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The increased adoption of wireless technology in routine business operations has driven down costs and increased customer satisfaction, according to a new opinion poll of manufacturing companies.The phenomenon is being fueled by the availability of push-to-talk service, wireless local area networks…
A recently published survey shows that quality has a high profile in the Chinese population. The survey, conducted by the Shanghai Association for Quality and the Shanghai Academy of Quality Management, found that the Public Quality Awareness Index in China is 3.7, which means most people believe…
A new study shows that most health care providers support the idea of improving the quality of their services, but few have adopted initiatives to do it. The study, performed by health care quality organization URAC, sought to discover how medical management organizations have responded to a 2001…
More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the WESTEC 2005 exposition and conference, which will be held April 4–7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event is one of the 200 largest trade shows in North America, attracting large numbers of domestic and international manufacturers…
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans recently appointed four prominent industry leaders to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award panel of judges.The new judges are Lloyd Barker, Alcoa Inc. director of corporate quality; David C. Branch, Branch-Smith Resources Ltd. chairman and CEO;…
Leica Geosystems, an advanced metrology supplier, recently received the prestigious Imaging Solution of the Year award from Advanced Imaging magazine. The award was in recognition of Leica’s innovative LR200 noncontact scanner, which was used by Leica, MAGLEV Inc. and MetricVision to produce a…
Test and measurement equipment (T&ME) must be periodically calibrated to ensure it’s operating within its specified parameters. Of course, the uncertainty of the system used to calibrate the equipment shouldn’t add appreciable error to this process.Test and measurement equipment (T&ME) must…
Endevco has opened a European customer service center in an effort to expand its global customer care. The new office, located in Germany, will be the center of European operations for the company and will service its existing offices in the U.K., France and Spain. A major focus of the center will…
Instron, a provider of testing equipment designed to evaluate properties of materials and components, has recently been accredited to issue calibration certificates according to KOLAS regulations. The Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme issued the accreditation. “KOLAS accreditation allows us to…
Sypris Test & Measurement recently consolidated its calibration laboratory in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, with its new facility in Sayreville, New Jersey. The New Jersey lab, which is A2LA-accredited, has the unique capability to do fiber optic calibrations and RF calibrations to 26.5 GHz,…
The American Society for Nondestructive Testing recently awarded Mark Tierney a certificate for NDT Level III in radiography.Tierney, who is manager of NDT services at Laboratory Testing Inc., is also NDT Level III certified in visual & optical, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant and…
Shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging is quietly earning a growing place in industrial machine vision for quality inspection. SWIR imagers, sometimes also referred to as NIR imagers, can see objects and events that vision and thermal cameras cannot. Moreover, they’re’ smaller and lighter than all…
Occasionally, when I’m waiting for a flight, the small talk with fellow travelers will meander into discussions about the purpose of our respective trips. When I tell them that I’m on my way to conduct an audit, they immediately jump to the conclusion that I’m a certified public accountant (CPA)…
ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden recently spoke at the World Economic Forum, emphasizing the importance of standards in the world economy. The forum was held Jan. 26–28 in Davos, Switzerland, and was attended by several world leaders in industry, government and trade. Bryden pointed out that…
The international Organization for Standardization recently published ISO/IEC Guide 74, a standard designed to maximize the effectiveness of symbols. “The use of graphical symbols in signs, on labels and in product instructions and other product documentation has a number of advantages,” says John…
The first meeting of the ISO group that will develop a standard for social responsibility has been scheduled for March 7–11 in Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil. The chair of the working group is Jorge E.R. Cajazeira, Suzano Group excellence programme corporate manager; and the vice chair is Catarina…
SAI Global recently announced the acquisition of Ohio-based CRS Registrars Inc. for an undisclosed sum of money. SAI Global, which is based in Australia, reports that the transaction will add $5 million in revenue to its U.S. customer base. Additionally, the combination of CRS’s and SAI’s North…
Pharmaceutical companies are strengthening their quality assurance programs to comply with government regulations and customer expectations, according to a new survey published by Best Practices LLCThe research firm surveyed seven major pharmaceutical companies and found that they’re striving to:…
A survey conducted by Xerox Corp. found that 83 percent of manufacturing and engineering professionals say they spend too much time looking for information. The results underscore the importance of an effective document management strategy, the company reports. Nearly 90 percent of the respondents…
Imaging Sciences International Inc. recently announced its registration to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485.The developer and manufacturer of dental and maxillofacial radiography products, reports that the registration process is part of its expansion into the global marketplace, as it now is eligible to do…
Frost & Sullivan recently awarded Puritan Bennett, a provider of respiratory products, its 2004 Product Quality Leadership Award. The award was in recognition for Puritan Bennett’s innovative HELiOS Personal Oxygen System, which makes it possible for people requiring supplemental oxygen to “…
Mercury Interactive Corp. recently released a Chinese language version of its popular Quality Center software.The Chinese Mercury Quality Center is an integrated set of application delivery software, services and best practices that allow IT professionals to optimize the quality of business…
In layman’s language, Six Sigma means great and fast improvement, which leads to virtual perfection. Another indicator of a successful application of the Six Sigma methodology is the degree of breakthrough. Sometimes, when customers demand zero defects at any cost, suppliers are forced to add an…
Sigma Breakthrough Technologies Inc. recently formed a strategic partnership with Inogen Environmental Alliance to expand both companies’ Six Sigma knowledge and service globally. SBTI, which specializes in teaching companies to implement Six Sigma, will use the partnership to expand its client…
Information Resources Inc., a provider of enterprise market information, recently announced that its Six Sigma implementation has significantly improved the data quality it supplies to customers.Launched a year ago, the company’s Six Sigma program focused on improving the currency, completeness and…
