News

RABQSA Launches ISO 50001 Auditor Certification Scheme

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 01/18/2012 - 20:59

RABQSA International Inc. recently launched an auditor certification program to provide international recognition of certified auditors who conduct audits of energy management systems (EnMS) using ISO 50001:2011.

The ISO 50001 Sub Scheme Committee, which developed the program, was established by RABQSA in conjunction with the Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to develop a robust certification scheme that ensures certified ISO 50001 auditors are able to:

·         Assess the conformance of the energy management system to ISO 50001, which includes energy

Baldrige Program Offers Help for Small Businesses

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 01/18/2012 - 20:58

A new collaboration between the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP), the Alliance for Performance Excellence, and the Alternative Board (TAB) will provide resources and training for small businesses to improve their performance through the use of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The purpose of the partnership is to facilitate the teaming of local TAB boards with their state performance excellence programs so that small businesses utilizing TAB services can learn about the Baldrige program.

The alliance is a nonprofit network of national, state, and local

ISO 19011:2011 Ups the Ante for Management System Risk

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 21:31

The writers of the 2011 update of ISO 19011 report that the standard is designed to save organizations money, time, and resources by providing a uniform approach to multiple management system audits.

Compared to the first edition of the standard, which was published in 2002 and applied only to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, the scope of ISO 19011:2011, Guidelines for auditing management systems, has been expanded to reflect the complexities of auditing multiple management system standards.

Four Organizations Honored with the 2001 Baldrige National Quality Award

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 21:30

Three health care organizations and one nonprofit business won the 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. This marks the first year that three health care organizations have been selected at one time.

The 2011 Baldrige Award recipients—listed with their category—are:

·               Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri (nonprofit)

·               Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan (health care)

·               Schneck Medical Center,

ISO Certifications Up By Six Percent

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 21:28

Certifications to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards increased by six percent in 2010, according to the latest edition of The ISO Survey of Certifications.

The biggest increases in certification were to ISO 22000:2005, which relates to food safety management, and to ISO/IEC 27001:2005, which relates to information security management. Certifications to ISO 22000 increased by 34 percent and certifications to ISO/IEC 27001 rose by 21 percent. In total, certifications to ISO standards amounted to 1,457,912 certificates in 178 countries.

“Indicating nearly a million

Chartered Quality Institute Appoints New President

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 21:26

Jim Speirs was recently named as the next president of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).

Speirs was chairman of Ascertiva Group and has a long history of service to the CQI and its predecessor organization, the Institute of Quality Assurance (IQA). He served as president of the IQA from 2005 to 2007 and played an important role in reshaping and restructuring the organization before it was chartered by the British government.

Speirs began his quality career in manufacturing and procurement roles at the age of 18. He was appointed managing director of the NQA in 1994 and later became the

ANAB Acquires Forensic Quality Services

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 21:25

The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) recently acquired Forensic Quality Services Inc. (FQS), a deal that expands ANAB’s range of conformity assessment services to include accreditation of forensic testing agencies.

FQS has provided ISO/IEC 17025 accreditations to forensic testing agencies in the United States longer than any other organization.

 “The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board will maintain the FQS brand because we recognize its enduring value,” says John J. Knappenberger, president and CEO of ANAB.

Study: Baldrige Award Recipient Hospitals Significantly Outperform Their Peers

Submitted by lsmith
on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 22:31

A new report has found that health care organizations that have won Baldrige National Quality Awards for performance excellence or been considered for a Baldrige Award site visit outperform other hospitals in nearly every metric.

            The report found that Baldrige-winning hospitals were six times more likely to be counted among the top 3 percent of hospitals in the United States and that they statistically outperform their peers on core measures established by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The study was conducted by Thomson Reuters.

            “The results of

Institute of Internal Auditors Seeks Board Members

Submitted by lsmith
on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 22:30

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is seeking volunteers to serve on its board of directors.

            The following positions are available for the 2012–2013 term:

·               International officers

·               Institute directors

·               IIA Research Foundation board of trustees

·               Committee members

 

            The deadline for nominations is November 4, 2011. For more information, visit www.theiia.org.

ISO Publishes Standard for Six Sigma

Submitted by lsmith
on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 20:15

Six Sigma has long been an important part of many organizations’ performance improvement efforts, but it’s lacked a standardized method of implementation—until now.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published a data-driven method for improving business and quality performance through Six Sigma as a two-part ISO standard.

 Six Sigma is widely used to:

·               Drive process improvement and make statistically based decisions.

·               Measure business results with a level of reliance.

·               Prepare for uncertainty.

·              

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