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(AHRQ: Washington) -- An online tool recently released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality condenses 129 quality measures into state-specific data that state governments can use to focus their efforts to improve health care. The AHRQ State Snapshot tool allows state…
The Minnesota Council for Quality, Minneapolis, recently announced the recipients of the 2006 Minnesota Quality Award. Eight organizations received recognition this year: Achievement Level Winona Health (Winona) Advancement Level: Albert Lea Medical Center (Albert…
Accuracy, repeatability, performance—knowing how to interpret specifications for measuring devices and systems is important. This month I’ll talk about accuracy specifications for video measuring machines, which I described last month. The concepts apply to other measuring devices as well…
(Cognex: Natick, Massachusetts) -- Cognex Corp., a supplier of machine vision sensors and systems, has announced that a Japanese supplier of industrial robots has standardized on Cognex In-Sight vision sensors for their three-axis and SCARA robots. The manufacturer will produce certain…
(FARO Technologies: Lake Mary, Florida) -- FARO Technologies Inc., a maker of portable computer-aided measurement arms and laser trackers, is increasing its role as technology sponsor for the GTS-champion Corvette Racing Team, which is preparing for the most grueling race of the season…
(Lattice Technology Inc.: San Francisco) -- Lattice Technology Inc., developers of the extensible virtual world description language (XVL) ultra-compressed 3-D data format, will release its newest software application, XVLstaff aimed to prevent leaking of confidential 3-D data in July.…
This column and the next two take stock of the current state and future of the hazardous-substance-free (HSF) movement and its effects on industry, and share my perspectives on the potential effects of QC 080000 IECQ HSPM. A vision of the future: The industry will forevermore be held…
Subclause 6.2.2 of ISO 9001 is ubiquitously referred to as the training clause. That unfortunately narrows the focus to only one aspect of the requirement. The subclause is situated in the section of the standard that relates to provision of resources. It doesn’t simply require that training be…
(ASSE: Des Plaines, Illinois) -- The American Society of Safety Engineers recently approved of the new American National Standard Institute/ASSE A10.4-2007 standard “Safety Requirements for Personal Hoists and Employee Elevators in Construction and Demolition Operations” that sets…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Trade Centre and ISO have released a new product designed to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the food sector to benefit from the advantages of implementing a food safety management system. The product consists of a combined…
(ANSI: New York) -- In a crackdown on what the Massachusetts Securities Division calls a marked increase in the use of purported professional designations targeting senior citizens, Massachusetts adopted in May the nation’s first senior financial designation regulations. By requiring…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization has published standards that are highly relevant to the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, which took place on June 5, and was promoted by the United Nations Environment Program. The theme for 2007 was “Melting…
(SAS: Cary, North Carolina) -- Lisa Flint Dodson has been named president of the International Association for Information and Data Quality. Data integration product manager for SAS, a provider of business intelligence and analytical software and services, and a charter member of IAIDQ…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors will be facilitated by international standards to be produced by a new ISO technical committee that will hold its first meeting in October 2007, in Bergen, Norway. ISO technical committee ISO/TC 234,…
(ANSI: New York) -- The American National Standards Institute recently welcomed seven new members—Crane Operator Certification Authority, DataCom Technology Co., Electronic Data Systems, MetaMetrics Inc., Parsec Inc., Valley View Corp., and Weitzel and Associates. These organizations joined a…
(Strategic Vision: San Diego, California) -- For the first time, Hyundai has produced the most leaders on Strategic Vision’s Total Quality Index, leading in three segments. The 2007 results are based on the ratings of new vehicle owners in 19 product segments. The only other brand to…
Quality and customer focus have always been topmost strategic weapons in the arsenal of successful corporations, which nurture strategic initiatives like a gardener looks after a garden. It’s quite an imaginative thought to see the resemblance of the deployment of a quality system to…
It’s easier to start a Six Sigma project than to close it successfully. Green Belts and Black Belts are expected to be working on projects constantly, so they work on projects to meet the existing expectations. Some of these projects are unlikely to yield significant improvement due to lack of…
Maj. Gen. Arthur J. Rooney, Jr., vice commander, Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force base, is the keynote speaker for this year’s conference. (WCBF: Chicago) -- With the theme “maximizing cost-saving efficiencies, delivery…
(Kronos: Chelmsford, Massachusetts) -- Kronos Inc. has announced a new key performance indicator (KPI) that allows manufacturers to measure the effectiveness of their workforce. This new KPI, overall labor effectiveness (OLE), measures the utilization, performance, and quality of the…
(MDMC: New York) -- Mortgage loan analysis provider MDMC has created Quality ONE, a quality control program that emphasizes the quality of each transaction. Quality ONE is the most recent addition to MDMC’s efforts to monitor and improve its level of service. Based on the Six Sigma…
(Milliken: Spartanburg, South Carolina) -- Milliken & Co. has announced the formation of a dedicated business group to provide performance improvement services to manufacturing companies. The new group is called Milliken Performance Solutions and will be based in Milliken’s Spartanburg,…
Organizations that provide spectacular customer service always keep their line people informed of new developments or offers that will improve a process, and of glitches in the system that may have an adverse effect on customers. Similarly, great customer service means being flexible to the needs…
(CyberShift: Parsippany, New Jersey) -- CyberShift was recently named one of START-IT magazine’s Hottest Companies of 2007. CyberShift is the only provider of workforce management solutions to earn a spot on this year’s START-IT list. START-IT magazine has held the Hottest Companies…
(dbMotion: Chicago and Hod HaSharon, Israel) -- Initiate Systems Inc., a provider of enterprise master person index (EMPI) solutions, and dbMotion Ltd., a provider of health care information integration software, recently partnered to create a unique solution for retrieving, integrating, and…
