All Features
Denise Robitaille
There’s a marauding infestation of adverbs and adjectives that infiltrate the text of quality documents and operating procedures, wreaking havoc wherever they are found. The leader of this menacing bunch is called “All.” Among his compatriots you’ll find “Never,” “Always,” “Every” and “None.”
When…
Quality Digest
July marked the 20th anniversary of the Coordinate Measurement Systems Conference, the only conference solely devoted to the users, services and OEM manufacturers of close-tolerance coordinate measurement systems, software and peripherals. This year’s conference and exhibition was held in San…
Quality Digest
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently released the newest version of its comprehensive Quality Compass database. For the first time, the database includes a measure of flu shots given to adults aged 50-64 last year. The metric is important, reports the NCQA, because influenza…
Quality Digest
ASI DataMyte was recently awarded a “People Make Quality Happen” award by General Motors. The manufacturer received the award for its 501 Fit Gate program, implemented to check gap and flush and vehicle body panels during final assembly. The program replaced an inefficient “carrot stick”…
Quality Digest
The new version of AssurX’s CATSWeb Enterprise Quality Tracking System includes new features that increase user productivity. The additions of CATSWeb dynamic forms and full-text search features are the centerpieces of the new release. Dynamic forms allows users to adapt based on prior…
Quality Digest
Employees of Baxa Corp. recently graduated from a government-funded pilot program in Six Sigma methodology and were deployed to use their new skills to improve their company. The training program is just part of Baxa’s quality improvement efforts. The company is now working on several…
Quality Digest
ORBIS Corp. recently announced it hired Allen Dembski to lead the company’s Six Sigma implementation. “Allen’s proven expertise in executing continuous improvement initiatives will provide ORBIS with enhanced operational and administrative efficiencies to provide our customers with…
Quality Digest
Two new resources from Pivotal Resources promise to streamline operations for quality professionals. nLighten is an interactive e-learning course that teaches foundational Six Sigma concepts and process improvement. The Flash-based program introduces the principles that drive Six Sigma and…
Quality Digest
Sypris Test & Measurement plans to move its Franklin, Tennessee primary standards lab to its headquarters in Orlando, Florida, the company recently announced.
The new Orlando lab will feature enhanced capabilities and equipment, and NIST-traceable calibration. Mobile service offerings will be…
Quality Digest
Pilgrim Software Inc. announces that Blood Systems successfully implemented its SmartCAPA deviation and nonconformance management solution at 35 sites across the United States. SmartCAPA is a fully integrated part of Pilgrim’s Microsoft .NET-based SmartSolve Integrated Compliance Management…
Mike Micklewright
I’m a huge proponent of both Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. I’ve been teaching the tools used in Six Sigma for more than 15 years, and I make a portion of my living from consulting and training in these areas.
However, Six Sigma and lean manufacturing are business improvement processes that…
Praveen Gupta
Launching a Six Sigma initiative starts with a lot of enthusiasm from the “champion” who’s found courage and conviction to persuade management to commit to it. With enough resources, interest, excitement and the help of some consultants, the Six Sigma initiative gets off the ground. After initial…
Quality Digest
Representatives from last year’s Baldrige Award-winning companies will address two upcoming conferences for quality professionals. The conferences will be held in Oak Brook, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 10 and Sept. 30, respectively. Representatives from 2003 Baldrige Award…
Quality Digest
Breakthrough Management Group opened its European headquarters in London recently, raising the performance improvement training and consulting firm’s international profile.
With offices on five continents, BMG reports the expansion enables the company to be physically closer to its international…
Quality Digest
Excel Partnership recently announced that it’s the first and only organization to have all three AS9100 courses for the aerospace industry accredited by the Registrar Accreditation Board. The company’s accredited offerings will make it easier for industry employees to receive and…
Quality Digest
TÜV America Inc. recently announced a new subsidiary, TÜV Canada SÜD Group Inc., which will expand the global company into Canada. TÜV Canada SÜD Group Inc. will offer Canadian companies registration services to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 13485, TS 16949, AS9100 and OHSAS 18001. The new…
Quality Digest
The International Federation of Standards Users will meet in Amsterdam this fall to discuss managing international standards and related topics.
Now in its 11th year, the IFAN conference will focus on boosting awareness of and compliance to international standards. More than 300 participants from…
Quality Digest
Fluke Corp. is teaming up with educators to bring the latest test and measurement expertise into the classroom. The new Fluke Education Partnership Program includes colorful graphics and a step-by-step orientation to solving real-world problems for students. The tools are combined with…
Quality Digest
A new partnership between NCQA and the GeoAccess division of Ingenix will provide consumers with a comprehensive listing of quality health care. A searchable database, available on NCQA’s Web site, allows visitors to search for a physician by area of expertise, location and other criteria…
Quality Digest
A book published this month details how organizations can use lean management tools to improve productivity by 400 percent. In The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes (Productivity Press, 2004), authors Beau Keyte and Drew Locher…
Quality Digest
WCBF will hold a Six Sigma conference in Las Vegas this October, the company recently announced. “Successfully Implementing Six Sigma in Service and Transactional Environments” will be held Oct. 19-21 at the Venetian. It is being billed as the premier conference for expert advice…
Quality Digest
Rath & Strong recently introduced its Lean Booster course, a system designed to supercharge existing Six Sigma programs. The company reports that organizations will see results from the course teachings within two weeks—without starting over from scratch. Lean Booster is designed to…
Quality Digest
Several well-known Six Sigma practitioners will speak at a September Six Sigma conference in Chicago. Gayle J. Gibson, a Six Sigma champion at DuPont Electric and Communication Technologies, will open the Worldwide Conventions and Business Forums-sponsored conference with a keynote…
Quality Digest
The American Association for Quality will host an exclusive two-day briefing for top Six Sigma practitioners in September. The roundtable is limited to 150 participants to give each person greater one-on-one time with attendees and presenters, more in-depth learning and more networking…
Derrell S. James
Six Sigma. Lean. What do these initiatives have to do with the supply chain? The short answer is everything. The origins of these approaches are based, in Six Sigma’s case, on continuous improvements in quality and variation control, and in lean’s case, on production velocity and…
