- Cost of Quality
- Customer Satisfaction and Value
- Data Quality
- Design of Experiments
- Human Resources
- ISO 9000
- Laboratory
- Leadership
- Metrics
- Metrology
- Process Management
- Product Development and Recall
- Quality Control
- Quality Management
- Quality Tools
- Reliability
- Six Sigma
- Small Business
- Standards
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Statistics
- Teams
- Best Practices
- Total Quality Management
- Career Development
- Certification/Registration (management system Standards)
- Customer Experience Management
- Economic Case for Quality
- Continuous Improvement
It Doesn't Add Up
Bewildered economists offer many theories as to what ultimately led to today’s financial woes. Analysts attempt to untangle how so many factors and variables—banks, mortgages and government oversight—contributed to the mess....
Statistics Roundtable: Care and Feeding of Checkweighers
Many years ago, during a tour of a production facility where packages of customer goods were being filled, a statistician colleague and I stood transfixed by an end-of-line checkweigher....
Building From the Basics
Quality control is about models, methods, measuring and managing. It’s about uncovering a problem and finding the solution. It’s about using the right techniques at the right time to make things better....
Salary Survey 2008: Seeing Green
Significant salary discrepancies exist among quality professionals depending on where they work, their gender and whether they supervise others, according to an analysis of QP’s 2007 and 2008 salary surveys. Part 1, section 1 leads off the salary survey p...
One Good Idea: A Tasty Comparison
The objective in this article is to test the hypothesis that the actual distribution matches the hypothesized distribution provided by Mars. The underlying distribution, called the multinomial distribution, is an extension of the binomial distribution. Be...
A DMAIC Makeover
Define, measure, Analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) is the common roadmap for Six Sigma projects. But there are potential weaknesses in this roadmap that could be addressed with a simple, proven adjustment to DMAIC....
Salary Survey 2008: The Complete Report
51 Section 6 Salary by Number of Work Hours Online Section 7 Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status Online Section 8 Salary by Number of Years in Current Position Online Section 9 Salary by Number of Years in Current Position and in the Quality Field Onli...
Building Blocks
Like many other countries around the world, Canada offers a national quality award to recognize and encourage organizations to attain outstanding levels of quality performance....
Educating Engineers
Statistics is an indispensable tool for solving engineering problems. But many engineers are not exposed to problems that require the use of statistical methods until they start their professional careers....
QMS Certification: Down With Disillusionment
Conformity assessment and international standards that cover products and quality and environmental management systems provide mechanisms to ensure the quality of goods and services, but a recent survey reveals that the various certification bodies...
Statistics Roundtable: It's Not Always What You Say, But How You Say It
The Youden plot has proven extremely useful in the analysis and interpretation of data generated by interlaboratory studies. It’s always easy to understand and motivates others to take action if...
Statistics Roundtable: Likert Scales and Data Analyses
Surveys are consistently used to measure quality. For example, surveys might be used to gauge customer perception of product quality or quality performance in service delivery....
10 Quality Basics
In an overview designed to give quality newcomers a glimpse of the knowledge they need to succeed, ten regular Quality Progress contributors write on 10 basic quality topics that are fundamentals essential to surviving in a quality role. Topics covered...
Quality Glossary
Five years after it published its first glossary of quality terms, ASQ has revised that glossary with updated definitions and new entries, many from the lean glossary published in 2005. This reference of terms, acronyms, and prominent figures in the...
Using Statistics To Improve Satisfaction
Choosing which attributes to improve from customer survey data maximizes the use of resources and increases the chances of positive returns on your efforts. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks helps focus attention on what needs...
Core Roles in a Strategic Quality System
When establishing and maintaining a strategically viable quality system, senior management defines the roles played by groups, departments, or functions within the organization using risk/benefit analysis to determine the best fit in terms of logistics,...
Measure for Measure: Improved Gage R&R Measurement Studies
Many manufacturers are using tools like statistical process control (SPC) and design of experiments (DoE) to monitor and improve product quality and process productivity. However, if the data collected are not accurate and precise, they do not...
Faster Turnaround Time
In 2004, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) used Six Sigma to reduce bed assignment delay turnaround time that made it difficult to balance capacity needs. A capstone project revealed incorrect use of the hospital's bed tracking system. The goal was...
One Good Idea: A Sweet Way To Learn DoE
To learn the basic concepts of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and blocking design in entry level design of experiments (DoE) courses, all the students need is a 1.74-oz bag of peanut M&M's....
Statistics Roundtable: Data Mining for Quality
Allen, I. Elaine; Seaman, Christopher A.
In a 1996 Quality Progress article, Bert Gunter urged caution in the use of data mining based on the extraordinary amount of hype and false promises it was receiving at the time....
Use Distribution Analysis To Understand Your Data Source
Distribution analysis - the process of examining a data set to understand its characteristics - uses a variety of tools that are often not used to their fullest extent. A procedure is presented as a guide to performing distribution analysis while...
The Power of Dynamic Illustrations
As more organizations embrace statistical methods and thinking, a useful new tool can help quality professionals and their students meet the challenges of learning statistical methods. Dynamic illustrations are software applications that combine...
Lead To Succeed
It seems at times that the quality profession is not as valued as it once was. The solution is to offer a unique service the corporation and its managers are willing to pay for. To sell yourself and your product, people must notice that you are...
What Do Online Customers Value?
Burgeoning e-commerce sales point to the pivotal role of the Internet as an effective marketing tool. An online survey was used to determine which website design features have the strongest consumer appeal. One section of the survey gathered background...
When Your Process Has Runs, Trends and Cycles
As a Six Sigma practitioner, you sometimes work with processes that have memory, in which the value observed at some earlier time partly influences or determines the current value....
How To Analyze a Split-Plot Experiment
Quality improvement projects frequently require experimentation on a process. In many real experimental situations, a restriction is placed on the randomization of runs that affects the statistical analysis. A split-plot experimental method involving...
Column: DOE and Six Sigma
Design of experiments (DOE) is a powerful tool for improving processes as part of a Six Sigma program....
Flip the Clip
In all the discussion and debate about what Six Sigma means, one thing remains clear: Six Sigma is a broad subject. It is daunting for us trainers to try and produce experts called Black Belts (BBs)....
Measurement Capability
Measurements are made all the time: in processes, to see how well work is progressing and in commerce. Most of the time, we trust these measurements are adequate for the task....
Offense and Defense
To improve its quality, an enterprise must fight two battles. It must prevent new problems, such as wear and tear on equipment, increasingly stringent customer requirements, new product introductions and employee turnover, from affecting its processes....
Eight Essential Tools
The broad use of Six Sigma since its introduction in the 1980s has taught us much about how to make the best use of Six Sigma tools. Now we need to take a look back and reflect on what we’ve learned...
Improve Molded Part Quality
The injection molding process, while simple in concept, is complex in execution. Typical injection molding machines have many adjustable parameters that affect the quality of finished plastic parts....
Augmented Ruggedness Testing to Prevent Failures
Ruggedness testing, a form of design of experiments (DOE), can prevent failures in the processing and use of products by challenging the process, product, or method, then revealing how inputs change as variables fluctuate over ranges encountered during...
College and University Programs in Quality
A list is provided of more than 100 colleges and universities offering courses, programs, and degrees in quality related fields. The list is both alphabetical and geographical and indicates the type of institution and certificates or degrees offered....
Quality Glossary
A handy reference is provided of quality terms, acronyms, and key people in the history of quality. Information is derived from a variety of sources and compiled by the editorial staff of the American Society for...
My process is too variable--now what do I do?
How to produce and use a successful multi-vari study
How to produce and use a successful multi- vari study by Ronald D. Snee Process Schematic FIGURE 1 The process Process outputs Controlled variables Customer Process inputs Uncontrolled noise variables Manufacturing Process Variables TABLE 1 Process input...
Column: Statistics Roundtable: My Process Is Too Variable--Now What Do I Do?
How to produce and use a successful multi- vari study by Ronald D. Snee Process Schematic FIGURE 1 The process Process outputs Controlled variables Customer Process inputs Uncontrolled noise variables Manufacturing Process Variables TABLE 1 Process input...
Column: Frontiers of Quality: Statistical Tools for Six Sigma
What to emphasize and de-emphasize in training
These tools and closely related concepts, such as the design of experiments, are key elements of Six Sigma training and comprise up to half of the standard curriculum. The goal of standard Six Sigma statistical training is to give Green Belts and Black Be...
Teaching the Role of SPC in Industrial Statistics
Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I J U L Y 2 0 0 1 I 89 Teaching the Role of SPC In Industrial Statistics Base the future of a process on statistical investigations of the past by Ralph L. Liberatore S T A T I S T I C S ISCUSSIONS CONCERNING STATIStical pro...
How To Make Surveys Simpler and More Focused
How To Make Surveys Simpler and More Focused Apply multivariate statistical procedures by Larry R. Vinson C U S T O M E R S A T I S F A C T I O N 58 I Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I M A Y 2 0 0 1 RGANIZATIONS ARE BECOMING increasingly focused on listeni...
Column: Frontiers of Quality: Bottom-Line Success With Six Sigma
Define key process output variables and their effects on the cost of poor quality
Companies with profitable Six Sigma strategies are successful because they maintain effective infrastructures for selecting, supporting and executing projects. This article focuses on defining the project key process output variables (KPOVs): given to...
Managing in Uncertainty: Lessons from the Underground
Corporate results can only be improved in the face of uncertainty if the management process itself is defined, developed, and monitored carefully. In some industries, including the mining industry, high levels of uncertainty impact results. In such...
Six Sigma improves both statistical training and processes.
I refer to the definition of statistical thinking published in Glossary and Tables of Statistical Quality Control: Statistical thinking is a philosophy of learning and action based on the following fundamental principles: All work occurs in a system of i...
Linking Six Sigma with QS-9000
Six Sigma is changing the way the automotive industry approaches quality improvement. Ford Motor Company is the first automaker to use Six Sigma to focus on customer satisfaction, and several other automotive suppliers plan to use the approach as well....
Randomization is the key to experimental design structure.
Figure 1 displays the average cutoff times ( in hundredths of a second) for each combination of speed and lawn- 72 I Q U A L I T Y P R O G R E S S I F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 0 Randomization Is the Key To Experimental Design Structure by Richard F. Gunst Sta...
Cowboy Quality
Mikel J. Harry is the acknowledged leader in the theory and application of Six Sigma. Although Six Sigma is related to the concepts of variation and standard deviation, it goes beyond these ideas. While allowing for some uncontrollable fluctuation...
Two-Location Gauge Evaluation
Comparisons of two testing fixtures at different facilities can be accomplished by separating the tester or location factors from the sequence factors. This produces traditional R&R (repeatability and reproducibility) results while also facilitating...
Using DOE to Determine AA Battery Life
Battery factors of cost, connector design type, and temperature were tested for differences in time to discharge and voltage drop. The study examined randomly selected, off-the-shelf AA batteries typically used by remote-control model car racers. The...
Six Sigma and the Future of the Quality Profession
A lean quality organization that performs supporting roles is a trend in the quality profession. It already has appeared in businesses like General Electric and the now defunct Scott Paper Company. The supporting roles are management of the quality...
Small Companies Learn How to Design in Quality
The Design of Experiments (DOX) program at the University of New Hampshire is a partnership between industry and academia. Since 1992 DOX has helped 29 teams from small companies use designed experiments to improve their processes and products. Every...
When Quality Is a Matter of Taste, Use Reliability Indexes
The quality of subjective measurements depends on the consistency of the people who make the ratings. To assess this consistency, there are two types of reliability indexes. The Kappa technique is appropriate for measurements based on categorical or...
