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(The Joint Commission: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois) -- The Joint Commission recently announced the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals and related requirements for each of its accreditation programs and its Disease-Specific Care Certification Program.
The National Patient Safety Goals promote…
(ISO: Geneva) -- Organizations of all types are very concerned by threats that could compromise their information security and managing this aspect has become a primary concern for their information-technology (IT) departments. The new international standard ISO/IEC 27005, which describes the…
In the last couple of months, two topics have become particularly vexing to me. First, how can we be environmentally responsible by purchasing E85 fuel when there are few service stations that provide this new elixir? Second—even more difficult to comprehend—why do companies eliminate products and…
(NOVACES: New Orleans) -- In the evolution of process improvement methodologies, the Velocity World Conference held in April 2008 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, marked a milestone to move beyond process improvement to continuous system improvement (CSI). The event focused on the…
(Gulf Extrusions Co.: Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Gulf Extrusions, one of the largest aluminum extrusion plants in the Persian Gulf, has announced that it's in the final stages of implementing Six Sigma at its production plant in Dubai. The move is in line with Gulf Extrusions’ strategy of…
(MoreSteam.com: Columbus, Ohio) -- MoreSteam.com has announced a new strategic partnership with ISSISSIPPI.org to apply advanced technology to elevate the lean Six Sigma certification process. Using proprietary Internet-based brain scan technology developed by ISSISSIPPI researchers, lean Six…
We examined the practices and major problems that can easily occur in the use of balanced scorecards in the June 3 issue of InsideSixSigma. Now let’s look at why attention to causal event analyses can improve the future performance of any process. Often, this traditional method fails to make metric…
(US Oncology: Houston) -- A new oncology practice management model adapted from a successful manufacturing process is yielding substantial results for enhancing patient access to advanced cancer care while improving efficiency.
The model, developed by the US Oncology Practice Quality and…
(ISO: Geneva) -- A new edition of ISO 9001 is being submitted for voting as a final draft international standard. Subject to formal approval by the ISO membership, the publication of the revised version is expected to be published this fall.
The proposed ISO 9001:2008 doesn’t introduce additional…
(ANSI: New York) -- In auto-tune programs, notes are altered to match the nearest exact pitch. If a singer hits a note that’s just a little flat, or a little sharp, auto-tune will pull that note into the accurate pitch with the touch of a button. Generally, auto-tune is used in a way that is…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- The Baldrige National Quality Program strives to continuously improve all aspects of the program to deliver greater value to its customers and stakeholders and to improve the effectiveness of our processes. To that end, the program is offering opportunities for…
(The Joint Commission: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois) -- The Joint Commission recently announced the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals and related requirements for each of its accreditation programs and its Disease-Specific Care Certification Program.
The National Patient Safety Goals promote…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- The American Society for Quality now offers an advanced online Knowledge Center to help web users find and access all things quality. The Knowledge Center provides a unique and user-friendly venue where web visitors can learn about quality, explore quality hot topics, and easily…
Time is running out to submit an entry on behalf of your company, individual, or project for WCBF’s 2008 Global Six Sigma and Business Improvement Awards. The awards will be presented at WCBF’s Global Lean, Six Sigma, and Business Improvement Summit in Orlando, Florida, October 14–17.
Awards to…
(GAO: Washington, D.C.) -- In 1995, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) designated Department of Defense (DOD) business systems modernization as a high-risk program, and the program remains on the high-risk list today. A key to successful systems modernization is having and using an…
Walk into many stores and you’re bound to be impressed by the quality of digital cameras, TVs, cell phones, and other consumer electronics. Every year the quality of these devices improves by leaps and bounds, and consumers often pay less as products improve.I wish the same could be said about the…
We examined the practices and major problems that can easily occur in the use of balanced scorecards in the June 3 issue of InsideSixSigma. Now let’s look at why attention to causal event analyses can improve the future performance of any process. Often, this traditional method fails to make metric…
In September 2007 at the QuEST Forum I had the privilege of presenting an AT&T in-house Six Sigma process-improvement success story, “Reducing NonBilled Inside Wire Dispatches,” which was selected as a best practice in the Six Sigma category. (The QuEST Forum—Quality Excellence for Suppliers of…
In June 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the dietary supplement current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) final rule (21 CFR Part 111). In essence, the final rule requires that the proper controls be in place for dietary supplements during manufacturing, packaging, labeling…
(HHS: Washington, D.C.) -- Efforts are underway at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve patient safety and the quality of medical care through a plan called “The Sentinel Initiative—A National Strategy for Monitoring Medical…
(HHS: Washington, D.C.) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mike Leavitt has signed a joint progress statement with the Honorable Li Changjiang, Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of the People’s Republic of China.…
(Octagon Research Solutions Inc.: Wayne, Pennsylvania) -- Octagon Research Solutions Inc., a provider of software and services to the life sciences industry, has announced a new service offering, CheckPoint. The new service provides more than 300 separate validation checks of electronic…
In June 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the dietary supplement current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) final rule (21 CFR Part 111). In essence, the final rule requires that the proper controls be in place for dietary supplements during manufacturing, packaging, labeling…
A few weeks ago, I found myself and my family on a beach making a sand castle. It was the last day of our vacation and shortly after we began working the warm South Carolina sand, an official approached us and asked if we would like to be contestants in the weekly sand sculpture contest. Why not?…
(ISO: Geneva) -- A new edition of ISO 9001 is being submitted for voting as a final draft international standard. Subject to formal approval by the ISO membership, the publication of the revised version is expected to be published this fall.The proposed ISO 9001:2008 doesn’t introduce additional…
