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General Electric Co. recently announced the acquisition of Everest VIT Inc., a provider of remote visual inspection equipment for industrial applications. Everest VIT, a subsidiary of Welch Allyn, will become part of GE Inspection Technologies, which is based in Huerth, Germany. GE reports that the…
A recurrent theme that dominates discussion on the establishment of corrective action programs is the practice of channeling problems through multiple conduits for assessment and resolution. Organizations inadvertently fragment their corrective action process by trying to address problems and…
In repetitive manufacturing, it’s possible to apply statistical process control (SPC) techniques to purchased components and manufacturing quality as well as scrap and yield. Statistical analysis is acceptable if a company mass-purchases or mass-manufactures the same product to the same standards…
TÜV America Inc. recently announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has approved an expansion of the registrar’s Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory scope of accreditation. OSHA approved the addition of 44 standards to TÜV America’s NRTL scope, expanding its…
A new survey finds that Six Sigma-related corporate training programs are six times more likely to be recognized as highly successful than those without the methodology. Additionally, only 15 percent of programs rated highly successful didn’t include Six Sigma. Three percent of the programs viewed…
The American Society for Quality and Creative Healthcare (CHC) will soon offer blended-learning Six Sigma training to quality professionals in the health care industry. Green Belt training sessions will be held Nov. 9–11 in Atlanta. Courses will also be offered at ASQ headquarters in Milwaukee and…
Most Six Sigma initiatives are project-oriented. And although implementing Six Sigma methodology on a project can lead to some improvement, a company can’t achieve full benefit of implementing Six Sigma. To maximize Six Sigma benefits, a corporation must commit to the methodology in its entirety.…
The 2nd annual Six Sigma in Service & Transactional Environments Summit will be held Oct. 20–21 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The conference, hosted by WCBF, will feature case studies and examples of how Six Sigma is being used in nonmanufacturing environments, an exploration of lean Six Sigma, tips…
A five-day conference will serve as an educational forum and networking opportunity for business and technical professionals new to information and data quality, as well as those who have already completed data quality improvement projects. The 17th annual Information Quality Conference will be…
iGrafx’s Partner Program has doubled since its inception at the beginning of the year, the company has announced. iGrafx’s business process analysis software is being used by training and consulting companies all over the world, including Australia, Spain, Jordan and India, among others. This year…
The Baldrige National Quality Program has released a new case study used to prepare 2005 Baldrige Award examiners. The case study of Landmark Dining Inc. involves a fictitious steak and seafood restaurant and illustrates a theoretical Baldrige Award candidate in the small business category. It also…
An Indian matchmaking company recently registered to ISO 9001. Kaakateeya Marriages Private Ltd. maintains a database of marriage-minded adults of more than 70,000 people. The company, based in Hyderabad, India, was established in 1981 and today has 25 branches with 300 employees. Members can…
FARO Technologies Inc. recently launched its Software Diversity Program and named Delcam Inc. as the program’s first partner. The SDP is an open-architecture software platform. More than 60 software platforms have joined the first general level, Open Architecture Partnership, which began with the…
“Achieving Breakthrough Improvement, No Capital Investment Required,” is the topic of a seminar planned as part of an upcoming conference to be held Sept. 28–30 in Chicago. The seminar will be facilitated by Paul Vragel, president of 4aBetterBusiness Inc. It’s part of the Manufacturing and Economic…
Infor and Shandong University Qilu Software College recently partnered to promote a study to enterprise applications in the global manufacturing industry. Infor will establish a scholarship and install an Infor Manufacturing Essentials Lab at the college to allow students to attend classes while…
Virginia and the District of Columbia recently started requiring Medicaid-participating health plans to conform to National Committee for Quality Assurance standards and measures. The agreement reflects the growing emphasis among state Medicaid programs on measuring and improving clinical quality.…
A new study shows sharp regional strengths and weaknesses in the quality of patient care at U.S. hospitals. The study was performed by Ashish Jha, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the…
TÜV América de México recently created the International Quality Management Systems University to offer quality courses to Spanish-speaking audiences. IQMSU offerings include undergraduate and graduate QMS programs, various QMS-related courses, training in ISO standards, quality auditing and…
The Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc. and SGS Systems & Services Certification will jointly perform the health care industry’s first audit that combines clinical best practices with ISO 9001. The audit will be performed on Southern Pharmaceutical Corp. in October. The organizations…
Medical Consultants Network Inc. recently announced a different approach to pricing and delivering its interactive lessons. By offering flexibility, its users can access any specific training course with a la carte options.MCN Training Solutions represents a new business model for training, with…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) recently adopted a new set of guidelines for its members’ direct-to-consumer advertising activities. PhRMA’s board of directors gave final approval to the Guiding Principles in July, but they only become effective in January 2006. The…
The groundswell of radio frequency identification devices (RFID) in health care may be clouded by the stomping of Wal-Mart, but the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are quietly becoming one of the top innovators and users of RFID, and they’ll likely outpace other market segments in the…
Jacqueline Crew was recently appointed vice president of pharmaceutical sciences quality at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. In her new role, Crew is responsible for leading worldwide quality assurance activities for SPRI in support of global clinical supplies manufacturing, pre-approval…
A recent companywide registration to ISO 13485 marked Accellent Inc.’s commitment to continuous improvement and zero defects, company officials recently reported.The standard applies specifically to the medical device industry and requires continuous improvement and reliable product quality. “This…
A new book reveals the secrets of making quality the center of manufacturing through the eyes of a struggling ice cream company. The Ice Cream Maker (Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, 2005), by Subir Chowdhury, tells the fictional story of Peter Delvecchio, the overwhelmed plant manager of Dairy…