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Quality Digest
FARO Technologies Inc. recently launched its Software Diversity Program and named Delcam Inc. as the program’s first partner. The SDP is an open-architecture software platform. More than 60 software platforms have joined the first general level, Open Architecture Partnership, which began with the…
Quality Digest
A five-day conference will serve as an educational forum and networking opportunity for business and technical professionals new to information and data quality, as well as those who have already completed data quality improvement projects. The 17th annual Information Quality Conference will be…
Quality Digest
iGrafx’s Partner Program has doubled since its inception at the beginning of the year, the company has announced. iGrafx’s business process analysis software is being used by training and consulting companies all over the world, including Australia, Spain, Jordan and India, among others. This year…
Quality Digest
The Baldrige National Quality Program has released a new case study used to prepare 2005 Baldrige Award examiners. The case study of Landmark Dining Inc. involves a fictitious steak and seafood restaurant and illustrates a theoretical Baldrige Award candidate in the small business category. It also…
Quality Digest
An Indian matchmaking company recently registered to ISO 9001. Kaakateeya Marriages Private Ltd. maintains a database of marriage-minded adults of more than 70,000 people. The company, based in Hyderabad, India, was established in 1981 and today has 25 branches with 300 employees. Members can…
Quality Digest
Infor and Shandong University Qilu Software College recently partnered to promote a study to enterprise applications in the global manufacturing industry. Infor will establish a scholarship and install an Infor Manufacturing Essentials Lab at the college to allow students to attend classes while…
Quality Digest
Virginia and the District of Columbia recently started requiring Medicaid-participating health plans to conform to National Committee for Quality Assurance standards and measures. The agreement reflects the growing emphasis among state Medicaid programs on measuring and improving clinical quality.…
Quality Digest
A new study shows sharp regional strengths and weaknesses in the quality of patient care at U.S. hospitals. The study was performed by Ashish Jha, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the…
Quality Digest
TÜV América de México recently created the International Quality Management Systems University to offer quality courses to Spanish-speaking audiences. IQMSU offerings include undergraduate and graduate QMS programs, various QMS-related courses, training in ISO standards, quality auditing and…
Quality Digest
“Achieving Breakthrough Improvement, No Capital Investment Required,” is the topic of a seminar planned as part of an upcoming conference to be held Sept. 28–30 in Chicago. The seminar will be facilitated by Paul Vragel, president of 4aBetterBusiness Inc. It’s part of the Manufacturing and Economic…
Quality Digest
A recent companywide registration to ISO 13485 marked Accellent Inc.’s commitment to continuous improvement and zero defects, company officials recently reported.The standard applies specifically to the medical device industry and requires continuous improvement and reliable product quality. “This…
Quality Digest
The Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc. and SGS Systems & Services Certification will jointly perform the health care industry’s first audit that combines clinical best practices with ISO 9001. The audit will be performed on Southern Pharmaceutical Corp. in October. The organizations…
Quality Digest
Medical Consultants Network Inc. recently announced a different approach to pricing and delivering its interactive lessons. By offering flexibility, its users can access any specific training course with a la carte options.MCN Training Solutions represents a new business model for training, with…
Quality Digest
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) recently adopted a new set of guidelines for its members’ direct-to-consumer advertising activities. PhRMA’s board of directors gave final approval to the Guiding Principles in July, but they only become effective in January 2006. The…
Marlo Brooke
The groundswell of radio frequency identification devices (RFID) in health care may be clouded by the stomping of Wal-Mart, but the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are quietly becoming one of the top innovators and users of RFID, and they’ll likely outpace other market segments in the…
Quality Digest
Jacqueline Crew was recently appointed vice president of pharmaceutical sciences quality at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. In her new role, Crew is responsible for leading worldwide quality assurance activities for SPRI in support of global clinical supplies manufacturing, pre-approval…
Quality Digest
Leica Geosystems’ metrology division recently extended the warranty on its Laser Trackers. The new warranty lasts for five years and is applicable to new Leica Laser Tracker system sales only. To participate, the customer needs to have the system inspected and recertified once a year. The five-year…
Quality Digest
M.E.S. Indian School, the largest expatriate school in the country of Qatar, expects to obtain registration to ISO 9001 by November. PK Mohamed, vice president of the school, reports that the MES Indian School appeared to already meet almost all of ISO 9001’s requirements. The school has almost 7,…
Quality Digest
The ownership battle over Leica Geosystems just got hotter: Hexagon AG recently upped its offer for the Swiss company to 573 Swiss francs per share. The sweetened offer was in response to a counter offer made by Danaher Corp., a U.S.-based manufacturer of professional instrumentation, industrial…
Quality Digest
FARO Technologies Inc. was recently approved by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining as an alliance partner. Shared standards and best practices allow NCDMM members to improve their products and processes through greater quality control. Many use FARO’s coordinate measuring…
Quality Digest
A new book reveals the secrets of making quality the center of manufacturing through the eyes of a struggling ice cream company. The Ice Cream Maker (Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, 2005), by Subir Chowdhury, tells the fictional story of Peter Delvecchio, the overwhelmed plant manager of Dairy…
Quality Digest
Expanding knowledge and recognizing achievements of the Navy’s NAVAIR AIRSpeed Black Belts was the topic of the day at the Black Belt Symposium, held July 21 in Maryland. Vice Adm. Wally Massenburg, NAVAIR commander and lean Six Sigma consultant, and Michael George, chairman and CEO of the George…
Quality Digest
Six Sigma Qualtec recently released an enhanced version of its SixNet business intelligence system. The enhanced module is free to current SixNet customers and allows companies to develop and analyze financial reports that mirror the format used by corporate leadership teams to track budget…
Quality Digest
The Lean Enterprise Institute recently became a strategic reseller for iGrafx FlowCharter 2005 lean value stream mapping software. The software is available through LEI’s product catalog, which also features leading lean publications, training tools and workbooks for implementing lean tools. iGrafx…
Quality Digest
SigmaQuest Inc. recently released SigmaExpress, the industry’s first on-demand product performance intelligence software. SigmaQuest will host SigmaExpress, which will provide OEMs with the means to upload product test, engineering, manufacturing and supplier data. At the site, information is…
