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(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released an app version of its flagship magazine ISO Focus+ for the iPad and tablets running on Android. This free application will make key information and knowledge about ISO and ISO standards more accessible to users…
(Robert Half International: Menlo Park, CA) -- Does intuition play a role in today’s workplace? According to a new OfficeTeam study, it can. In fact, 88 percent of administrative professionals surveyed recently said they often make decisions based on gut instinct. OfficeTeam has developed a…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Preparing students with the 21st-century skills they need to ultimately gain access to college and future careers is a challenge facing educators throughout the United States. Implementing best practices and innovative approaches to help student achievement is the goal of the…
In part one of this series, we looked at the various challenges associated with supplier quality management, and how these challenges can inhibit an organization while building a system to interact with its supply chain. Now let’s look at the ways technology can help overcome these challenges.…
One of the most important events I remember experiencing years ago as part of my MBA was an introductory conversation I had with J. B. Black, Jr., a dean at Wright State University. One of the things I learned from Black was that a most important part of my forthcoming job as a manager was to “make…
Let me start with a confession: I’m an imposter in the metrology community. My background is in the design engineering community—well-meaning folks who don’t quite grasp the complexities of the manufacturing process and the measurement systems that support it.
Measurement people know the…
(SMGlobal: Apex, NC) -- SMGlobal has released FastMaint CMMS v. 6.0, a powerful maintenance management application for the maintenance of equipment and facilities. FastMaint CMMS lets managers track regular maintenance and emergency work, send work orders to the maintenance staff on their mobile…
(InfinityQS: Chantilly, VA) -- InfinityQS International Inc., a global provider of real-time quality control software solutions, has announced a strategic alliance with Hyla Soft Inc. to further extend its reach for localized implementations and support of its enterprise quality management hub…
(Newport Corp: Irvine, CA) -- Newport Corp., an industry leader in optical power measurement, has introduced the Series 819C/D high-power, silicon-based integrating sphere detectors that operate in the ultraviolet (UV down to 200 nm) and can handle up to 10 watts of optical power. The new CAL2…
(AssurX: Morgan Hill. CA) -- ICF International and AssurX Inc., leading providers of consulting services and technology solutions, have announced a strategic partnership to provide comprehensive, outsourced management solutions for North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) compliance for the…
(FoodQuestTQ: Frederick, MD) -- “We are very excited to announce the release of three new computer software tools that help food businesses establish quantitative risk management for food safety,” says Dr. Bart Michelson, president of FoodQuestTQ, a software developer and provider of affordable…
(ANSI: Washington, D.C.) -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has announced updated details for a number of events of World Standards Week (WSW) 2012. To be held Oct. 9–12, 2012, WSW is an annual event where members of the standards and conformity assessment community come together…
I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but at 36,000 feet inside a Boeing 747, things are pretty cozy, and the guy across the aisle from me wasn’t exactly shy. He was having what sounded like a not so pleasant conversation with a client. It seems he began a transaction based on some assumptions that may not…
Have you ever walked through a museum and noticed a sculpture that you just wanted to reach out and touch? Of course you didn’t risk it because the first rule of museums is that you can look, but you don’t touch. But your desire to reach for certain pieces may have been exactly the reaction that…
If you're responsible for managing operations, the following scenario won’t be new to you: You have a meeting with the executive team tomorrow, and you are running around to get information on metrics for your presentation. The next day, you’re expected to report on the overall performance of your…
Those of us who are accustomed to work with standards like ISO/TS 16949 are also accustomed to “hear voices”: the voice of the customer, the voice of the stakeholders, and so on. The only voice we are not accustomed to hear is the voice of quality. Perhaps this should be called the “sounds of…
(Microscan: Renton, WA) -- Microscan, a global technology leader in barcode, machine vision, and lighting solutions, will demonstrate its latest products, designed to ensure process traceability and increase throughput in clinical applications, in the company’s booth, No. 2537, at the American…
(LEI: Cambridge, MA) -- The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), a nonprofit education, publishing, research, and conference organization, has opened registration for the “Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata” workshop that helps companies create and sustain cultures of continuous improvement.
The workshop…
(SME: Dearborn MI) -- During the next five years, there will be up to one million military personnel returning to civilian life and getting into the U.S. civilian workforce. Juxtapose this with the 600,000 jobs currently open in advanced manufacturing, and the anticipated need for 10 million…
(AMT: McLean, VA) -- May U.S. manufacturing technology orders (USMTO) totaled $473.92 million according to AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 14.5 percent from April and up 19.0 percent when compared with…
(InfinityQS: Chantilly, VA) -- It’s no news that all the departments in a company are fully interrelated. Most of the time the quality department plays a central role that affects all other departments’ metrics. For example, if a product does not meet the standard quality levels, then that affects…
In an earlier column, I focused on innovation as I pondered the growing importance of the topic to U.S. competitiveness and how to heighten attention to the topic in the 2013–2014 Criteria for Performance Excellence. This month, I am focusing on a second topic of growing importance to business and…
(FDA: Washington, D.C.) -- In response to requirements in legislation that passed Congress with broad bipartisan support, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed that most medical devices distributed in the United States carry a unique device identifier, or UDI.
A UDI system has the…
There has been no shortage of innovations in leak detection design since Uson first developed automated leak testing methods for the U.S. space mission a half century ago and then brought these techniques to various commercial applications. Last year, for example, Uson unveiled a leak tester that…
(Gigahertz-Optik: Newburyport, MA) -- White optically diffuse reflecting material is useful in many lighting design, laser, and reflection and transmission applications, including integrating sphere coating, laser cavities, and reflectance standards.
Gigahertz-Optik’s white ODM98 optically diffuse…
