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(Kinetic Systems: Boston) -- Kinetic Systems has designed a versatile, ultra-low-natural-frequency optical table isolation support system. Due to its unique Minus K negative-stiffness technology, the MK52 optical table isolation support system achieves low net vertical natural frequency without…
(ZweigWhite: Fayetteville, AR) -- In an era where creativity, reputation, and interconnectivity are highly desirable, more design firm leaders are turning to social media to strut their stuff, according to an informal online survey held by The Zweig Letter. According to the results, 75 percent…
(Advanced Inspection Technologies: Melbourne, FL) -- The new Snakescope Video Borescope is portable and handheld, and can snake through areas as small as 5.5 mm (0.216 in.). This video borescope breaks the price barriers while offering a true, high-resolution image and advanced features. The…
The Beryl Institute released a report highlighting results from its recent patient-experience benchmarking study, conducted in collaboration with Catalyst Healthcare Research, an independent marketing research firm. The report, which offers analysis and perspective on the study, can be…
“We can do better” was the underlying takeaway message from the 15th annual Mayo Clinic Quality Conference. This year’s theme was “Creating and Paying for Value in Health Care.”
The conference, held May 3–4, 2011, in Rochester, Minnesota, drew about 1,000 people to hear national leaders in…
Last month I wrote an article entitled “Being Comfortable in a World of Never-Ending Change.” Editor in Chief Dirk Dusharme and I also covered this story on the April 29th edition of Quality Digest Live (QDL). QDL, by the way, is our live video show wrap-up of the week’s top industry news and…
Photo: Greg Hren/RLE
Researchers at MIT have succeeded in making a fine thread that functions as a diode, a device at the heart of modern electronics. This feat—made possible by a new approach to a type of fiber manufacturing known as fiber drawing—could open up possibilities…
(TÜV SÜD: Peabody, MA) -- TÜV SÜD America Inc. announces that the ANSI Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Validation/Verification Accreditation Committee (GVAC) has approved its extension of scope of accreditation for GHG verification services.
Sector groups
TÜV SÜD America is now approved to perform project…
(ANSI: New York) -- Nearly 200 representatives of industry, standards and conformance organizations, government, and consumer groups gathered in Washington, D.C.—and 70 more tuned in via teleconference—for the May 12, 2011, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) workshop, Standards Wars:…
(AMA Service: Wunstorf, Germany) -- The SENSOR+TEST trade fair, scheduled for June 7–9, 2011, in Nürnberg, Germany, is the world’s leading forum for sensors, measuring, and testing. From simple microsensors to complex test rigs, from ready-to-use components to individualized services, the SENSOR…
How do organizations confirm that supplier products comply with critical quality standards? For the most part, companies rely on inspectors to check incoming materials. Their results are compared with the company’s own quality standards and supplier-generated documents, such as certificates of…
(Paton Professional: Chico, CA) -- With the economy still struggling, it’s increasingly clear that organizations need to get smarter with their resources or go out of business. Most modern businesses are required to comply with an astounding number of regulations, standards, and other rules,…
(Cognex Corp.: Natick, MA) -- The high-performance, fixed-mount barcode reader, DataMan 500, from Cognex is now available for factory automation applications. DataMan 500 is the first ID reader to be powered by a proprietary vision chip, Cognex VSoC. The chip enables DataMan 500 to have unmatched…
(Toyota Motor Sales: Torrance, CA) -- Toyota has received recommendations provided in a report from its independent North American Quality Advisory Panel, led by former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.
“We appreciate the panel’s efforts to help us further strengthen our processes, and we…
The customer is always right. Everything we are taught about customer satisfaction is intended to keep us focused on this one principle, and we need to keep this in mind whenever we deal with the customer. Everybody’s business revolves around a customer base, whether we are a service company or…
Reverse engineering and 3-D scanning are often considered synonyms. But 3-D scanning is also an efficient way to compare as-built physical objects to theoretical digital 3-D models (i.e., CAD models), and thus an essential asset to every quality control (QC) department’s tool box. Today’s 3-D…
Lean, Six Sigma, and quality provide a set of tools and a framework for achieving excellence in any process. Quality professionals are able to help organizations determine if customer requirements are properly defined and if the organization is meeting those requirements. Lean practitioners have a…
Among other things, an effective lean management system drives process adherence and process performance. The daily accountability portion of the system includes brief tiered meetings with the stakeholders.
At the tier I level, the core meeting participants are pretty much the natural work team…
(IAS: Whittier, CA) -- More than 60 countries are participating in World Accreditation Day on June 9, 2011, a worldwide initiative jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The International…
(The Crossroad Publishing Co.: New York) -- Greg Salciccioli’s The Enemies of Excellence: 7 Reasons Why We Sabotage Success (The Crossroad Publishing Co., 2011) helps executives, business owners, and other leaders sustain their success during the turbulent times we live in.
From the boardroom…
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- To meet the changing needs of East Coast manufacturers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) announced Mfg4, a new conference-driven event to be held May 8–10, 2012, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
The name Mfg4 references the four industries…
(A2LA: Frederick, MD) -- The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has been accepted as a Member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for the Main Scope: ISO/IEC Guide 65, Sub-scope: Product Certification.
“A2LA is proud to…
(Warner Instruments: Hamden, CT) -- Warner Instruments has introduced a line of ProgRes Digital CMOS and CCD microscope cameras. These cameras are the result of more than two decades of experience in the development and production of high-end solutions for digital imaging.
The versatile and cost…
(Zontec: Cincinnati) -- Zontec Inc., a global developer of statistical process control (SPC) software solutions, announced an update to its Synergy 3000 for its customers worldwide. “Zontec customers know that they consistently receive new enhancements from us that enable them to make…
Want to convince someone to do something? A new University of Michigan (U-M) study has some intriguing insights drawn from how we speak.
The study, presented May 14, 2011 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, examines how various speech characteristics…
