(J.D. Power and Associates: West Lake Village, CA) -- After an improvement in the quality of newly launched models every year from 2007 to 2010, the initial quality of 2011 new-model launches has declined considerably, according to the J. D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S.

(Accu-Sort: Telford, PA) -- Accu-Sort Systems, a major supplier of automated ID systems, has launched its AccuLazr AL5010, a midrange laser barcode scanner.

(AMETEK: Kleve, Germany) -- SPECTRO Analytical Instruments, a unit of AMETEK Materials Analysis Division, unveiled the updated version of its SPECTROLAB metal analyzer at the GIFA foundry trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany, held June 28–July 2, 2011.

(3M Infection Prevention: St. Paul, MN) -- 3M Infection Prevention and RL Solutions announced a joint feasibility program to provide health care-facilities data on the rate of infection in real time, along with the costs associated with those infections.

(Kistler: Novi, MI) -- Kistler, a worldwide supplier of precision sensors, systems, and instrumentation for the dynamic measurement of pressure, force, torque, and acceleration, has introduced the Type 5630M series of high-performance process data collectors, designed to offer manufacturers and O

(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, RI) --  Hexagon Metrology Inc.

Most industry executives, military planners, research managers, or venture capitalists charged with assessing the potential of a research and development project probably are familiar with the wry twist on Arthur C.

In my work with both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing organizations, I have been faced with the challenge of improving quality. Toward that end, I'd like to offer a few simple lessons that I have learned.

Lean culture is largely defined by, or at least manifested in, engaged and empowered employees practicing voluntary kaizen.

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is an engineering tool that has been heavily adapted for use in Six Sigma programs where it is commonly used to decide which problem to work on.