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The American Customer Satisfaction Index fell in the first quarter of 2005, an indication that there might be further economic slowdown on the horizon. The ACSI for the first quarter of 2005 stands at 73.0, down 0.8 percent from last quarter. The factors driving this decline are falling inflation-…
EMS Consulting Group Inc. will host a public lean manufacturing certificate program in San Diego this fall. The program includes six course modules designed to provide participants with targeted managerial and technical competencies in lean manufacturing. Participants will learn how to apply value…
A new agreement between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and health care quality improvement organizations focuses on reducing nursing assistant turnover rates in more than 2,000 nursing homes. Nurse aide turnover averages 71 percent per year, according to the American Health…
Caterpillar Inc. and StatSoft Inc. have joined forces to release PROCEED, a turnkey software solution designed for manufacturing companies’ efforts to model, optimize and simulate complex processes. PROCEED is based on the integration of Caterpillar’s patent-pending…
A recent benchmarking study examines best practices in pharmaceutical launches, and includes case studies and insights from some of the industry’s biggest companies.The study, performed by Best Practices LLC, includes best practices from Merck & Co., Eli Lilly & Co., Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline…
ClinPhone Group Ltd. recently announced the appointment of four new business development managers, part of the company’s plan to strengthen commercial operations in the United States. ClinPhone is a specialist clinical technology organization that works with leading global biotechnology and…
Cognex Corp. recently released ProofRead, an optical character verification (OCV) system that ensures pharmaceutical label information is printed correctly.With ProofRead, manufacturers can ensure the right data, lot or product code is printed, the right labels placed on the right products, and the…
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering is gearing up for its first global good manufacturing practices conference, to be held Sept. 19–21 in Prague, Czech Republic. The conference will focus on important regulatory and industry insights from expert presenters from all over the…
According to research from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the use of an electronic system that authenticates individual packages while they’re on the supply chain protects both the industry and patients. The use of radio frequency identification chips (RFID) on…
Several Baldrige Award winners and award supporters met with key Congress members last month at the annual Quest for Excellence conference. The conference was hosted by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program and gives award winners an opportunity to share their successful quality…
The Baldrige National Quality Program is seeking comments for discussion during Improvement Day 2005. Multiple comments on a given theme will be added to the agenda for the event, which will be held July 27. Topics might include but aren’t limited to: The award’s Criteria for Performance…
ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and QSU Publishing Co. will conduct a detailed survey that will examine the costs, benefits and savings associated with registration to ISO 14001. The fourth in a series of surveys conducted by QSUP and Quality Systems Update since 1993, the survey will…
Kelly Services, a Fortune 500 employment service, recently had 1,200 of its offices registered to ISO 9001. he registrations were awarded by DNV Certification. Kelly Services offers staffing solutions including temporary placements, staff leasing, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance will release Quality Compass 2005 this summer. The online tool is described as indispensable for selecting a health plan, conducting competitor analysis, quality improvement, benchmarking and health care research. It will be released to the public on…
My twin grandsons celebrated their first birthday on July 1, 2001. And while the majority of people reading this article don’t know Alex and Austen, there is another set of twins celebrating their fifteenth birthday this year whose names are familiar. Born in 1986, they are Six Sigma and Activity…
Failure mode and effect analysis, or FMEA, is an attempt to delineate all possible failures, their effects on the system, the likelihood of occurrence and the probability that the failure will go undetected. FMEA provides an excellent basis for classification of characteristics such as identifying…
Decisioneering Inc. recently announced that Breakthrough Management Group Inc. has joined its Six Sigma Partner Program. The partnership will allow BMG and Decisioneering to work together to promote Decisioneering’s Crystal Ball software program in Six Sigma training initiatives. Decisioneering…
An upcoming seminar will focus on the complementary use of lean, Six Sigma and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements to maintain compliance and improve performance. “Benefiting from Sarbanes-Oxley Requirements Through Beyond Lean Six Sigma Techniques,” will be held July 19 in Chicago. It’s designed for vice…
A new book that explores the use of an integrated lean Six Sigma as a problem-solving methodology was recently released by Rath & Strong. Rath & Strong’s Integrated Lean Six Sigma Roadmap is the company’s latest product. It provides a powerful methodology for improving all types of business…
SigmaQuest Inc. and OpSource have formed an alliance to deliver SigmaQuest’s SigmaSure product performance intelligence software in an on-demand model. OEMs that want to use SigmaQuest’s software for managing product development quality across global manufacturing sites can choose to host SigmaSure…
Two upcoming conferences hosted by WCBF will feature the use of Six Sigma in very different contexts. “Six Sigma for Financial Services” will be held June 21–23 at the Westin New York at Times Square, in New York City. It has been designed to be applicable for beginners, intermediate and advanced…
ASI DataMyte Inc. recently acquired Universal Elektronik GmbH.Universal Elektronik is a German manufacturer and reseller of products for torque and gap and flush applications, primarily in the automotive markets. It’s been a distributor of ASI DataMyte’s products since 1986 and is the European…
A network of state-sponsored Baldrige Award programs has formed an alliance in an effort to bring added recognition—and possibly added funding—to their programs. The Alliance for Performance Excellence was formed about 18 months ago. Operated by an almost all volunteer board of directors, it serves…
Hexagon Metrology released its new TesaStar M motorized probe head at a recent exposition held in Germany. The TesaStar M is a shank-mounted, motorized articulating probe head for CMMs. It’s capable of indexing in 5-degree increments, ±180 degrees in revolutions, and +90 to -115 degrees in pitch.…
A new book helps budding project managers pass the test that allows them to become certified project management professionals. Michael W. Newell’s Preparing For The Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam: Third Edition (AMACOM, 2005) reflects the most current version of the test.…
