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The Juran Institute and a South African firm have formed a strategic alliance to expand their operations. Together, Juran Institute and Thinking Dimensions Group will focus on pioneering resources in change interventions, business strategies, cost improvements and quality methodologies to a wider…
Well-known consultant Thomas McCarty, author of The Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook has joined Cohesia Corp.’s advisory board. McCarty has worked with more than 50 leadership teams at various companies and governmental organizations. His clients include Agilent, American Electric Power, Microsoft,…
Karen Brozowski was recently appointed to the position of East Region medical health services product manager for TÜV America Inc. Brozowski has worked for 20 years in the quality and regulatory industry. Most recently, she was TÜV America’s group vice president of regulatory affairs and quality…
The 2006 PharmaEdge Summit will examine the unprecedented pressures and public scrutiny facing the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The event will he held Jan. 22–24 at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes, South Carolina. Delegates will discuss benchmarking, best practices and…
Brooks Software recently formed a new engineering, services, marketing and sales team specifically focused on the life sciences and medical-device manufacturing industries. The team, led by Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Joseph Vinhais, will provide strategic direction and leadership to…
Citing concerns about bioterrorism preparedness, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has discouraged the extension of several prescription drug patents currently being discussed by Congress. Congress is currently being lobbied by drug companies to extend the patents on some drugs, but…
The Society of Women Engineers recently granted Melissa Tata a Distinguished New Engineer award for engineering leadership in Six Sigma and management. Tata, a senior manager of inventory control for Dell Inc., was also recognized for her dedication to teaching girls about engineering and the…
A new book reveals that lean initiatives are more strategic when extended from the supply chain into distribution channels. Value-Driven Channel Strategy: Extending the Lean Approach (ASQ Quality Press, 2005), is based on research from the manufacturing and service industry. Authors Eric Reidenbach…
Decisioneering Inc. and Vose Consulting US LLC have recently formed an alliance to launch Decisioneering Services, a new service for Six Sigma practitioners. The service offers on-site and off-site consulting, providing clients with the resources and expertise they need to solve complex problems.…
The application of Six Sigma at Red Robin restaurants dramatically improved the delivery of its milkshakes. Red Robin, a gourmet burger chain with locations throughout the United States and Canada, will make more than 5 million milkshakes in 2005. Only 36 percent of them were being served to…
Michael F. Brennan is the new managing director of the International Automotive Oversight Bureau.The IAOB is the U.S. oversight office of the International Automotive Task Force. Brennan will be responsible for the bureau’s oversight of ISO/TS 16949 compliance. Brennan joined the IAOB in January.…
KB Home Tucson is the first and only builder in Arizona to achieve National Housing Quality certification, according to the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. KB Home Tucson has built nearly 7,000 homes since 1998. In 2004, homebuyers gave the company a 97-percent customer-…
RABQSA has announced the suspension of its Certification Training Plan, requiring auditors to transition to competency-based certification schemes for quality management systems (QMS), environmental management systems (EMS), food safety, and occupational health and safety (OH&S) audits. The…
Quality professionals in Shanghai have a 10-percent higher pass rate on quality-certification exams than quality professionals in other parts of China. The Shanghai Academy of Quality Management reports that the nationwide average pass rate for the exam is 30 percent, while Shanghai’s average pass…
A new survey of 1,200 Six Sigma professionals shows that the more companies invest in their Six Sigma projects, the greater the return. Companies that invested less than $500,000 were most likely to break even, at best, while companies that invested $2,000,000 or more were most likely to see a two…
PowerSteering Software recently released Enterprise 4.6, a product that provides unprecedented functionality for Six Sigma practitioners. Falling closely on the heels of the recent PowerSteering Enterprise release that contains more than 50 enhancements specifically geared to improve Black Belt…
Minitab Inc. recently released MINITAB 14.2, a Japanese-language version of its award-winning statistical analysis software. Minitab launched its original Japanese-language version of MINITAB in 2004. The new release improves translation and adds several features developed in response to customer…
Watchfire, a provider of software and services to manage online risk, quality and compliance, has been awarded the prestigious HP/IAPP Privacy Innovation Award. The award is sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and managed exclusively by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.Evaluated by a…
The California Council for Excellence is offering two upcoming events for quality professionals. The organization will host a two-day workshop in Rancho Bernardo, California, entitled, “Applying the Baldrige Criteria in Your Organization.” The event, to be held Dec. 5–6, will feature Karen Trisko,…
The American Society for Quality and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Quality Forum plan to roll out quality management training programs for Indian firms. The program will include discussions around three topics: quality engineering, Six Sigma and plans for a major…
The International Organization for Standardization has published a new edition of ISO 9000, “Quality management systems—Fundamentals and vocabulary.”The updated version introduces no changes to the descriptions of the fundamentals of quality management systems, but instead defines the vocabulary…
If you’re wondering what the cost of nonconformance to standards and quality firefighting is to your company, Philip Crosby Associates Inc. has a workshop for you. The Price of Nonconformance workshop focuses on cost-of-quality fundamentals such as improving operational performance, sustaining cost…
A recently released study finds that best-in-class manufacturing companies optimize performance through structured outsourcing programs, continuous improvement initiatives and shared customer-focused measurements. The research was performed by Aberdeen Group, a value-chain strategies consultancy,…
Breakthrough Performance Press, a division of Breakthrough Management Group, recently released a book that explores the use of TRIZ to innovate new products and processes—without outsourcing. Insourcing Innovation by David Silverstein, Neil DeCarlo and Michael Slocum, deconstructs TRIZ and profiles…
Excel Partnership Inc. recently became the first U.S. company to achieve RABQSA certification for its environmental management systems course. The certification was awarded after Excel Partnership proved that the course materials adhere to a strict set of requirements. In January, RABQSA introduced…