(ANSI: New York) -- A limited number of seats are still available for the American National Standards Institute’s first-ever workshop on accreditation of certificate-issuing bodies. The Feb.

(The Pyzdek Institute: Tucson, AZ) — The Pyzdek Institute is currently offering Six Sigma Black Belt and Six Sigma Green Belt training at a substantial discount. If you act before the new year you will save $600 on Six Sigma Black Belt training, or $300 on Six Sigma Green Belt training.

(AirLoc: Franklin, MA) — Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are subject to floor disturbances from nearby production equipment, such as stamping presses, and forklift traffic, which affect the measuring accuracy of these sensitive machines.

(Delcam: Windsor, ON, Canada) -- Delcam International Inc., a global specialist supplier of machining software, will demonstrate its integrated CAM system for SolidWorks at the SolidWorks World 2010 exhibition to be held in Anaheim, California, Jan. 31 to Feb. 3.

(API: Rockvile, MD) -- Automated Precision Inc. recently announced that its pioneering efforts in volumetric accuracy for large machine tools (VALMT) was recognized with a Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award presented by the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT).

(ASTM: West Conshohocken, PA) --  ASTM International Committee E07 on nondestructive testing has recently approved three new standards on phased arrays, polymer matrix composites for aerospace applications, and digital imaging. The committee will be meeting in Plantation, Florida, on Jan.

(Aicon: Braunschweig, Germany) -- A separate measuring system for each measuring task; this philosophy is a thing of the past. Today, due to economic reasons, measurement equipment must be versatile.

(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- An American Society for Quality (ASQ) survey shows a majority of manufacturers are optimistic about a small economic uptick in 2010 at their organizations. However, respondents believe further cost-cutting measures will continue to be implemented.

(KnowWare International: Denver) -- The QI Macros SPC Software for Excel announces the addition of Levene's Test of variance in normal and non-normal data. One of the keys to Six Sigma in manufacturing and service industries is the reduction of variation.

On Dec. 4, a California-based consumer watchdog group announced that testing performed by them on the enormously popular Zhu Zhu Pets showed that levels of the heavy metal antimony were in excess of federal limits.