In the classic Aesop fable, “The Fox and the Grapes,” a fox desires some grapes hanging high overhead. When he is unable to come up with a way to reach them, he convinces himself that the grapes are probably sour and therefore not desirable anyway.

Successful quality initiatives are based on understanding the true nature of “quality.” It resides in the minds of those who judge it and use it to make their purchase decisions—in other words, the market.

Some things never cease to amaze. We are meeting with the executive committee of a major global company, and we have just asked if innovation is one of their top strategic priorities.

(CMSC: Benbrook, TX) -- Join the Coordinate Metrology Society in Reno, July 12–16, at the spacious Grand Sierra Resort for the 26th annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC). 

(ISO 9000 Conference: Pittsburgh) -- The European Quality Initiative has announced that the 19th annual International Conference on ISO 9000 will be held March 13–15, 2011, in San Antonio, Texas, at the Grand Hyatt Riverwalk hotel.

If analysts are correct, the recent economic downturn may be slowing and even changing direction. The recession's effect on operations, however, has barely begun to manifest.

Customer satisfaction data resulting in various quality indexes abound. The airline industry is particularly watched.

(ASTM: West Conshohocken, PA) -- Standards developed by ASTM International’s technical committees—Committee F20 on Hazardous Substances and Oil Spill Response and Committee E47 on Biological Effects and Environmental Fate—play a role in both the initial response and follow-up to oil spills.

A woman in Southern California’s Inland Empire, age 53, is suffering from an unidentified neurological disorder.

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