All Features
Quality Digest
The U.S. health care system has huge quality gaps that contribute to 42,000 to 79,000 avoidable deaths every year, according to a recent survey released by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. “State of Health Care Quality 2004,” released on Sept. 23, found that the quality of care…
Quality Digest
Senators unanimously passed H.R. 3389 on Sept. 24, a bill that establishes a not-for-profit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. “This is great news for the entire country as well as the quality community and the American Society for Quality, which has been the driving force…
Quality Digest
MetricStream Inc. announced the inclusion of application delivery (“zaplet”) via e-mail in its latest release, MetricStream 3.5. The capability will allow organizations to engage relevant internal casual users and external partners in the compliance process through e-mail without having to learn…
Quality Digest
ISO recently awarded the subcommittee responsible for developing ISO 9001:2000 with the prestigious Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award. In presenting the award, ISO President Oliver Smoot praised ISO/TC 176, which developed the standard, for its “rigorous and demanding” project management…
Quality Digest
Organizers of the 2004 International Manufacturing Technology Show are calling the event a resounding success and are already planning the 2006 show. “Everything went exactly the way it was supposed to,” says AMT representative Lucy Coburn. “It was a big success.” A total of 86,232 people…
Quality Digest
Sigma Breakthrough Technologies Inc. recently announced a major quality effort for the health care industry. The consulting company has developed a strain of Six Sigma and lean principles that apply specifically to health care professionals, an initiative that will increase return on investment…
Quality Digest
Frost & Sullivan named Datasweep Inc. as the global market leader in manufacturing execution systems (MES) in its recently released report, “World Manufacturing Execution Systems 2004.” The report evaluates companies based on real-time information management, shop floor management, quality…
Quality Digest
Sypris Test & Measurement has relocated its New Jersey calibrations laboratory from Union to Sayreville, New Jersey. The new facility is 63 percent larger than the old laboratory and will enable Sypris to handle increased demand. The new laboratory is A2LA-accredited, as was the former…
Quality Digest
Xspect Solutions Inc. saw business in the first half of the year increase well above company predictions, a trend that demanded expansion. As a result, the company, which remanufactures pre-owned CMMs, moved into a new 24,000 sq. ft facility in Wixom, Michigan. “We have been thoroughly amazed at…
Quality Digest
FARO Technologies Inc. recently released two new and less expensive versions of one of its most popular devices. The FARO Gage and FARO Gage-PLUS will sell for $12,500 and $19,900 respectively. Both devices provide smaller machine shops with 3-D measurement capabilities. “Calipers, height gages,…
Quality Digest
More than 100 leading providers of software for supply chain management, manufacturing execution systems, MRP/ERP, logistics and materials management will attend the 2004 APICS International Conference and Exposition in San Diego. The conference will take place Oct. 10-13 and include product…
Quality Digest
A recent study shows that U.S. workers believe the economy is on the road to recovery. In the survey, 59 percent of respondents reported being optimistic about the economy and the potential for job growth in the coming year. When asked about their own career prospects, 57 percent indicated they…
Quality Digest
The National Committee for Quality Assurance will soon release its annual report on health care quality. This year’s report finds that while health plans participating in NCQA’s voluntary national accreditation program improved their scores substantially, the broader health care system is still…
Quality Digest
The American Society of Safety Engineers recently announced the availability of a new standard that provides guidelines for protecting workers from potentially dangerous equipment and energy. “Control of Hazardous Energy—Lockout/Tagout and Alternative Methods,” produced by the Z244 Accredited…
Quality Digest
A new book published by Productivity Press focuses on helping organizations understand and implement Baldrige criteria. Get It, Set It, Move It, Prove It—60 Ways to Get Real Results in Your Organization, by Mark Graham Brown, provides results-based methods for implementing the Baldrige criteria…
Quality Digest
WCBF recently launched the Six Sigma Leading Minds Club, an exclusive Six Sigma and process improvement community intended to facilitate the exchange of information on best practices, new ideas and even corporate management failures. Membership is based on individual achievement through a strict…
Quality Digest
Research and Markets recently announced the addition of a comprehensive and easy-to-use set of documents, The Six Sigma Toolbox, aimed at improving the use and adaptation of quality systems. The set covers principles that can be applied to all types of businesses and provides specific plans for…
Quality Digest
Michigan businesses will discover the key to success at the Henry Ford Community College event “Surviving to Thriving,” on Sept. 16. Specialists from local agencies will be there to exchange ideas and offer resources that can vault local business to the next level of success. The event will focus…
Quality Digest
Six Sigma is becoming an increasingly essential practice in marketing and sales because of the revenue growth and savings that organizations experience when they apply the methodology to those functions. It was with this thought in mind that the International Quality & Productivity Center…
The maintenance problem Too many times, in lean manufacturing and other lean environments, 10- to 40-year-old equipment is re-deployed, moved and organized into lean cells without adequate concern or attention to maintenance reliability. In a lean cell, unscheduled equipment downtime usually costs…
Barbara A. Cleary
Donald Trump’s dramatic, “You’re fired!” on the reality show “The Apprentice” is just entertainment to most people. To teams of summer interns at PQ Systems Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, however, it meant a challenge for the ensuing work week. The young interns, faced with the tedious task of contacting…
Quality Digest
2003 was a year of transition for ISO 9001 and a year of significant growth for ISO 14001, reports ISO in its annual study. Study results about ISO 9001 included: Up to the end of 2003, at least 500,125 registrations had been issued in 149 countries and economies. 2003 total registrations…
Quality Digest
The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index held steady for the second quarter of 2004, remaining at its highest level in 10 years. The index stands at 74.4, unchanged from last quarter. Economists report that the sunny news indicates high customer satisfaction, which generally contributes to…
Quality Digest
Improved product design would make manufacturing products less expensive than outsourcing to countries like China, according to a recent benchmarking study. The authors suggest that U.S. companies should do a better job of integrating cost analysis into product design. With rigorous cost analysis…
Quality Digest
School administrators looking for ways to meet tough federal requirements have found a new ally in a rather unlikely place—the quality profession. The need for continual improvement is familiar to quality professionals, but it’s relatively new to the education community. The No Child Left Behind…
