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The purpose of process data analysis is to answer the question, "May the observed data fluctuations reasonably be attributed to common-cause variation?" The principal use of the Shewhart control chart is to guide efforts for process improvement by assisting in the discovery of peculiarities in the…
Peter F. Drucker, one of the most influential management theorists of the 20th century, died Nov. 11 at his home in Claremont, California. He was 95. Drucker’s career as a writer, consultant and teacher spanned nearly 75 years. The author of 41 books that have been translated into 37 languages,…
Although five of its six facilities bore damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, without compliance to ISO 14001, recovering from the storms could have been a lot worse for DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations. The company, a 2005 Baldrige Award recipient, is the sole management and operations…
American consumers are more satisfied than ever with the quality of beer produced by the nation’s largest breweries, according to the American Society for Quality’s Quarterly Quality Report. This quarter, ASQ examined consumer ratings on the following manufactured nondurable goods: food and…
ANSI/ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is developing an accreditation program for the recycling industry. The scheme, called the Recycling Industry Operations Standard (RIOS) is a comprehensive, integrated standard based on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It includes six components: general…
ANSI/ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is developing an accreditation program for the recycling industry. The scheme, called the Recycling Industry Operations Standard (RIOS) is a comprehensive, integrated standard based on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It includes six components: general…
Six very diverse organizations recently received 2005 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality awards. President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced the award winners, which range from an automotive dealership to a community college and oil-industry business. It’s the first…
Many organizations are turning to outside operations-expense management companies due to the recognition of billing scrutiny as a key quality control and quality assurance issue. “When performing bill-auditing and rate-analysis services, many utilities in the United States have errors on at least…
Rockwell Automation Inc. recently acquired Datasweep Inc., a provider of manufacturing production-management software. Based in San Jose, California, Datasweep has customers in the pharmaceutical, high-tech, automotive and medical-device industries. Datasweep’s management team and employees will…
The Department of Defense recently awarded the Navy’s NAVAIR Depot North Island with the departments’ first-ever Continuous Process Improvement Achievement Award. The award cited the depot, which is based in Coronado, California, for being at the forefront of the Navy’s AIRSpeed program since its…
A new book shows how lean principals can be used to maximize training efficiency and improve job performance. Training Within Industry: The Foundation of Lean (Productivity Press, 2005), by Donald A. Dinero, shows how training within industry (TWI) was originally developed by the United States…
Buffalo Rock, the largest single-family, privately owned Pepsi bottler in the United States, recently received a 2005 Alabama Quality Award. Buffalo Rock is a process-driven organization that has implemented a number of innovative management practices to allow employee-partners to become more…
Missouri health care provider SSM Health Care recently received several quality awards. The awards were presented by the Excellence in Missouri Foundation, which administers the Missouri Quality Award and Missouri Team Quality Award programs. SSM St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles; SSM St.…
The International Organization for Standardization recently published a new version of International Workshop Agreement 1, which provides additional guidance for the health care sector. IWA 1:2005 has been made more user-friendly by incorporating improvements suggested by health care providers…
The Juran Institute and a South African firm have formed a strategic alliance to expand their operations. Together, Juran Institute and Thinking Dimensions Group will focus on pioneering resources in change interventions, business strategies, cost improvements and quality methodologies to a wider…
Well-known consultant Thomas McCarty, author of The Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook has joined Cohesia Corp.’s advisory board. McCarty has worked with more than 50 leadership teams at various companies and governmental organizations. His clients include Agilent, American Electric Power, Microsoft,…
Solectron Corp. recently selected Statit Software Inc. to provide statistical process control and data analysis solutions to its manufacturing facilities all over the world. Solectron, an electronics manufacturer, operates on five continents in more than 20 countries. The implementation of Statit’s…
In today’s fast-paced electronics industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) design, manufacture and service a broad range of products that include fuel cells, pacemakers and wireless devices. In addition to the technical challenges associated with designing such diverse and complex…
The Association for Operations Management (APICS) recently launched a new certification program for supply chain professionals. The Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designation was designed to meet the educational needs of those in the growing supply chain management field. It takes a…
Food Technology Corp., a supplier of food-texture measurement systems, and Mecmesin, a European supplier of quality testing solutions, have formed an alliance to jointly provide their offerings to the food industry. The companies will combine FTC’s TMS-Pro food-texture measurement system with…
Karen Brozowski was recently appointed to the position of East Region medical health services product manager for TÜV America Inc. Brozowski has worked for 20 years in the quality and regulatory industry. Most recently, she was TÜV America’s group vice president of regulatory affairs and quality…
The 2006 PharmaEdge Summit will examine the unprecedented pressures and public scrutiny facing the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The event will he held Jan. 22–24 at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes, South Carolina. Delegates will discuss benchmarking, best practices and…
Brooks Software recently formed a new engineering, services, marketing and sales team specifically focused on the life sciences and medical-device manufacturing industries. The team, led by Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Joseph Vinhais, will provide strategic direction and leadership to…
Citing concerns about bioterrorism preparedness, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has discouraged the extension of several prescription drug patents currently being discussed by Congress. Congress is currently being lobbied by drug companies to extend the patents on some drugs, but…
The application of Six Sigma at Red Robin restaurants dramatically improved the delivery of its milkshakes. Red Robin, a gourmet burger chain with locations throughout the United States and Canada, will make more than 5 million milkshakes in 2005. Only 36 percent of them were being served to…