All Features
Steven Ouellette
Today marks a milestone in our countdown of the Top Ten Stupid Six Sigma Tricks. A subjective and unimportant milestone to be sure, but a milestone nonetheless—we have now reached the halfway point. Forget the New Year, this is cause for celebration.
To commemorate this trivial event, let us turn…
Quality Digest
A new audiocast reveals six “Rules of Innovation” for lean organizations. The rules are included in a new book, The Rules of Innovation: A Guide to Systematic Innovation Management, by Bart Huthwaite, founder of the Institute for Lean Innovation. An accompanying audiocast focuses on giving…
Quality Digest
Quality Trainer is a new, Web-based learning service devised by Minitab Inc. With a focus on statistical education, Quality Trainer is a useful resource for busy quality professionals.The service is available via subscription at the company’s Web site and uses narration, animation, and other…
Quality Digest
PACCAR Inc., U.S. commercial vehicles maker, recently unveiled plans for a new $400 million powertrain manufacturing and assembly facility in the Southeast United States, saying its comprehensive Six Sigma program helped the company attain the goal. “PACCAR’s outstanding profits,…
Quality Digest
Xerox Corp. is the first company to achieve J.D. Power and Associates Technology Service and Support Certification two years in a row for excellence in customer service, and its comprehensive lean Six Sigma programs contributed to the achievement.Xerox was honored for continuing to deliver…
Quality Digest
Dielectric Communications recently implemented lean manufacturing, which now helps the company to maintain stringent quality levels, reduce waste before and during production, and ensure that customers receive products faster with minimal lead times. Dielectric is the largest…
Quality Digest
Siperian recently opened of a London office, established to serve its European customers better. The London office is the company’s sixth location and the first in Europe. Siperian Hub, Siperian’s adaptive master data management solution, is an integrated platform that helps organizations reduce…
Nicholas Muthuri
Lean was initially started in manufacturing and production departments, and various efforts are being made to apply its principles in service industries. In a highly industrialized world spurred by high technological changes, businesses are forced to change their strategies to a more lean way…
Quality Digest
The L.S. Starrett Co. is the focus of a recent episode of a television series on the Travel Channel. The network’s “Made in America” series focuses on U.S. manufacturing companies with long histories of producing high-quality, world-renowned products. Starrett was chosen based on its…
Quality Digest
Isonics Corp. recently hired Patrick Taylor, Ph.D., as director of quality assurance for its semiconductor division.Taylor received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and worked as manager of quality assurance, director of analytical services operation and lead scientist…
Quality Digest
epcSolutions alleges that in 2006 more Wal-Mart suppliers used EpcSolutions’ RFIDTagManager than any other radio frequency identification application. Its customers for the software included suppliers of frozen foods, clothing, sporting goods, produce, candy, auto parts and other products…
Quality Digest
The 2007 Coordinate Measuring Systems Conference will be held this summer in Reno. The annual event, will take place this year at the Grand Sierra Resort-Reno Hilton on July 16-–20. This is a major conference for close tolerance, industrial measurement specialists, and users and…
Quality Digest
Hexagon Metrology Inc. received the 2006 Manufacturer of the Year award from the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce at its annual meeting in November. The award is given on the basis of investment and job creation within the state of Rhode Island; Hexagon Metrology has its headquarters…
Quality Digest
Dr. Ahmed Shembesh, LNCSM and Vincent Desmond, IRCA sign the agreement in Tripoli The International Register of Certificated Auditors and the Libyan National Centre for Standardization and Metrology recently formed an alliance to provide local…
Michael H. Brill Ph.D.
As part of a volunteer team that cleared a walking trail in my neighborhood, I helped to shovel a straight path through a small berm. Seeking to solve another problem at the same time, a member of the party started to use the dirt he removed to fill in a nearby puddle on the trail.…
Quality Digest
Cessna will add mobile, large-volume measurement to its production floor’s capabilities with the implementation of Leica Geosystems laser trackers. Leica announced recently that Cessna Aircraft Co. had contracted to buy eight of the company’s portable coordinate measuring machines.…
Fred Mason
It’s New Year’s resolution time. Many of the things we resolve to do in the New Year are measurable—lose weight, run farther or faster, quit smoking, do more of some things and less of other things. All can be measured. But how do you measure success (or failure)? What do you measure…
Quality Digest
Sypris Test & Measurement Inc. recently added antenna, isotropic/electromagnetic field probe, line impedance stabilization network calibrations, and radio frequency screen room/anechoic chamber certification to its calibration service offerings. The new services will allow its clients…
Quality Digest
A private standards-developing organization recently published the first known consensus-based standard defining a common technical language for nanotechnology. ASTM International’s ASTM E2456-06, “Standard terminology relating to nanotechnology,” establishes terminology for such…
Quality Digest
A new standard from the International Organization for Standardization is expected to increase the market for natural gas-powered vehicles by making on-board storage of the fuel safer. ISO 19078:2006, “Gas cylinders—Inspection of the cylinder installation, and requalification of high-…
QC 080000 IECQ HSPM calls for a process management approach to the management and reduction of hazardous substances in products and processes. It utilizes familiar conventions from the ISO standards world, while calling for a full review and understanding of the technical issues that…
Denise Robitaille
Years ago, when my kids were in middle school, I volunteered as a coach for the Future Problem Solvers, a competitive academic program designed to help young people develop the creative thinking skills they will need as tomorrow’s leaders.While the bulk of the time was spent teaching…
Quality Digest
Certification bodies around the world have until Sept. 15, 2008 to implement ISO/IEC 17021:2006, the new standard designed to increase confidence in management system certification. The International Accreditation Forum set the deadline in consultation with the International Organization…
Quality Digest
A new year means new members for the American National Standards Institute’s board of directors. ANSI’s board recently announced several new members, along with the reappointment of Robert W. Noth, manager of engineering standards for Deere & Co., for a second one-year term as…
Quality Digest
The International Organization of Standardization recently created the ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization, which will be presented for the first time at the ISO General Assembly in Geneva in September.
The award is designed to support institutions that have developed and implemented…
