All News
In a plan to “strengthen American business through the successful use of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and its framework,” three major quality trade associations have formed the Malcolm Baldrige Collaborative Project. The alliance was formed by the Baldrige National Quality…
Three new judges were recently elected to the 2005 Minnesota Quality Award Panel of Judges. The new judges are Debra Bowers, Independent School District 283 superintendent; Mary Ann Nelson, Minnesota Department of Education assistant commissioner of academic excellence; and Rachelle Schultz, Winona…
A report recently released by the National Committee for Quality Assurance shows that health care improved significantly, but health-care plans that publicly report their performance have declined. The information was part of NCQA’s annual “The State of Health Care Quality” report, which was…
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is developing an accreditation program to support ANSI/AIHA Standard Z10, its new American standard for occupational health and safety systems. Because the new standard is compatible with environmental and quality management standards such as ISO…
The Quest for Excellence Conference XVIII, the official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, will be held next spring in Washington, D.C. The event will be held April 23–26 at the Hilton Washington. It will feature presentations from the 2005 Baldrige Award winners, who will…
ASI DataMyte Inc. recently announced a special incentive offer for new software customers. The special offer allows new customers to purchase ASI DataMyte’s Inspect visual inspection software starter kit at a package price. Inspect is a ready-to-use production and quality system used by…
The American Society for Quality’s Customer-Supplier Division will host an upcoming symposium to discuss improving customer-supplier relationships. The event will be held Feb. 1–Feb. 2 at Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel in Anaheim, California. Its theme is “Catch the Wave of Change,” and it will…
The International Organization for Standardization recently released guidelines for local governments to implement ISO 9001. More than 670,400 organizations in 154 countries have already implemented ISO 9001. However, the new guidelines explain the standard in terms more familiar to local…
RABQSA recently started offering its AS9100 aerospace auditor certification program on its Web site. The registrar has offered AS9100 certification services for some time, but the old scheme required customers to contact RABQSA directly for copies of relevant documentation. The new scheme meets…
Research from Quantitative Software Management Inc. has found that best-in-class software-development projects not only make it to market faster than competitors, they are significantly less expensive. The company surveyed 563 IT software-development projects over the course of four years and…
Teamwork has always been considered a critical component of completing complex projects that require significant improvement. The process of teamwork has been well-documented, but teamwork is still often elusive. Why?
When teams succeed, it’s often for the following reasons:
Strong leadership
Well…
Kaiser Aluminum recently received the 2005 TBM Perfect Engine Award for its Chandler ( Arizona) facility, a recognition of the company’s implementation of lean Six Sigma. The award is given annually by the TBM Consulting Group Inc. to a facility that achieves outstanding productivity results. The…
As part of its ongoing transformation effort, leadership at the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) recently held several lean Six Sigma value-stream mapping events to identify projects that will provide the best return on investment. “Project identification and selection is a disciplined,…
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has selected the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division as the base for its new Lean Six Sigma College. During their training, students learn about basic lean, Six Sigma and theory of constraints principles and tools, including value-stream…
Solectron recently held two consecutive events to honor its suppliers for their successful lean Six Sigma initiatives. The company received more than 50 entries to its first-annual Global Solectron Production System Kaizen Competition. The Supplier Day conference was held immediately after the…
The Confederation of Indian Industry awarded several top-producing Indian companies with Six Sigma awards at its National Convention on Six Sigma. The event was held in late September, and 150 delegates attended, representing 21 teams from India’s manufacturing, services, telecom, energy,…
The use of metrology equipment from Leica Geosystems is helping a Formula 1 car racing team newcomer beat out its rivals. The Red Bull Racing team, which joined the Formula 1 circuit this season, announced that it’s already beating its rivals when in comes to the speed and accuracy of crucial pre-…
Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology recently signed an OEM distribution agreement with Bio-Imaging Research Inc. to distribute BIR’s computed tomography equipment in North America. BIR is a leader in the design of both medical and industrial computed tomography systems. The unique position allows BIR…
Automated Precision Inc. recently opened API University, an innovative training program for precision measurement. The program consists of a three-day course that features lectures and practical, hands-on exercises to introduce students to the science of basic metrology and related practices.…
Shuster Laboratories Inc. recently expanded its food testing capacity to meet increasing demand from manufacturers, retailers and food service establishments. The company, based in Canton, Massachusetts, invested in state-of-the-art equipment for the rapid turnaround of microbiological and…
Laboratory Testing Inc. recently announced that it has expanded its scope of accreditation in calibration services with the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. The company’s calibration division, LTI Metrology, was previously accredited to perform calibration to a wide range of…
Laser scanning keeps older military equipment running by enabling the creation of spare parts that perfectly duplicate the originals at a reasonable cost. MILPARTS and other companies are taking advantage of new technologies, particularly the ModelMaker laser scanning system, which make it possible…
How is it possible to ship customers the right product, on time, and still fail to fulfill their requirements? Most organizations do a pretty good job of determining what product the customer wants. Based on what I’ve observed during surveillance audits, they’ve also improved their processes for…
The judge presiding over a lawsuit against FARO Technologies Inc. has withdrawn a summary ruling that the company’s use of infinite rotation technology in several of its products infringes on a patent held by ROMER CimCore Corp. The development reverses a ruling made in…
The contributions of international standards to economic and social progress, and their role in disseminating technological innovation, were the focus of the International Organization for Standardization’s General Assembly, held September 19-23 in Singapore. A total of 360 delegates from 113…