve its services and patron access, the Houston Public Library turned to Xerox Corp. and Six Sigma. The improvement effort began last year, when Xerox was hired to measure and analyze the operations at four branches of the Houston Public Library. Services analyzed…
Nader Fathi, SigmaQuest Inc. CEO, will deliver a presentation at an upcoming symposium for the medical device industry. “How to Ensure Medical Product Quality in a Zero-Tolerance World” will be delivered at the third-annual Surface Mount Technology Association’s Medical Electronics…
The Automotive Industry Action Group recently created a guideline to help automotive supply chains gain maximum value from problem-solving processes and improvement opportunities, regardless of what methodology or concept is used. AIAG’s Effective Problem Solving is a consensus of…
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in March, further improved in April, bringing it to its highest level since May 2002. The index now stands at 109.6, up from 107.5 in March. Consumers’ overall assessment of current conditions remains favorable, with those…