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Intertek ETL Entela recently changed the name of its automotive certifications division to Intertek Automotive Systems Certification. Entela Inc. was acquired in April by Intertek Group plc, a global testing, inspection and certification company. Intertek Automotive Systems Certifications will…
Carl Zeiss Industrial Measuring Technology recently received A2LA accreditation in the calibration field. The company now complies with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements and is approved to offer in-house and on-site A2LA calibration services for coordinate measuring machines. “The addition of A2LA…
Adding value by auditing using the process- and metric-driven approach requires new methods and an increased focus on supplier performance metrics (i.e., scorecards). A change in how auditors work the process approach is evolving, with more sophisticated techniques, more rigorous testing and…
Good morning, everyone. On behalf of Galactic Registrars Interstellar Network (GRIN), I’d like to express our appreciation to your organization for selecting us as your ISO 9001 registrar. Before we begin the audit, there are a few items we need to cover. This is standard auditing protocol. Certain…
After months of development, the International Organization for Standardization published a revised version of its ISO 14001 standard on Nov. 15.The changes are mostly procedural in nature, and include: Clause 4.1 “Scope”—Requires that companies describe activities, products, operations and…
President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Don Evans recently announced four winners of the 2004 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The winners are The Bama Co., in the manufacturing category; Texas Nameplate Co. Inc., in the small business category; Kenneth W. Monfort College of…
A quality college in Dubai recently announced the establishment of an award in honor of H. James Harrington, Ph.D. Harrington, a Quality Digest columnist and founder of the Harrington Institute, is a leading quality consultant who frequently works in Dubai. The Harrington Best TQM Thesis Award was…
A new organization for data and information quality managers recently formed, the International Association for Information and Data Quality, offers information and resources to help data quality professionals solve quality problems in their organizations. Noting that poor data quality costs…
TRUMPF Inc. was recently awarded a Connecticut Quality Improvement Award for improvements made to a powerful laser. The company’s TCF 1, a diffusion-cooled CO2 laser based on coaxial electrode geometry, was improved to provide the high-quality beam characteristics of smaller, lower-wattage lasers…
Xerox Corp.’s chairman and CEO recently credited her company’s rosy financial state with its implementation of lean and Six Sigma.Anne M. Mulcahy reports that Xerox achieved more than $100 million in profit from lean and Six Sigma projects that have driven revenue, reduced costs and sped up work…
Prentice Hall recently announced that it has published two books on the use and value of Six Sigma in differing workplaces. Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions: Foundations, DMAIC, Tools, Cases and Certification by Howard S. Gitlow and David M. Levine contains a step-by-step guide for…
The University of Colorado recently became one of only a handful of colleges that offer Six Sigma training. “Six Sigma Black Belt” is a course offered through the university’s Center for Advanced Engineering and Technology Education. Those enrolled in the course are both students and professionals…
WCBF has announced its two major Six Sigma conferences—one on Six Sigma in the health care industry and one on Six Sigma in the pharmaceuticals industry. The Six Sigma in Healthcare conference is the largest of its kind, according to WCBF. It will take place in New Orleans March 3–4, 2005, and…
Six Sigma was first practiced in product development and manufacturing environments to improve customer satisfaction. There, significant improvements were achieved and sizable savings realized. After successfully implementing Six Sigma in manufacturing, Motorola applied Six Sigma in support…
Breakthrough Management Group recently announced the release of an enhanced version of its popular ProjX software suite. ProjX 2.0 is billed as a complete Six Sigma solution and includes enhancements such as advanced project selection and evaluation, expanded multilanguage and multibrand…
The Juran Institute recently announced its plans to create the William W. Barnard Award for Personal Excellence in honor of Dr. Barnard, who recently passed away. William W. Barnard, Ph.D., was a senior vice president who worked for the Juran Institute for more than 18 years. The award bearing his…
A new training course being offered by the American Society for Testing and Materials will examine the roles of precision and bias in the standards development process. “Statistics in Standards and Standards Development: Getting to Precision and Bias” will focus on statistical issues associated…
Pitney Bowes Inc. and Bank of America have reached an agreement that will deploy Six Sigma across the bank’s extensive mailing operations. Under the $112 million agreement, Pitney Bowes will provide Bank of America with technology and expertise from across its broad solutions portfolio, including…
In hopes of making ISO 14001 easier to implement, the International Organization for Standardization recently published a revised version of the standard.ISO 14001: 2004 provides a framework for organizations to control the environmental impacts of their activities, products and services, and…
Several Xerox Corp. employees plan to donate their lean and Six Sigma skills to help nonprofit groups in their communities. The donation is part of Xerox’s larger effort to prioritize the value of good corporate citizenship, which was announced at the Business for Social Responsibility conference…
Former General Electric Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, along with several other high-profile business leaders, will address the upcoming Six Sigma Summit. The event, to be held Jan. 24–26 at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, will also feature workshops and seminars facilitated by such Six Sigma luminaries…
A case study of GE’s Six Sigma implementation is now available online from Best Practices LLC. “Building Six Sigma Excellence: A Case Study of General Electric,” examines GE’s quality efforts and compiles cost–saving steps from several top Six Sigma companies. A manufacturing company included in…
Six Sigma Qualtec recently released an enhanced version of its popular SixNet Intelligence software solution. SixNet Intelligence, a deployment management and project tracking tool for performance improvement programs, now includes both balanced scorecards and general business scorecards,…
The Juran Institute recently moved its headquarters from Wilton, Connecticut, to Southbury, Connecticut. The Juran Institute, founded in 1979 by Dr. Joseph M. Juran, also has offices in Spain, The Netherlands and Canada. Juran established many of the fundamentals on which quality processes, such as…
The American Heart Association recently launched an effort to improve the quality of patient care. The organization made the announcement at its Scientific Sessions 2004 conference, held Nov. 7–10 in New Orleans. The program focuses on improving patient care quality and establishing relationships…
