All Features
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
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
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
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…
Praveen Gupta
The price of Six Sigma consulting, training and certification has been coming down and, interestingly, so is the amount or the rate of improvement being reported. We no longer hear success stories like Motorola or GE in larger number commensurate with the growth of Six Sigma, as evidenced by the…
Quality Digest
Activplant Corp. and Harbour Consulting Inc. have allied to provide manufacturing improvements to the automotive and other industries. The alliance will allow Activplant clients to simultaneously work with Harbour to evaluate their overall performance and improve operational performance. “Harbour…
Quality Digest
The American Society for Quality will host a two-day conference that will demonstrate how to use mandatory financial reporting to improve overall operations. “Beyond Compliance to Sarbanes-Oxley—Financial Benefits From Integrating Your Management Systems,” will be held Sept. 27–28 at the Doubletree…
Quality Digest
Productivity Inc. will present its 10th annual Lean Management and TPM Conference and Exposition on October 10-14. The event will be held at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas and will feature dozens of seminars, panels and classes on total productive maintenance, lean manufacturing and management, Six…
Quality Digest
Many client organizations are starting to require formal evidence of quality management capability as a condition for signing construction contracts or partnership agreements. This is where Quality Management in Construction (Gower Publishing Co., 2005) comes in handy.The new book focuses on the…
Quality Digest
The Juran Institute and Wexi Inc., a South Korean quality management services provider, recently partnered to expand in the Asia Pacific region. When signing the agreement, Joseph A. De Feo, Juran Institute president and CEO, and Ho-Jin Hwang, Wexi president, suggested the combined services of…
Quality Digest
Davis Inotek Calibration Laboratory recently acquired Northwest Calibration Systems, as part of the laboratory’s ongoing expansion strategy. The calibration provider reports that the acquisition will strengthen its portfolio by adding Northwest’s high-quality calibration certifications and rapid…
Quality Digest
Vitech Reliability Systems has agreed to become reseller for Endevco Corp.’s products and services, broadening Endevco’s presence to Australia and New Zealand. The partnership marks Endevco’s first foray into the Australian and New Zealand markets. “Vitech is proud to become part of the Endevco…
Quality Digest
The Boeing Co. recently ordered 10 Laser Trackers from FARO Technologies Inc. FARO reports that Boeing will use the Laser Tracker Xi units for its rotorcraft facility in Philadelphia to dimensionally control the manufacture, modernization and support of the twin-turbine, tandem-rotor CH-47 Chinook…
Quality Digest
Instron Corp. recently received accreditation for ISO 376 calibration of secondary force standards. The company also expanded its calibration services. In addition to force, strain and hardness measurements, Instron now offers accredited on-site calibrations of speed, displacement, stroke and…
Quality Digest
National Technical Systems Inc. recently completed electromagnetic interference testing on the U.S. Navy’s Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS). The testing satisfies the MIL-STD-461E standard for undesirable radio frequency transmissions that could interfere with the successful operation of…
C. Martin Schuster
Foam Design Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky, builds a wide range of foam parts, including inserts for headliners used to protect against injuries in the event of a collision. Inspecting these components with a CMM was a tedious and error-prone process because of the difficulty involved in making…
Quality Digest
Jeff Carr recently joined Intertek Systems Certification as its vice president of systems certification. In his new role, Carr will direct the operations of the systems certification group, which is based in Boxborough, Massachusetts and Lachine, Quebec. He replaces André Forcier, who is retiring…
Quality Digest
The Standards Press of China and the American National Standards Institute recently signed an agreement to mutually distribute Chinese and U.S. standards. The SPC is the publishing division of China’s national standards body. Chinese standards will be available for electronic purchase at ANSI’s…
