(Mnitab: State College, PA)-- Minitab Inc. has released Quality Companion 3.2, an update to its software for managing and executing quality improvement projects.

This update introduces new functionality, including a powerful tool for value stream mapping (VSM), a primary technique used in lean Six Sigma initiatives. A free, 30-day trial version is available at www.QualityCompanion.com. The update is free to registered users of Quality Companion 3.

VSM helps businesses define the steps required to produce a product or service that meets customer expectations, find improvement opportunities, and pinpoint sources of waste. Quality Companion's VSM tool makes it easy to track important variables such as inventory, takt time, and cycle time, among others, to help improve manufacturing, supply chain, service-related, health care, software development, or product development processes.

Quality Companion by Minitab is designed to manage improvement projects from start to finish, and has been embraced by organizations as diverse as Xerox, the U.S. Postal Service, and BHP Billiton.

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