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Quality Digest
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a national program sponsored by pharmaceutical research companies, recently commemorated its first anniversary by launching the first "Patient Assistance Day" and by enhancing its services. The PPA provided free and reduced-cost prescription…
Quality Digest
TÜV America Healthcare Specialists, TÜV SÜD AG, founded as a joint venture between Healthcare Specialists Inc. and TÜV America Inc., will host a fall seminar in two U.S. cities. “Getting the Most From Your Accreditation Efforts With the Integrated Accreditation Program of the NIAHO and…
Quality Digest
The benefits of implementing good manufacturing practices (GMP) and quality management could be made easier for the pharmaceutical industry with a new standard from the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 15378:2006, "Primary packaging materials for medicinal products—…
According to the Institute of Medicine, there are approximately 100,000 people per year killed in the Unites States because of medical errors. There are 100,000 families in despair because they have lost a loved one too soon. This also means that 100,000 medical professionals are losing…
Quality Digest
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued an updated list of agency-approved consensus standards for the evaluation of medical devices. "Modifications to the List of Recognized Standards, Recognition List Number: 014" includes more than 50 changes to the FDA’s roster of…
John Geary
The challenge of responding to the threat of cheap offshore labor isn’t new to North American businesses. Nearly a hundred years ago, Henry Towne wrote about the need for increased efficiency and productivity in a foreword to Frederick Winslow Taylor’s 1911 paper, “Shop Management”:
"We are justly…
Quality Digest
GE Healthcare and Virtua Health recently announced dramatic results from the first-ever hands-on Lean Healthcare Seminar held at three Virtua sites in New Jersey. Attendees at the seminars represented hospitals from the United States, Scotland, Canada and England. By combining lean tools…
Quality Digest
Metris, a provider of 3-D inspection systems, recently received the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Growth Strategy Leadership of the Year Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the dimensional metrology industry, and is given every year by Frost & Sullivan, a growth consulting…
Quality Digest
Improvement teams from Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have been named finalists in the 2006 Team of the Year awards. Now in its second year, the competition is sponsored by Putnam Media and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing magazine, and recognizes manufacturing…
Quality Digest
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) recently received ISO 14001 registration of its Tobin Memorial Bridge, the first bridge in the United States to receive the designation. Massport, which also operates Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, L.G. Hanscom Field and…
Quality Digest
The American Society for Quality’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement will be held May 1–3 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee. Thousands of quality professionals from all over the world are expected to attend. The conference will feature addresses from David Kohler of…
Quality Digest
Organizers of the Global Six Sigma Summit have received almost 70 entries for the Global Six Sigma Awards. Organizations from India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Europe and the United States have submitted a total of 65 entries for all 10 award categories and for the Six Sigma…
Quality Digest
Management Systems International LLC recently introduced a new lean and Six Sigma consulting service. ImprovePlus is designed to help companies streamline their operations, reduce cost and enhance customer retention. The benefits of implementing the system include better bottom-line…
Quality Digest
The U.S. Army has chosen software from PowerSteering Software Inc. to track its lean Six Sigma projects.The Army uses lean Six Sigma to identify functions that are no longer relevant, to eliminate nonvalue-added operations and positions, and to focus resources on required capabilities.…
Anthony D. Burns
In 1633, opposition to the common viewpoint could mean death. This was the case with Galileo when he proposed that the Earth revolved around the sun. He was tried for heresy. Of course things are different today. People who question dogma are no longer burnt at the stake. Instead, they’re branded…
David C. Crosby
Zero defects is an idea that was discovered in the early 1960s. It was articulated by Phil Crosby and first implemented at the Martin company in Orlando, Florida. Zero defects enjoyed widespread popularity until the mid 1970s, and almost every major company and their suppliers had a zero-defects…
Quality Digest
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers will host the Productivity & Lean Integration for Plastics Manufacturing conference June 20–21 in Chicago. The conference will be part of the National Plastics Exposition 2006 show, which will be held June 19–23 at McCormick Place. A new educational…
Quality Digest
American Express executives head up the speaker roster at the third annual Six Sigma in Financial Services Conference. The conference will be held May 10–12 at the New York Marriott Eastside. Karim Houry and Rick Irving, American Express vice presidents of global reengineering, will…
Craig Cochran
Last year I had the good fortune of doing some consulting with B&C Specialty Products in Hopeulikit, Georgia. B&C does light manufacturing, primarily plastic molding and assembly, and they also distribute imported products produced by companies in the Far East. They have about 150 employees…
Quality Digest
The federal Office of Personnel Management now requires preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and other fee-for-service plans to collect and report quality performance measures. Beginning in 2007, 8 million federal employees, dependents and retirees will have better comparative…
Quality Digest
The Chief Executives’ Confidence Measure, which had improved to 56 points in the final quarter of 2005, edged up to 57 points in the first quarter of 2006, The Conference Board reports in its latest CEO survey. CEOs’ assessment of current business conditions improved, with 49 percent…
Quality Digest
Nonprofit organizations have until May 25 to submit applications to be part of a pilot Baldrige Award program. The National Institute for Standards and Technology, which administers the Baldrige Award, will accept applications from nonprofit organizations that have received a top-level…
Quality Digest
StatPoint Inc. and Manugistics Group Inc. recently announced the end of their longtime licensing partnership. Since 1984, Manugistics had managed the sales, marketing and support of StatPoint’s STATGRAPHICS product line. StatPoint has taken back responsibility for all aspects of the…
Quality Digest
An upcoming symposium will offer attendees a unique environment to learn about the production of hazardous-substance-free (HSF) products. HSPM2006 International Leadership Symposium for Hazardous Substance Process Management will include a thorough overview of QC 080000 IECQ HSPM, a…
Quality Digest
Cascade Microtech Inc. recently received Electronic Products’ Product of the Year award for its L-Series Microfluidics Metrology System. The editors of the periodical evaluated thousands of products launched in 2005 on their innovation of design, the significance of their advancement in…
