All News
6 Sigma Technology Group recently released GateKeeper 2.0, a software program designed to manage the security of technical, construction and facility projects in secure buildings. The company specializes in software that combines Six Sigma and application development. GateKeeper 2.0 automates end-…
Larry R. Smith has been appointed senior vice president of design and innovation of the Juran Institute.Smith worked for Ford Motor Co. for 27 years. Most recently, he was quality coach for Ford’s Heritage Team, which was responsible for revitalizing one of its manufacturing facilities. He was…
Pelion Systems Inc. and the Lean Learning Center recently formed a partnership to provide lean curriculum and consulting to manufacturing clients that are implementing lean processes. The companies will combine their areas of expertise to provide the services. Pelion Systems will offer the solution…
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which has implemented an aggressive Six Sigma program, recently received one of the nation’s top awards for quality health care. The hospital, located in Chicago, received the 2005 National Quality Health Care Award from the National Committee for Quality Health Care…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently released a draft of its new Quality Plus standard. Comments on the draft are due by April 18. The standard, compliance to which is voluntary, identifies organizations that have adopted innovative practices or that promote quality care. It…
Most experts don’t see an end to the offshoring trend, but with an estimated half of all offshoring operations falling short of expectations, companies considering sending their operations overseas have to consider the risks—not merely the rewards—of doing so. The findings come from a report, “…
PowerSteering has acquired Breakthrough Management Group Inc.’s software assets. The two companies have entered into an agreement in which BMG will offer its project tracking software along with the complete suite of PowerSteering software. BMG will continue to provide Six Sigma solutions worldwide…
After two years of steady increases, customer satisfaction with goods and services purchased and consumed in the United States has taken a dramatic downturn, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. The ACSI for the fourth quarter of 2004 was 73.6, down from 74.3, the largest…
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield recently received Case Management Accreditation from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based health care accreditation agency that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC’s standards require insurers to establish a process to assess, plan and implement…
Eastman Kodak Co. recently acquired OREX, a provider of nondestructive test equipment for specialty medical facilities. OREX has 84 employees, is headquartered in Yokneam, Israel, and is now part of Kodak’s Health Group’s Non-Destructive Testing group, which produces KODAK INDUSTREX digital systems…
It was 25 years ago that Philip Crosby’s watershed book, Quality is Free, was published—a landmark that Philip Crosby Associates will celebrate all year long. At a time when peers such as Deming, Ishikawa and Juran were focusing on the highly technical aspects of quality measurement and control,…
The largest North American trade show dedicated to innovation in manufacturing opens this week in Chicago. National Manufacturing Week features a Manufacturing Town Hall panel discussion with top government and trade officials, the National Association of Manufacturers’ 2005 Annual Survey and the…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance and the American Board of Internal Medicine will offer a new program to physicians seeking to maintain their ABIM certification and the opportunity to more easily earn a new distinction: recognition from NCQA and its partners. The agreement will allow…
Canada’s National Quality Institute will host an April networking event focusing on mental health and addiction in the workplace. The event, titled “Working Toward Mental Health and Excellence at Work in Canada,” will be held April 12 in Toronto. It will include a town hall-style panel and keynote…
Omnex Systems LLC recently released EwQMS 2.0, a software suite aimed at allowing quality managers to quickly build, approve, manage and analyze critical quality documents for continual improvement. By using a centralized repository and interchangeable software modules, EwQMS users can tailor…
The Performance Management Group recently announced plans to upgrade its management training boot camp to include team leadership, metrics and scorecard training. “Technical companies that have promoted new managers because of their technical skills find their new leaders lacking the requisite…
The American Society for Quality announced the following quality leaders as ASQ Fellows: Dr. Inteaz Alli, professor of food quality assurance at McGill University G. Dennis Beecroft, president of G. Dennis Beercroft Inc. Ronald Gary Berglund, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center quality…
Excel Partnership Inc. will offer a Six Sigma training course for professionals who want to become familiarized with the methodology. Green Belts are defined as practitioners who spend 5–20 percent of their working hours in support of Black Belt or Six Sigma projects of their own. Course…
Software developer iGrafx recently released Process for Six Sigma, its new suite for practitioners of the popular methodology.The solution includes features customized to Six Sigma, including design of experiments, data fitting, lean tools and value-stream mapping, hierarchical process maps and…
Food & Drug Law Weekly recently reported that one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands is using Six Sigma to improve its management of clinical trials. The Atrium Medical Center currently conducts about 70 clinical trials per year for major pharmaceutical companies. Its new system will…
Owners and managers of small to mid-sized organizations will learn how to use Six Sigma to improve operations at a full-day workshop scheduled for next month in Moon Township, Philadelphia.The workshop, “Achieving Customer Focus Through Six Sigma for the Small and Midsize Organization,” will be…
FM Solutions, a facility management consulting and technology company, recently added a lean Six Sigma contractor management function to its WorkOasis technology platform.The addition includes processes for sourcing service contractors, handling service requests and paying invoices. It combines…
Manufacturing industry analyst Bob Parker predicted in InformationWeek magazine that more manufacturing companies will combine lean and Six Sigma to improve efficiency and quality in 2005.Parker, vice president of the Manufacturing Insights group at the market research and advisory firm IDC, also…
A Swiss software company recently added a new quality analysis tool to the popular Marketing Manager for Excel software.The tool, named Quality Manager, allows marketing agents and business analysts to monitor a wide range of activities, such as traffic at call centers, the quality of ongoing…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance plans to honor several high-profile figures, including U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and former U.S. Representative Newt Gingrich, for their contributions toward improving the quality of health care in the United States.The NCQA Health Quality Awards…