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Metris, a provider of laser-based scanning applications, recently announced the simultaneous acquisition of Krypton N.V., of Belgium; and MetricVision, a Washington-based company. Krypton develops and produces quality control and testing solutions based on linear camera technology. MetricVision…
SRI Quality System Registrar has a new president and chief operating officer, Greg Swan. Swan has more than 30 years experience in quality management, 15 in auditing and certifying management systems. He’s the former president of Bureau Veritas Quality International North America Inc. and the…
Sypris Test & Measurement Inc. has added electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic conformance (EMC) testing capabilities to its offerings. The services are available in Sypris’ facilities in Burlington and North Billerica, Massachusetts; and Wayne, New Jersey. The company reached…
Cummins Inc., a global designer and manufacturer of service engines and related technologies, recently celebrated its success with Six Sigma with a day-long expo of its projects and a presentation of employee awards. Cummins reports that it has completed more than 3,000 Six Sigma projects since it…
Infor Global Solutions will host a Webinar to address the increasing use of lean to improve the delivery of automotive components. Currently, the global automotive industry spends $3.8 trillion on logistics to move parts and supplies from source to final product. Vast amounts of materials are in…
The fourth annual Manufacturing Excellence Conference will be held June 20–23 in St. Louis. The event will bring together lean, Six Sigma and quality professionals, and will feature strategies for manufacturing organizations to increase profits and improve efficiencies. Speakers include Ross Robson…
MoreSteam.com has expanded its course offerings to include training for Lean Six Sigma Black Belts. The training includes the following topics: value-stream mapping, spaghetti diagrams, continuous flow & Little’s Law, level-loaded processing, quick changeovers, pull-scheduling systems, 5Ss,…
Leading manufacturing principles are no longer for manufacturing processes alone, according to executives from a variety of service industries using lean principles to dramatically improve administrative, professional and service value streams. The Lean Enterprise Institute will host a summit June…
Thomas V. Fernandes, president and CEO of AirTronics Gage & Machine, has acquired Air Gage Co., a manufacturer of gaging systems.Fernandes reports that the acquisition won’t change the day-to-day operations of either company. “This move will allow us to concentrate on our core area of expertise…
An upcoming workshop will focus on the integration of ISO 9001 and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. The event, scheduled for May 4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will show how the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 can be used to support the system of internal controls mandated by the standards, and how…
For several decades, competition in the health care industry has been touted as the way to curb rising prices by reducing inefficient practices and improving quality and safety, but a new study suggests that it may not be as effective as researchers once believed. The study of 341 HMOs shows that…
The fourth annual Manufacturing Excellence Conference will be held June 20–23 in St. Louis, Missouri. It will bring together lean, Six Sigma and quality professionals, and will feature strategies for manufacturing organizations to increase profits and improve efficiencies. Speakers will include…
TÜV America recently updated the organizational structure of its electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) operations in Minnesota to improve responsiveness, customer focus and the overall quality of its services. Sandy Downs, an EMC team member for nearly eight years, was promoted to the position of…
HealthStream Inc., a provider of learning solutions for the health care industry, recently acquired Data Management & Research Inc., a provider of quality and satisfaction surveys and other research-based measurement tools. HealthStream purchased all of DMR’s shares for approximately $10.6…
Honeywell recently announced that its Electronic Materials unit received the Best Quality Award from Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor unit. Samsung noted that Honeywell was chosen for the award because of a close customer/supplier relationship and cooperative technology development in 2004. “We’…
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Quality Forum are now accepting applications for the 2005 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The annual award recognizes health care workers and organizations that make significant contributions to…
Peter J. Kolesar is the newest elected member of the Juran Institute’s board of directors. Kolesar, a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, teaches courses in statistics, quality and productivity management. He holds a joint appointment with the university’s School of…
Nikon Instruments Inc. recently announced the integration of its semiconductor inspection and Nexiv vision measuring systems under the company’s SITECH division, which is based in Tempe, Arizona.The purpose of the move is twofold. First, Nikon hopes to improve customer responsiveness by building on…
A workshop focusing on using the senses as quality tools will be held June 6–10 in Florida. The course will be facilitated by Nancy McDonald, president of M&M Consulting & Laboratory Inc. She will show participants how to use their senses of taste, smell and sight to evaluate the overall…
Decisioneering Inc. recently released a sped-up version of its Crystal Ball software, version 7.1. Crystal Ball 7.1 Extreme Speed allows user to run simulations 100-times faster than previous versions. In creating the solution, Decisioneering partnered with Frontline Systems Inc., developer of the…
Six Sigma has had dramatic effects on many of the companies that have implemented it, but understanding the methodology is often difficult for those just starting the process. A new book, Six Sigma for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, 2005), details the process in lay terms for easy understanding.…
MoreSteam.com recently pledged to donate $250,000 in lean Six Sigma training to Starfish Family Services, a Detroit-area social services agency. The training will allow the agency to become more efficient with the use of its funds and other resources, says Bill Hathaway, MoreSteam.com president. “I…
Voltaix Inc., a manufacturer of chemicals and gases for the semiconductor and photovoltaics industries, recently announced that 15 of its employees recently received Green Belt certification. Voltaix provided the employee training to invest in customer support relationships and improve product…
Canadian real estate companies are reportedly finding Six Sigma a useful tool to reduce data errors. The Canadian newspaper, Globe and Mail reports that although the industry has been slow to fully adopt the methodology, an increasing number of companies are using it to drive the decision-making…
Minitab recently started offering its software to academic customers at discounted rates through e-academy.com, an online provider of brand-name software. The site offers MINITAB 14 in multiple languages, MINITAB French 13 and Minitab Quality Companion for as little as $29.99 per semester. Free,…