All Features
Bill Kalmar
When finalizing my plans for a new year, it’s always gratifying to realize that all previous plans have been completed. As I recently went through this annual process, I noticed several issues affecting customer service and quality that I’d inadvertently left on the back burner. Consider this an…
Quality Digest
(ANSI: New York) -- A working group of safety experts and industry, government, and consumer leaders moved forward recently with the development of a proposed new safety-assurance program for toys.The proposal has been developed by a working group formed by the U.S. Toy Industry Association board…
Quality Digest
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization and its partner International Electrotechnical Commission have published a new guide on the vocabulary of metrology, the science of measurement and its application.ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007—“International vocabulary of metrology—Basic…
the Better Business Bureau
(BBB: Washington) -- A report issued recently by the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP) helps to arm businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with the high-quality tools needed to protect themselves and their customers against the theft and…
Quality Digest
(FERC: Washington) -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved eight new mandatory critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability standards to protect the United States’ bulk power system against potential disruptions from cyber security breaches. These reliability standards…
Quality Digest
(ISO: Geneva) -- A new ISO/IEC guide to developing service standards for consumers will benefit standards developers and be of value to service providers in reducing customer complaints and cutting the business costs of poor service.ISO/IEC Guide 76:2008—“Development of service standards—…
Quality Digest
(SME: Dearborn, Michigan) -- The Society of Manufacturing Engineers recently announced it has entered into an agreement with Hannover Fairs USA (HFUSA) to participate in the Berlin International Air Show in Berlin, May 27–June 1, 2008. SME will assemble an international panel discussion on…
Quality Digest
(ANSI: New York) -- As the world mourns the recent death of Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, the New Zealand-born adventurer who first reached the peak of Mount Everest in 1953, a growing number of climbers are planning to conquer the tallest mountain on Earth.Although thousands have already climbed…
Mike Micklewright
Question:How did the quality consultant always exceed the expectations of his customers?
Answer:By exceeding the number of invoiced days quoted on his proposal.
¯ I’m so excited! ¯ And I just can’t hide it! ¯
Many of us still refer to ISO 9001:2000 as the “new” standard. Also, many of us know that…
Quality Digest
(FDA: Rockville, Maryland) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent letters warning seven pharmacy operations that the claims they make about the safety and effectiveness of so-called bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) products are unsupported by medical evidence, and…
Quality Digest
(FDANews: Falls Church, Virginia) --The Food and Drug Administration recently issued proposed changes to the drug-manufacturers’ clinical good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) (21 CFR 210/211). The revised standards would affect three major areas: water quality, verification by a second…
Quality Digest
(FDA: Rockville, Maryland) -- After years of study and analysis, the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, and the offspring of clones from any species traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from…
Quality Digest
(Food Safety and Security Summit: Washington, D.C.) From farm gate to dinner plate, the 10th annual Food Safety and Security Summit, held March 17–19, 2008, at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center, is the largest and most established food safety and security expo and conference in North…
Thomas R. Cutler
Industrial-marketing programs must encompass the full range of activities needed to grow a business profitably, and often these programs neglect to cover the retention and expansion of a business with existing profitable customers.
In a global competitive environment, a lean industrial-marketing…
Quality Digest
(ANSI: New York) -- The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), an ANSI-accredited standards developer, recently published ANSI/HFES 100-2007—“Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations,” a new standard that addresses the design of workstations, furniture, and computer systems.…
Thomas R. Cutler
Industrial-marketing programs must encompass the full range of activities needed to grow a business profitably, and often these programs neglect to cover the retention and expansion of a business with existing profitable customers.
In a global competitive environment, a lean industrial-marketing…
Quality Digest
(ACSI: Ann Arbor, Michigan) -- According to a recently released report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, U.S. citizens are less satisfied with federal government services than they are with private-sector services. In aggregate, citizen satisfaction with the federal government is 67.8…
Quality Digest
(ANSI: New York) -- The American National Standards Institute recently issued the revised 2008 edition of the ANSI Procedures for U.S. Participation in the International Standards Activities of ISO (ANSI International Procedures) and the 2008 ANSI-Accredited U.S. TAG Procedural Compliance Form.To…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
(ACSI: Ann Arbor, Michigan) -- According to a recently released report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, U.S. citizens are less satisfied with federal government services than they are with private-sector services. In aggregate, citizen satisfaction with the federal government is 67.8…
Knowledge at Wharton
Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca once noted, “You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” In their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas,Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell…
Steven Ouellette
By the time you are reading this, you will have made your New Year’s resolutions, and I will have already broken mine. But I have an idea for a resolution that you might be interested in keeping, and one that could make your New Year happy and profitable. It is something that most Black Belts I…
Quality Digest
Catherine Jimerson, online preregistration user (seated) and Meg Nicklas, director of WCA Hospital patient access services, (standing) cut the ribbon, officially announcing the new WCA Hospital online preregistration service. (WCA Hospital: Jamestown, New…
Quality Digest
(Smarter Solutions Inc.: Austin, Texas) -- Today’s Six Sigma Black Belts need more than technical and analytical skills. They also must work with others, using capabilities that include teaching, mentoring, coaching, and motivating. Here are 10 capabilities essential for a Black Belt today, as…
Quality Digest
(Instantis: Santa Clara, California) Join Stephan Schwarz, DuPont Master Black Belt, Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST, as he leads a focused session describing best practices and lessons learned from one of the largest, most iconic, and successful operational excellence deployments in…
Quality Digest
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- “Economic Impact of Measurement in the Semiconductor Industry,” a recent report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology indicates that investment in measurement science has, and will continue to have, a dramatic effect on innovation, productivity,…
