Quality articles from October 2002

Quality archives from October 2002

The big picture. (From The Editor).(quality industry has positive aspects)(Editorial)
October 1, 2002... I am a trade magazine editor charged with informing my readers and supporting this industry, but sometimes the big picture can be clouded by day-to-day duties. Recently, I received a call from a consultant who was working for a client...

Going in reverse: Michelangelo used the principles of reverse engineering to create great sculptures. Today, manufacturers use it to create images of products to speed up prototyping, manufacturing and testing processes. (Training Trends).
October 1, 2002... As a technique for making products, reverse engineering used to be viewed as a not-so-ethical process of copying successful designs by OEMs but with less design capability than the originators. Indeed, 30 to 40 years ago, a number of noteworthy...

Supporting ISO.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2002... Dear Editor, In the September editorial ("Silent ISO Majority?," Sept. 2002, p. 6), the editor asked if anyone supported ISO 9000. As a corporate quality systems manager, I can tell you that ISO and QS-9000 have done some good for us...

Coming events. (Industry News).(November 2002)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2002... NOVEMBER * Gage Metrology, Gage R&R and Uncertainty of Measurement Workshop, Schaumburg, IL, Nov. 4-8. Affiliated Educational Consultants Ltd., (888) 404-3304. * ASNT Fall Conference, San Diego, Nov. 4-8. ASNT, (800)...

Big three set deadline. (Industry News).
October 1, 2002... The end of the line for QS-9000 is near. The Big Three released a joint letter officially stating that QS-9000 expires on December 14, 2006, and ISO/TS 16949: 2002 will replace the standard. Just prior to the release of the letter from the...

Hexagon Metrology, a business unit of Swedish-based Hexagon AB, has acquired Xygent Inc. (Business News).
October 1, 2002... Hexagon Metrology, a business unit of Swedish-based Hexagon AB, has acquired Xygent Inc. The Xygent business will be integrated with Wilcox and Associates Inc., which is already owned by Hexagon.

The Hayward, CA, location of Motion Industries Inc. (Birmingham, AL) was honored by New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The Hayward, CA, location of Motion Industries Inc. (Birmingham, INDUSTRIES AL) was honored by New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (Fremont CA) for excellence in service and cost reduction.

Haas Automation Inc. (Business News).(Haas Factory Outlet opened in Hartford, Connecticut)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Haas Automation Inc. (Oxnard, CA) has opened a new Haas Factory Outlet in Hartford, CT. The locally owned and operated outlets provide sales, service and training for Haas products.

Blum (Fort Mitchell, KY), a provider of laser measurement technology solutions, in conjunction with Caron Engineering (Wells, ME), a provider of machine control solutions, has opened a West Coast office. (Business News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Blum (Fort Mitchell, KY), a provider of laser measurement technology solutions, in conjunction with Caron Engineering (Wells, ME), a provider of machine control solutions, has opened a West Coast office. The San Jacinto, CA, office provides...

U.S. Laboratories Inc. (Business News).(named in top 20 of Business Week's Hot Growth Companies)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... U.S. Laboratories Inc. (San Diego), an international quality control specialty services company, has been named in the top 20 of Business Week's Hot Growth Companies.

Pratt & Whitney (East Hartford, CT) and Computerized Thermal Imaging Inc. (CTI, Lake Oswego, OR) have signed a contract for an industrial thermal imaging system that incorporated CTI's advanced thermal imaging technology. (Business News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Pratt & Whitney (East Hartford, CT) and Computerized Thermal Imaging Inc. (CTI, Lake Oswego, OR) have signed a contract for an industrial thermal imaging system that incorporated CTI's advanced thermal imaging technology. Pratt & Whitney plans...

Philip Crosby Associates II (Winter Park, FL) presented Nelson Nameplate Co. (Los Angeles) with Philip Crosby's Beacons Award. (Business News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Philip Crosby Associates II (Winter Park, FL) presented Nelson Nameplate Co. (Los Angeles) with Philip Crosby's Beacons Award. The award recognizes organizations that best implement the tenets of quality in strategic planning, customer...

NSL Analytical Services Inc. (Business News).(ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation achieved)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... NSL Analytical Services Inc. (Cleveland) has received ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

Darcor Ltd. (Business News).(certification achieved)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Darcor Ltd. (Toronto) has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Zontec Inc. (Cincinnati) and Manugistics Group Inc. (Rockville, MD) have formed an alliance to jointly market their respective technologies. (Business News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Zontec Inc. (Cincinnati) and Manugistics Group Inc. (Rockville, MD) have formed an alliance to jointly market their respective technologies, Synergy 2000 statistical process control software and Stratgraphics Plus, an advanced statistical tool...

Agfa NDT Inc. (Business News).(provides Dutch army with digital radiography systems)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Agfa NDT Inc. (Lewistown, PA) has supplied the Dutch army with two systems for digital radiography, one stationary and one mobile. The Dutch land forces will use the systems for clearing explosive devices that date from World War II. Bombs and...

Maurice Knapp has joined. (People News).(Sartorius North America )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Maurice Knapp has joined Sartorius North America (Edgewood, NY) as vice president! Mechatronics Div., Laboratory Business Area, Sartorius Products.

Nilfisk-Advance America. (People News).(Paul R. Miller promoted to vice president)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Nilfisk-Advance America (Malvern, PA) has promoted Paul R. Miller to vice president. Miller will oversee all of the company's activities, including sales, marketing and overall operations.

Rick Ward has been appointed vice president of quality at. (People News).(HI TecMetal Group)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Rick Ward has been appointed vice president of quality at HI TecMetal Group (Cleveland).

Raytheon Co. (People News).(Nicki S. Girouard appointed manager of reliability analysis laboratory)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Nicki S. Girouard has been appointed manager of the reliability analysis laboratory at Raytheon Co. (Lexington, MA).

Hause Machines (Montpelier, OH) has hired three direct sales engineering personnel for its Michigan territory. (People News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Hause Machines (Montpelier, OH) has hired three direct sales engineering personnel for its Michigan territory. Ken Glatz and Tom Excel are sales engineers for special machines and components, while Rob Campion will specialize in Holomatic power...

Virgil R. Carter has been named executive director of ASME International. (Association News).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Virgil R. Carter has been named executive director of ASME International. As executive director, Carter will have overall operational management responsibility for all society funds and program activities, including long-range planning,...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2002... * In the story, "Seeing the Factory from Anywhere," (Quality, Sept. 2002, p. 34) two words were inadvertently added to the beginning of the sidebar. The text should have read: "Perhaps the most critical component of the vehicle is the fuel...

Elasticity of polyester fiber. (Brain Teasers).
October 1, 2002... Everyone who has faced a production problem with a need to solve the problem by using production data can relate to the notion of a brain teaser. The brain teasers presented here are based on real-world situations that are encountered by...

Whisper quiet: a new servoelectric material test system generates little noise. (Innovations).(MTS Systems Corp. offers Evolution)
October 1, 2002... A new material test system has been introduced that uses servo-electric technology to reduce noise levels, and eliminate the oil leaks and some other characteristics associated with servo-hydraulic material-test equipment. In fact, its makers...

Are three sensors better than one? Multisensor coordinate measuring machines integrate vision, laser and traditional touch probe measuring technologies into a single system. If done right, these high-end machines can be a natural fit for today's flexible manufacturing cells. (Controlling The Manufacturing Process).
October 1, 2002... In the past decade, manufacturers improved how products are designed, manufactured, tested and certified. One of the most significant developments has been the emergence of the flexible manufacturing cell as a preferred manufacturing technique...

Managing quality on the Web: internet technologies offer an alternative to traditional in-house software and corporate network systems for quality assurance applications. One of the latest trends is Web-based collaboration with customers and suppliers. (Quality Management).
October 1, 2002... Over the past couple of decades, an entire software industry has grown up around the needs of quality assurance. Applications supporting calibration, statistical process control, supplier management, document control and quality management...

Access the world of NDT: explore the options of NDT at ASNT's annual fall conference. (Measurement, Test & Inspection).(nondestructive testing, American Society for Nondestructive Testing)
October 1, 2002... Digital X-rays, ultrasonic flaw detectors, wireless communications and nondestructive equipment that allows 100% test inspection are just some of the trends that attendees may see at an NDT conference next month. Nondestructive testing...

Conference schedule.(November 5-6)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2002... Conference Schedule Tuesday, November 5 8:00 a.m. Keynote Address: Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech Leak Testing Materials Characterization 9:00 a.m. Helium Mass...

Exhibitors *--Fall Conference and Quality Testing Show 2002.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Advanced X-Ray Inc. Agfa NDT Inc. American NDT Products Inc. Automated Inspection Systems Inc. CD International Technology Inc. CMC Electronics Cincinnati Colex Imaging Inc. Conam Inspection Dakota Ultrasonics Corp. Eastman...

Catch the leak testing drift: regularly scheduled calibration can improve overall accuracy, but drift correction can improve real-time accuracy. (Software & Analysis).
October 1, 2002... Measurement equipment needs calibration. That goes without saying. But, when it comes to leak testing equipment, there are two issues to consider regarding regular calibration. One is the calibration of the leak orifice and the second is the...

Get lean and improve quality: lean manufacturing not only eliminates nonvalue-added steps, it eliminates the quality problems that stem from these cost, time and resource drains. (Controlling The Manufacturing Process).
October 1, 2002... Kaizen, muda, poke-a-yoke. The lean manufacturing terminology can go on and on. In fact, the term itself, lean manufacturing, can go by other names: the Toyota Production System, flow manufacturing, one-piece flow, just-in-time production and...

Computer-aided inspection promises big savings. (Case Studies).
October 1, 2002... A few months ago, if Rus Emerick wanted to inspect a manufactured part, it could take as long as three weeks and cost as much as $16,000. Today, he can do it in two days at little cost. Emerick, who is a staff designer at the Cedar Rapids,...

ISO 9000: more hindrance than help: if superior quality is your goal, then ISO 9001 is not what you need. (Probing The Limits).(Column)
October 1, 2002... ISO 9000 is more of a hindrance than a help for companies that want to achieve superior quality and use quality as a strategic advantage. I've been spreading this message in various forums during the last several months, and while I've received...