September 2003

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

• Managing Supplier Relationships (PDF, 145 KB)
  A medical device manufacturer meets customer demands and saves money by forming strategic partnerships.
  Sameer Kumar, professor, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis
  Richard Bragg, senior product development engineer, medical device manufacturer

HEALTHCARE QUALITY

• Healthcare's Need For Revolutionary Change (PDF, 106 KB)
  Locked in an 18th century craftperson model, U.S. healthcare needs a paradigm shift to a patient centered system of care.
  Martin D. Merry, M.D., clinician, educator and medical organization improvement consultant

EDUCATION QUALITY

• Better Public Schools With ISO 9000:2000 (PDF, 122 KB)
  A Virginia school emulates the ISO 9000 business management system and shows the standards are readily adaptable to public schools.
  William A. Stimson, systems engineering consultant, ;SCI Associates, Charlottesville, VA

STANDARDS

• The Proven Way (PDF, 150 KB)
  Classic engineering procedures and a process approach can help an organization build an effective ISO 9000 based quality management system.
  Louis J. Diorio Sr., vice president, Quality Systems Integration Inc., Sauquoit, NY

BASIC QUALITY

• Improve Service and Administration (PDF, 111 KB)
  A case study shows how basic statistical tools can be used to reduce the variation in process outputs.
  Davis R. Bothe, director of quality improvement, International Quality Institute, Cedarburg, WI

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

• The Seven Deadly Sins Of Quality Management (PDF, 162 KB)
  * FREE ARTICLE *
  A new taxonomy can help an organization unearth any truly fundamental problems with its management system.
  John Dew, director, continuous quality improvement, University of Alabama

Departments

• Up Front
  Gambling on quality.
• QP Mailbag
  Readers discuss and debate different quality systems.
• Mr. Pareto Head
• Keeping Current
  Q-100 continues long-term benefits...GM gains on Japanese automakers...Panel to advise ASQ leadership...AQP relocates to Milwaukee...Customer-supplier conference Oct. 6-7...more.
• Web Watch
• Frontiers of Quality
  The Six Sigma sweep.
• Career Corner
  Lessons from prairie dogs.
• Standards Outlook
  Test ISO 9000:2000 understanding.
• World View
  Quality management and the world's largest corporations.
• QP Toolbox
• Measure for Measure
  Getting to the root of it all.
• QP Reviews
• QP Calendar
• Back to Basics
• Back to Basics—Spanish Translation
  To find the root cause, that’s why.