A major misunderstanding regarding Six Sigma is its fabricated definition, (e.g. “Six Sigma is a fact-based decision-making methodology…”). I’ve seen people willing to attack anyone utilizing common sense to make decisions without facts.

Solectron Corp. recently opened a manufacturing facility in Singapore that will use Six Sigma and lean to produce medical products more efficiently.

A new book uses simple language and examples to introduce Six Sigma novices to the methodology.The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Six Sigma (Alpha Books, 2005), explains everything rank-and-file employees need to know about Six Sigma, including an overview of the system and a history of the method

An upcoming conference on global outsourcing will feature the use of Six Sigma in organizing a global workforce.

In its efforts to ramp up hybrid engine production, Ford Motor Co. will use design for Six Sigma for the first time in a major powertrain program. Ford’s new 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine, also known as the Duratec 35, will be built at the company’s Lima Engine Plant in Ohio.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers recently released The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road, a book that explores actual lean applications.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun formal evaluation of an application filed by TÜV Healthcare Specialists to become the first new accreditation service for U.S. hospitals in 40 years.

Statit Software Inc. recently released Performance Indicator & Management Dashboard (piMD), a new approach to measurement and analysis for the health care industry.

The 52nd annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS) will be held January 23–26 in California. Reliability and maintainability have been growing beyond their traditional role of prediction to include risk management, process verification and product validation.

A recently released, comprehensive study of patient care shows significantly improved care of patients with serious conditions. Premera Blue Cross, a Washington-based health insurer of upward of 1.3 million people, performed the study with several prominent medical groups across Washington.