All Features
Productivity Press
(Productivity Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- The need for competent leadership remains one of the most pressing issues facing organizations. Introducing a powerful technique to help readers become better decision makers, The Right Choice: Using Theory of Constraints for Effective Leadership, by Ted…
Juran
(Juran Institute: Southbury, CT) -- The Juran Healthcare team had two improvement project presentations accepted for the WCBF 11th Annual Lean, Six Sigma, and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit, which took place in New Orleans, May 15–18, 2012. The project presentations were an example of the…
Matthew E. May
Five years ago, at noon on May 7, 2007, I sat in the canteen at the Los Angeles Policy Academy in Elysian Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles, awaiting the arrival of Captain Robert S. Hauck, then second in command of the West Los Angeles Bureau.
Some sort of ceremony had just concluded, and I…
Northwestern University
(Northwestern University: Evanston, IL) -- To help professionals succeed in the growing field of regulatory compliance, Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies now offers a master of science in regulatory compliance (MSRC) program.
Career opportunities in regulatory compliance are…
jeffdewar, Kristine Bammert
There is a remarkable quality movement afoot centered in South Asia with tentacles that reach to the United States, Europe, and Africa.
Starting in primary school and extending throughout high school, students are introduced to the teachings of W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, Philip Crosby,…
Sologic
(Sologic: Midland, MI) -- The ASQ Learning Institute now offers Sologic’s eRCA Fundamentals, a new root cause analysis e-learning curriculum that builds foundational root cause analysis (RCA) problem-solving skills, was designed by an award-winning e-learning development firm, and is SCORM- and…
Davis Balestracci
“I’m shocked... shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”
—Casablanca’s Captain Renault, as he’s closing down Rick’s Cafe... while being handed his gambling winnings
I saw an abstract of a recent talk by several “experts” who have been very active selling (expensive) improvement…
Kevin Rudy
This past week, History premiered a new show called the United Stats of America. No, that’s not a typo. It’s a show hosted by twin brothers who are both stand-up comedians and obsessed with statistics.
Since I’m also obsessed with statistics (I’m still working on the stand-up comedy part), I…
Knowledge at Wharton
If loyalty is defined as being faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution or product, then there seems to be a certain amount of infidelity in the workplace these days.
Consider some recent studies: MetLife’s 10th annual survey of employee benefits, trends and attitudes released in March 2012…
ECi Software Solutions
(ECi: Fort Worth, TX) -- ECi Software Solutions, a leader in industry-specific information technology solutions, has launched an online resource for its manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, M1. The site can be accessed here. In addition to providing information on ERP products…
MicroRidge Systems Inc.
(MicroRidge: Sunriver, OR) -- MicroRidge Systems will highlight its reliable, flexible and easy-to-use MobileCollect wireless measurement technology at the 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) being held Sept. 10–15, 2012 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. MicroRidge can be found in…
Industrial Magnetics
(Industrial Magnetics: Boyne City, MI) -- Industrial Magnetics Inc. (IMI) is now offering a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip as a standard on several types of its magnetic separators designed for the bulk processing industries.
The RFID device, manufactured by InfoChip, aides maintenance…
TÜV Rheinland of North America
(TÜV Rheinland: Boxborough, MA) -- TÜV Rheinland is hosting a series of no cost international approvals webinars addressing some of the key questions about global compliance programs: planning, readiness, and common pitfalls.
Professionals involved in legal placement of products in global markets…
Wiley
(Wiley: Hoboken, NJ) -- There are myriad quality and reliability tools available to corporations worldwide, but the one that shows up consistently in company after company is failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). Effective FMEAs by Carl Carlson (Wiley, 2012) takes the best practices from…
Quality Digest
There once was a man loved to measure, Meters and pounds he did treasure, But his passion in life Alas ended in strife, When the poor lad tried meas'ring his wife.
Quality Digest
Polynesian navigation device showing directions of winds, waves, and islands. Traditionally understood and used by only a chosen few, these charts were made known to the western world circa 1890s by German naval officer, Captain Winkler.
Bruce McDuffee
Humidity is a tough measurement. It’s very hard to get a repeatable measurement with low uncertainty. This post discusses seven best practices that will help you make a more accurate, repeatable, and reliable humidity measurement. The recommendations are primarily based on the NPL document, “A…
Paul Naysmith
Sales professionals, according to some circles at least, aren’t all that different from us quality professionals. I once believed they were two-faced liars, because they’d sell their mother to get that precious sales commission. However, as a systems thinker, I like to get my facts straight before…
The following puns come from the Measurement Nightmares Project for 2011 at the Harbor Lights Middle School in Bandon, Oregon. There are plenty more humorous items on that web page.
2,000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds 10 cards = 1 decacards 1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 fig newton 1,000…
Mike Richman
This has been a fun week for us at Quality Digest, as we’ve had a chance to support World Metrology Week and one of our long-standing partners, the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS). As many of you know, the CMS is the organization behind the annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC…
(ZS Associates: Evanston, IL) -- While incentives can be an effective motivator in health care, a new study from global consulting firm ZS Associates suggests that more than 75 percent of incentives are so small or poorly communicated that they go unnoticed by providers. As a result, more than $20…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- On May 9, 2012, the U.S. federal government issued a solicitation for proposals from teams led by nonprofit organizations or universities to establish an Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which would serve as a pilot—or proof-of-concept prototype—for President…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: New York) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) has submitted a proposal to ISO for a new ISO standard on guidelines for consumer contact centers. As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)…
Productivity Press
(Productivity Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Lean Six Sigma (LSS), design for Six Sigma (DFSS), and value engineering (VE) have a proven track record of success for solving problems and improving efficiency. Depending on the situation, integrating these approaches can provide results that exceed the…
Renishaw
(Renishaw: Hoffman Estates, IL) -- Renishaw’s new laser additive-metal manufacturing process is capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3-D CAD data using a high-powered fiber laser. Parts are built layer by layer, in thicknesses ranging from 20 to 100 microns, using a range of…