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Standardization was presented as a way of minimizing threats from global challenges such as climate change at the World Economic Forum, held Jan. 24–28 in Davos, Switzerland. More than 1,000 economic and industry leaders attended the event, at which a “shifting power equation” was noted…
The Independent Association of Accredited Registrars recently approved RABQSA International Inc.—an accredited personnel and training certification body—as its newest member. The IAAR is an association of accredited management system registrars that operate in North America to promote the…
The American National Standards Institute’s Homeland Security Standards Panel met recently to discuss ways in which standards could help boost emergency preparedness in the public and private sectors. The meeting was the final in a series that examined standards suggestions based on…
San Francisco will be the site of a week-long meeting of the International Accreditation Forum’s technical and executive committees. Held at the Hilton San Francisco, March 24–30, the event will be hosted by the ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Board (ANAB). The IAF’s technical…
The International Organization for Standardization recently selected the members of a jury that will choose winners of a new award for the teaching of standardization in higher education. The ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization selection committee is: George Arnold, ISO…
Auditing clause 7.3 of the design and development section of ISO 9001 can be a challenge for the auditor and the auditee. Unlike purchasing, manufacturing, shipping or order processing, it’s rarely carried out on a regular or consistent schedule. The level of activity ranges from the…
Previous columns have addressed some of the topics that provide a foundation for understanding the scope and complexity of the worldwide movement to achieve hazardous-substance free (HSF) products and production processes. This month, let’s take a look at how people have been behaving and why they’…
A new partnership will make Muddy Boots Software’s Quickfire mobile auditing and quality assurance solution available as part of Agentrics’ GenNovation management suite. “By offering Muddy Boots Quickfire as part of our private-label solution, retailers can now incorporate a higher…
AppSense Ltd. recently announced its participation in Citrix Systems Inc.’s Citrix Ready and the latest release of Management Suite software. Citrix Ready allows Citrix channels and customers to determine the best third-party solutions and products for use in Citrix environments. “Citrix…
The American Society for Quality will sponsor its annual Quality Institute for Healthcare conference April 30 to May 2 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.Designed for all quality practitioners and health care leaders interested in developing the quality…
The International School of Management Excellence is partnering with the Indian Statistical Institute to award Six Sigma Black Belts to students in ISME’s Post Graduate Programme in Management course.ISME says it is the only school training students to solve problems on a scientific…
Hyperion Solutions Corp., which makes business performance management (BPM) software, has agreed to buy Decisioneering Inc., a provider of decision analysis software.Business performance management entails predictive analytic applications that enable organizations to maximize success,…
Last year I had the good fortune of doing some consulting with B&C Specialty Products in Hopeulikit, Georgia. B&C does light manufacturing, primarily plastic molding and assembly, and they also distribute imported products produced by companies in the Far East. They have about…
The SGS Group recently published a standard for Six Sigma that requires third-party auditing. The Six Sigma Standard consists of 65 program indicators and incorporates formal program audits done by SGS. Programs that score high enough on the audit qualify for Six Sigma Program…
Hyperion Solutions Corp., a provider of business performance management software, reports that its acquisition of Decisioneering Inc. will allow it to integrate risk management principles more deeply into its software products. Hyperion will operate Decisioneering as a stand-alone business…
Since “Sick Sigma” was published in April 2006, the public has become much more aware of Six Sigma’s failings. There is little risk today of being burnt at the stake for pointing out Six Sigma’s many faults. Last fall, even Dilbert discredited Six Sigma, pointing out that Six Sigma…
The U.S. Army recently reported a dramatic operations improvement at a European Humvee engine rebuilding facility due to the application of lean Six Sigma.A team of Black Belts and Green Belts organized a week-long Rapid Improvement Event (RIE) at the Rhein Ordnance Barracks in Germany in…
Nineteen ProfitLine employees recently graduated as Black Belts from the Lean/Six Sigma Program at the University of San Diego. The graduation marks the first wave of ProfitLine employees to complete the program, which was led by Keith Boyle, a Master Black Belt and principle consultant…
A few years ago, lean thinking came to light. It sounded similar to what I had learned about the “pull” system. I wondered why we renamed cycle time reduction, or just in time (JIT), “lean.” Cycle time reduction was easy to understand and related to responsiveness to customer demands and waste…
The American Society for Quality will host its seventh-annual Six Sigma Conference Feb. 12 and 13 in Phoenix, Arizona. The event will be held at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. Featured speakers include David C. Everitt, John Deere & Co. agricultural division president;…
B. Braun Medical AG, a supplier of health care products based in Switzerland, recently chose Sparta Systems TrackWise as its compliance and quality management system. TrackWise—Web-based tracking software for electronic tracking and trending, and the enterprisewide management of regulatory…
Agile Software Corp., a provider of product lifecycle management solutions, recently reported that CooperVision, a fast-growing manufacturer of contact lenses, has installed Agile Product Quality Management as its global quality solution earlier than expected.“It was the easiest and…
The Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership has helped Drafting Designs become registered to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. Drafting Designs develops and documents many different products in a variety of industries, from marine to aircraft.“We wanted to become an ISO-certified facility, but we needed…
Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service are developing cutting-edge devices to increase food quality and detect contamination throughout the production process.Yud-Ren Chen at the ARS Instrumentation and Sensing Laboratory leads the team designing portable inspection tools, which…
Have you noticed that the airwaves no longer carry informative, unadulterated news anymore? “Breaking News” has become the standard, thus all news is presented in an excited, almost breathless, tone. We at home now question the urgency of any segment, particularly when we discover that a cat…