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Quality Digest
Intertek ETL Entela plans to build a new automotive component and systems test lab in Shanghai, the first commercial lab of its kind in China. The 40,000 sq. ft facility will be called Intertek Automotive Services. It will provide automotive performance testing including vibration; thermal aging;…
Rick Hudgell
As industry standards increase, so too does the demand for flexibility in specialized gaging procedures. Because there’s no room for error, choosing the right contact point or styli is paramount in conforming to the organization’s high quality standards. Accuracy can be jeopardized by any number of…
Quality Digest
Eastman Kodak Co. recently released several new products for nondestructive testing in the industrial radiography market. The company’s new NDT offerings are the KODAK INDUSTREX ACR-2000 and ACR-2000i digital systems, and the KODAK INDUSTREX LS85 Film Digitizer. The ACR-2000’s phosphor imaging…
Quality Digest
NITON LLC, a manufacturer of portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments, recently opened a sales and service support office in Shanghai to enhance its Chinese distribution network. NITON is targeting the burgeoning Chinese consumer electronics industry with its portable XRF products, as many…
Quality Digest
Sypris Test & Measurement recently added an LDS V9 Shaker System to its Orlando test facility. The shaker is designed to test heavy loads at high vibration levels over long periods of time, significantly reducing test time and expense. It can be used to test avionics, military hardware,…
Quality Digest
The American Society of Safety Engineers recently released seven standards for public review. There are three new ANSI A10 standards in the release: construction standards on lockout/tagout, hearing-loss prevention and sanitation. Four other existing standards that need reaffirmation are also…
Quality Digest
The Australian government recently announced that it will develop a standard by which to certify food safety auditors. RABQSA International and the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry recently signed a contract to develop and implement a National Food Safety Auditor…
Quality Digest
Nearly 300 delegates attended the first meeting of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) working group that will develop ISO 26000, the planned standard on social responsibility (SR). By the end of the meeting, the working group had formulated 32 resolutions, mainly regarding…
Paula Esty
This article reviews management review in the latest ISO 14001 standard revision, including the management review requirement update and system recommendations for ISO 14001:2004 compliance. The updated ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard includes a clarification to the…
Denise Robitaille
The Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on First?” is one of the greatest comic treasures of our time. Bud Abbott begins listing the improbable names of his team players: Who, What and I Don’t Know (the three basemen), while a befuddled and increasingly frustrated Lou Costello tries to nail down the…
Quality Digest
The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently launched a new Web site to increase the profile of international standards online.The new Web site is designed to help individuals and organizations find information about the use of standards in government. The site supports the…
Quality Digest
Orion Registrar Inc. and Shenyang Auditor Training Center recently partnered to create Orion (Shenyang) Registration Inc., a bid to expand Orion’s business in rural northeastern China. “The establishment of Orion (Shenyang) Registration Inc. will make up for the shortage of registration resources…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
Comments on the updated draft of the United States Standards Strategy are due by April 18. A first draft of the USSS revision was released on March 7, 2005. The USSS will be the topic of a National Institute of Standards and Technology forum, scheduled for April 15 in Washington, D.C.
The draft…
Quality Digest
Honeywell recently announced that its Electronic Materials unit received the Best Quality Award from Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor unit. Samsung noted that Honeywell was chosen for the award because of a close customer/supplier relationship and cooperative technology development in 2004. “We’…
Quality Digest
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Quality Forum are now accepting applications for the 2005 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The annual award recognizes health care workers and organizations that make significant contributions to…
Quality Digest
Peter J. Kolesar is the newest elected member of the Juran Institute’s board of directors. Kolesar, a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, teaches courses in statistics, quality and productivity management. He holds a joint appointment with the university’s School of…
Quality Digest
Nikon Instruments Inc. recently announced the integration of its semiconductor inspection and Nexiv vision measuring systems under the company’s SITECH division, which is based in Tempe, Arizona.The purpose of the move is twofold. First, Nikon hopes to improve customer responsiveness by building on…
Quality Digest
A workshop focusing on using the senses as quality tools will be held June 6–10 in Florida. The course will be facilitated by Nancy McDonald, president of M&M Consulting & Laboratory Inc. She will show participants how to use their senses of taste, smell and sight to evaluate the overall…
Quality Digest
HealthStream Inc., a provider of learning solutions for the health care industry, recently acquired Data Management & Research Inc., a provider of quality and satisfaction surveys and other research-based measurement tools. HealthStream purchased all of DMR’s shares for approximately $10.6…
Quality Digest
Decisioneering Inc. recently released a sped-up version of its Crystal Ball software, version 7.1. Crystal Ball 7.1 Extreme Speed allows user to run simulations 100-times faster than previous versions. In creating the solution, Decisioneering partnered with Frontline Systems Inc., developer of the…
Quality Digest
Six Sigma has had dramatic effects on many of the companies that have implemented it, but understanding the methodology is often difficult for those just starting the process. A new book, Six Sigma for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, 2005), details the process in lay terms for easy understanding.…
Quality Digest
MoreSteam.com recently pledged to donate $250,000 in lean Six Sigma training to Starfish Family Services, a Detroit-area social services agency. The training will allow the agency to become more efficient with the use of its funds and other resources, says Bill Hathaway, MoreSteam.com president. “I…
As quality professionals, we frequently report such facts as proportions (percentages), process capability indices, averages and standard deviations as if we know what we’re talking about. But what’s our actual level of confidence? All of our observations and our understanding are based upon data…
Quality Digest
Voltaix Inc., a manufacturer of chemicals and gases for the semiconductor and photovoltaics industries, recently announced that 15 of its employees recently received Green Belt certification. Voltaix provided the employee training to invest in customer support relationships and improve product…
Quality Digest
Canadian real estate companies are reportedly finding Six Sigma a useful tool to reduce data errors. The Canadian newspaper, Globe and Mail reports that although the industry has been slow to fully adopt the methodology, an increasing number of companies are using it to drive the decision-making…
