Today's Specials
 

Letters

Upgrading?
Don't Bother

I identify with John Guaspari's August 1999 editorial, but computers have served me well. Because each appli-cation environment (e.g., your PC) is unique, I doubt if the software can actually ever be finally inspected in the lab.

 Each upgrade opens up new horizons. It's a wonderful, exciting time, and I think we're dreaming (doomed) if we lobby for bug-free new software.

 -- Eric T. Dodge

We're long overdue for a consumer revolt against the cavalier, exploitive, anti-customer attitudes of the software producers. We need a Ralph Nader of software to promote the message that the prevailing ethos of shoddy products and forced obsolescence is unwelcome at any price.

 We wouldn't tolerate automobiles that quit running every day; why do we tolerate it in software? We demand that banks disclose all the details of loans and mortgages -- in plain English -- but we'll permit any anonymous geek to monkey with our computer files without even bothering to tell us what he's done.

 As customers, we'll get the products we deserve.

 -- Karl Albrecht
Albrecht International

ISO/TS 16949

What is to become of the Tooling and Equipment (TE) Supplement?

 -- Roxann Messerschmidt

QS-9000 didn't suit the needs of perishable tooling suppliers to manufacturers around the world. Will the new ISO standard attempt to address our needs? What requirements will the Big Three put on tooling suppliers in the future?

 -- Kevin Mayer
Sandvik Coromant

An AIAG sales assistant told me that ISO/TS 16949 has been "recalled" and is no longer available. Is there any other source?

 -- Mark Dodson

Radley M. Smith responds: The TE supplement will likely be updated to align with ISO/TS 16949, but there has been no official announcement.

 The Big Three don't give advance information on their plans; however, Ford and DaimlerChrysler's mandatory TE supplement requirements aren't in any way affected by ISO/TS 16949.

 ISO/TS 16949's first printing had an indexing error, so the AIAG withdrew the remaining stock and is reprinting. There's no change in the content.

Accept on Zero

C = 0 sampling plans [August 1999] -- wonderful fluff for the ignorant, equally as insulting to the knowledgeable. If you really want to do something, change to an LTPD plan and protect the consumer, and don't worry about fooling the ignorant.

 -- David Prins

How can I obtain a copy of MIL-HDBK-1916 and MIL-STD-1916?

 -- George M. Anthony
Boeing Corp.

To order MIL standards, call Global Engineering at (800) 854-7179 or visit global.ihs.com. -- Ed.

Slow and Steady

Greg Ferguson's August 1999 column was excellent. However, if you want to get real technical (or picky, as we quality types tend to be), there are no squares shown in Figure 1. They're all rectangles, about 1 mm taller than they are wide.

 -- Ken Ramsay

Change Behaviors to Improve Quality

H. James Harrington's July 1999 editorial was right on target. However, please consider these concerns:

1. We live in a business culture. The greed of CEOs who clearly believe personal aggrandizement is more important than institution building and human values does influence the thinking of many citizens.

2. You don't really believe business deserves a "10" for its quality efforts? There has been improvement, but business has a long way to go.

 -- L. Douglas Kiel, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Dallas