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The Difference Between Quality Control And Quality Assurance

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What programs are you using to create quality products? There are several different methods of quality control and management that you can follow that will aid in giving you better products that the customers support and appreciate. Quality is something that cannot be sacrificed or you will end up dealing with customer fallout and you may also end up struggling to keep your staff members as well since it's so up and down in the organization. Quality control and quality assurance are two of the most common programs and things used in order to give you a productive and successful organization.What is the difference between the two programs and which one should you use for your organization?

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Quality control leads to better ROI

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Manufacturing companies have a number of different standards that they must comply with in order to create their products but to also to release them as well. The requirements and guidelines that you need to follow will pertain to product development along with safety compliance standards. It is important to take the time to plan out your products effectively and to ensure that you will be able to produce quality products. Hiring experts to be over quality control for the manufacturing plant will allow you to bring about greater ROI for the company. This is due to the fact that you have high quality products that will not destroy your reputation. Rarely will you have product defects nor large product recalls.

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Steps to improve the quality in manufacturing

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Every business of every size is always looking for ways to cut costs while still improving quality. This is no different for manufacturing businesses. When this happens, improving quality manufacturing processes can result in decreased waste, better quality products, and an overall improvement in customer satisfaction. There are certain tips that can help any business work toward quality manufacturing process improvement. To implement these tips, it is advised that businesses should develop a committee that is in charge of overseeing any quality improvements, and making sure they come to fruition. While it is best to involve the whole company if possible, in the beginning a committee can help to ensure the steps are completed, and taken from beginning to end. Here are some steps to get you started-

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How to ensure quality control

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When you are producing products or outsourcing your products to another company, you need to make sure there is a high level of quality control. Quality control simply means you will set a standard for where your products need to be at and then strive hard to meet those expectations. When quality control is not implemented within a plant, it can lead to manufacturing defects and other problems. Product recalls are incredibly expensive for your business and could damage your company's reputation for life. Quality control helps you avoid expensive lawsuits and other things by taking steps to prevent problems and eliminate them before they become a burden and a waste on your company.

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An overview to lean manufacturing

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Eliminating waste and improving the efficiency of your manufacturing company should be at the top of your list. There are many different ways to help your business reduce waste and increase efficiency but the one strategy that ranks at the top of the list is lean manufacturing.

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What is quality system balance?

womaninoffice32013222.jpgImproving quality and the supply chain can be a challenge to any company. Focusing on improving quality is vital to the company in order to create better products and services for your customers and to generate the right type of revenue stream you need to become successful. Quality system balance can help you understand how to get started with improving of your supply chain and to generate better products for your customers.

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Using color as an indication of quality

laptop30767380.jpgFor many years companies have been turning to Six Sigma and lean manufacturing to reduce costs, eliminate waste, and improve the overall production of the facility. One way to help you control wastes and to organize the company better is to use color. Using color is simple as it is a visual control tool, the easily sends a message without needing 10-20 messages to be sent out to your employees.

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Using color as an indication of quality

laptop30767380.jpgFor many years companies have been turning to Six Sigma and lean manufacturing to reduce costs, eliminate waste, and improve the overall production of the facility. One way to help you control wastes and to organize the company better is to use color. Using color is simple as it is a visual control tool, the easily sends a message without needing 10-20 messages to be sent out to your employees.

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Managing quality

cleaningmachines24240393.jpgWhen it comes to running a successful manufacturing company, managing quality is vital to your business. The demand for better quality is continuing to grow in every industry. You must have a system in place to manage quality in order to meet your customer's demands and to make sure they are truly satisfied with their products. Since just about every industry is driven by the customer, you must be able to focus on their needs and find a way to keep them satisfied with your products and services.

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How to obtain quality supplies for your manufacturing

barrels41840423.jpgOne of the most important aspects of the manufacturing process is using quality raw materials. However, obtaining these quality supplies is sometimes not an easy process. Total quality management (TQM) is a business process improvement program that focuses on reducing or eliminating waste, to produce a product that fits the customer and company needs. TQM has been shown to significantly improve the production process. One of the most important ways to become successful with TQM is to work with your suppliers to obtain quality materials.

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Ways to reduce product defects

pda30321865.jpgThe number one goal of any manufacturer is to reduce product defects, and improve profitability. There are a number of ways that you can do this. It is important to realize that reducing product defects, needs to come from within the business that is creating the product. Utilizing Six Sigma or some other process improvement strategies can help you eliminate product defects. There are many ancillary benefits to reducing product defects, it will help to increase productivity; costs will lower and it will help the business save money.

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All about manufacturing standards

architect36832024.jpgA standard is a something that is measured against.In manufacturing, there are standards of operation and management.Because of the very nature of manufacturing (production), it is important to constantly be measuring how well the business is doing, and how high of a quality the finished product really is. Keep in mind that these standards are generic, (meaning that they apply to all manufacturers and business owners),no matter the size or nature of the organization. The business can be a public, private or even government entity,and these generic standards would still apply.

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What you need to know about TQM

chair30393486.JPGTotal Quality Management (TQM) provides organizations with the ability to improve its effectiveness, competitiveness, efficiency, and flexibility in order to best suit the needs of its customers. Many companies quickly catch onto the philosophy of TQM but they struggle with the implementation of it.

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Using visual control for process improvement

cautiontape41824589.jpgCompanies that are seeking to increase production efficiency may want to consider using visual control as part of their Six Sigma or lean manufacturing process. Visual control helps employees perform their jobs easier because they can look at a visual sign to see what they need to do. Visual control does exactly what it states, it makes things visual. When things are visible, they tend to remain in our minds for longer periods of time. Having these visual reminders around the plant will provide employees with constant reminders, allowing them to make quick decisions when necessary.

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Using TQM to improve customer satisfaction

lemonaidstand32273991.jpgManufacturing firms are always looking for different ways to improve customer satisfaction. One method that tends to work well is to implement Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM focus on reducing product defects by improving your manufacturing process. TQM is a company-wide approach to saving money and improving customer satisfaction. Before you implement TQM, address the following questions:
1. Do we have enough managers to implement and monitor TQM?
2. Can the entire company commit to a quality change?
3. Do we have time to check for product defects and reduce wastes?

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Understanding the 8 elements of TQM

businessmeeting33030104.jpgTotal Quality Management (TQM) helps to improve product quality using a long-term approach at improving production and customer satisfaction while decreasing wastes. TQM has been around for 60 years now and it continues to grow strong alongside Six Sigma and other process improvement strategies.

While the primary focus of TQM is on customer satisfaction, it also helps to satisfy other needs within the company. There are 8 elements of TQM, they are as follows:

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TQM versus Six Sigma

string26814228.jpgSix Sigma has been used for several years to reduce product defects. It was designed to make businesses become more profitable through the implementation of behavioral changes and product changes. Like Six Sigma, TQM focuses on the same thing although it focuses more on the needs of the customers. What makes Six Sigma different from TQM is the way management implements the program.

TQM does not provide detailed and specific guidelines for management whereas Six Sigma has strong rules for managers. Individuals are trained to become Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Yellow Belts, and Green Belts. They are all part of a team effort to improve the manufacturing process. TQM does not have a hierarchy order like the belt system.

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How to reduce product defects

businessmeeting33030005.jpgReducing product defects needs to come from within the company or organization that is creating the product. Utilizing Six Sigma or other process improvement strategies can help you eliminate product defects. Reducing product defects will help to increase productivity; costs will lower and will help the company save money. Using your employees will help keep their morale high and will show them that you believe their opinion really matters. When you keep your employees involved you will see a vast improvement on product. Less errors and mistakes will happen, which will lead to lowering your product defects.

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How does TQM help my business?

manatcontrols24240145.jpgWith all the different process improvement strategies out there, it is easy to get confused about which ones you should use to reduce wastes. One of the process improvement strategies out there is Total Quality Management or TQM. TQM helps to eliminate waste and improve the production process through various standards. Here are some examples as to how TQM can help to improve your business:

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Using TQM to build teamwork

coworkers23120152.jpgTQM or Total Quality Management is a great way to improve manufacturing processes and increase customer satisfaction. TQM goes one step further and it also helps to build teamwork within companies. The purpose of TQM believes that if you can fix the inputs of a manufacturing system, the outputs will be 10 times better and customer satisfaction will significantly improve. This will happen because you are removing wastes within the system.

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Combining lean manufacturing and TQM

maninfrontofbuilding30337424.jpgLean manufacturing is often combined with Six Sigma and Total Quality Management to improve the manufacturing process. TQM and lean manufacturing follow the same principles of reducing waste and improving customer outputs. Typically the goals are used as follows:

  • Identify a problem

  • Create a solution

  • Implement the solution

  • Measure the results to see if it worked

  • Make adjustments to prevent the problem from occurring in the future

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Seven step quality manufacturing

buisnessmeeting26238539.jpgQuality manufacturing is crucial when it comes to manufacturing processes; when implemented properly, it results in decreased waste, better quality products, and an overall improvement in customer satisfaction.

The seven step quality manufacturing process is a series of steps designed to help improve the quality of manufacturing products as well as the productivity of the work force.

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Improving quality through the Law of the Market

businessmeeting26252755.jpgSix sigma is a method used to provide business with the necessary tools to increase their overall performance and customer satisfaction. This is done by statistically analyzing various forms of data and information, then using it to anticipate the needs of their customers. The overall goal of Six Sigma is to increase a company's profits by identifying and then eliminating factors that contribute to waste and customer dissatisfaction.

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Improving quality through SIPOC

handshake32145701.jpgSIPOC is a business tool used to improve business practices of all kinds, from technology to manufacturing. In manufacturing, SIPOC can be particularly useful in helping to improve overall quality.

What is SIPOC?
SIPOC is an acronym for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Output, and Customers, better defined as:

  1. Suppliers: The significant internal or external suppliers to the process at hand.

  2. Inputs: The major inputs of the process. This can include things such as the necessary materials, forms, information, staff, and so forth needed for a process.

  3. Process: One block representing the entire process.

  4. Outputs: The important outputs to both internal and external customers. This canbe anything the business unit distributes, such as reports, ratings, products, documents, and so on.

  5. Customers: The main internal and external customers to the process. This includes anyone who receives the actual outputs. Keep in mind that the customer must get the output directly from the manufacturing plant, but doesn't necessarily need to be a user of the output. Customers can include managers, CEOs, or those in other departments.

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Commercial law regulations in manufacturing

contractor30905267.jpgIn manufacturing a commercial law regulation is a restriction that is given to a commercial establishment to prevent them from taking part in certain activities. If the regulations are not followed the manufacturing plants that do not follow them will be punished. How they are going to be punished is going to depend on what regulations they broke, but they can be punished by having to pay a fine or being sanctioned.

With commercial regulations the regulations that must be followed are going to change as time change. The reason for this is that the regulations are adjusted to keep up with improvements that are made to the manufacturing industry, but they are also adjusted to help make things more efficient. For example, with the introduction of the new technology some manufacturing processes have become outdated. There is no need to have the old regulations in place for the manufacturing processes that have been outdated by technology.

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What is Quality Assurance?

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Quality assurance, or QA for short, refers to planned and systematic production processes that will provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose. It is also a set of activities that is intended to ensure that products (goods and/or services) satisfy customer requirements in a systematic, reliable fashion. It is important to understand that QA cannot absolutely guarantee the production of quality products, but makes this more likely.

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Fulfilling quality requirements

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Improving quality is one of the biggest factors of total quality management (TQM). When businesses can find ways to meet the customer quality standards and the business quality standards, they are able to save money and reduce waste. To determine if your company is fulfilling quality requirements, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is our product defect ratio?

  • What is wrong with our existing inspection methods?

  • How do workers inspect products or services for quality?

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What is Total Quality Management?

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Total Quality Management (TQM) is a business management strategy that is aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. This process has been widely used in manufacturing, but is also used in education, hospitals, call centers, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs.

Total Quality Management is considered to be the organization-wide management of quality. The management process consists of planning, organizing, directing, control, and assurance.

Manufacturers often refer to this process in order to help achieve more cost efficient and timely results.Total quality is called total because it consists of two different qualities: quality of return to satisfy the needs of the shareholders, and quality of products.

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Quality control and waste reduction

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Many people are concerned about quality control and it is very important throughout the whole manufacturing process.But quality control is important from the very first step all the way through deliver of the product and even after.Quality control implies quality of the product but is also important in other aspects of the process.Here is some more information about quality control and waste reduction in manufacturing.

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Methods for quality control

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Quality control is something that has evolved over the ages and is very important to modern manufacturing and many other processes in today's world.The concept of quality control was somewhat dubious to begin with but has evolved into something that is very important to consumers and businesses alike.Here is some more information about methods of quality control.

Quality control originally began as a kind of caveat rather than an assurance that quality was considered throughout the process.Early craftsmen began making tools for other craftsmen to use and basically said that there was no guarantee and that the buyer should beware.This was certainly a very far cry of what quality control is today and many people are grateful that manufacturing has come such a long way.

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Choosing the best quality control methods

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Quality control is generally used in engineering and manufacturing in developing systems to ensure products or services.They are designed to meet or exceed customer requirements and are often developed together with other business and engineering disciplines.Choosing the best quality control methods for your manufacturing business can sometimes be difficult.It is a vital part of any good manufacturing business and without a good quality control method in place a system has no chance of staying in control of the worth of their product in the eyes of the consumer.

Different quality control methods

There are several different quality control methods you can choose from:

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ISO

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ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.ISO is not a government entity.It is an organization dedicated to forming a bridge between the public consumer and the private manufacturer.Although the ISO is not run by any governmental entity, many of the standards that are held by the organization correlate to standards that are mandated by respective countries.The ISO is beneficial to both the consumer and the manufacturer because it allows for a consensus to be reached between the two parties.It is interesting to point out that no matter what country you are in the short form of the ISO is always the same (not an acronym translated to match the language of each respective country).

ISO provides us all with the positive service of establishing standards that are meant to ensure desirable characteristics of products and services such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability - and at an economical cost.It may take the absence of the ISO to notice just how influential its standards are to everyday consumption.Imagine going to the store and unknowingly purchasing products of poor quality, products that do not fit, that are incompatible with equipment that we already have, of that are unreliable or dangerous, and having no say in the matter.We would be furious!When products, systems, machinery and devices work as they were designed and do so in a safe manner it is usually because somewhere down the line the product and the steps taken to make the product met the ISO standards.

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How to prepare for the ASQ exam

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One of the things that makes the American economy strong is that it has certain standards that must be met. The standards hold throughout the economy and keep a high standard for all goods and services. Without these standards our economy and way of life would fall apart. The goods and services that we normally pay for would be subpar and we would loose faith in them quickly. The high quality of goods and services for which we pay large amounts of our incomes is what keeps the basic system of exchange functioning. Without it we would loose all civility quickly. Fortunately these standards are administered by certain organizations and government associations. One of the most important ones is the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The ASQ certifies people in all sorts of areas of the economy and business. The goal of the association is to help create better businesses and communities throughout the world. If you are interested in becoming qualified through the ASQ you will need to think about taking an exam. The ASQ offers several exams to certify professional capability in various areas. Described bellow are some tips for preparing for the ASQ exam.

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How to implement continuous quality control improvement

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You may have heard about new business and manufacturing techniques that are streamlining processes and creating surprising success in the business world. One of these methods is lean manufacturing, which seeks to eliminate waste while improving quality. The primary purpose of lean manufacturing is to eliminate all cost that does not create value for the customer. Value to the customer can be based on abstract things such as expectations or something more concrete like an actual change in the product itself. By systematically going through the production and distribution process in order to cut waste, lean manufacturing produces efficient and highly profitable businesses.

One of the most important parts of this new wave of change in business is continuous quality control improvement. Continuous quality control is a process that seeks to find specific areas on which to focus and improve. This could be anything such as the way the product is packaged, delivered, marketed, or manufactured. The goal is to create a seamless, streamlined production process without any waste. One thing that many people find difficult is constant quality control improvement. They think it will be exhausting or impossible to keep monitoring the process and to make improvements.

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Using computers to aid your quality control

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Quality assurance is vital to business. Businesses need to make sure their quality control processes are up to par. Losses in quality can cost companies lots of money and possibly customers. One way in which businesses have chosen to help keep their quality assurance processes up to speed is through the aid of computer technologies. This article will identify some of the ways in which computers can aid the process. As always, there is far more research out there to help identify benefits to computers in quality control, but here are just a few.

One of the benefits for having computers aid your quality control process is to eliminate human error.It is not a negative connotation, but computers are programmed to use specific definitions to measure quality. These definitions are fixed for a computer. No matter which computer uses them, they are the same. When humans measure quality of products variations can occur. One individual's classification for firmness can vary from another. So if you have several different people measuring quality you can have several different standards.

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Six sigma quality

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Six Sigma is a method or a set of techniques and in the business world, it has become a movement that is focused on business process improvement. Six Sigma is a quality measurement and improvement program that is designed to focus on improving the quality of a company's business processes.

Here are the steps you can follow to implement Six Sigma into your manufacturing plant.

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Process improvement strategies

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There are hundreds of strategies out there and available for your company to try to help improve the company processes. Whether it is the newest idea bubbling out on the market or an old tried and true method you dust off the shelf, you need to make sure that whatever strategy you employ is one that best fits the needs of your company.You may have to try several before finding one that works best with your industry, machinery / technologies and personnel.

Here are some strategies that you can try to help improve your company's processes.

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Process improvement strategies

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There are hundreds of strategies out there and available for your company to try to help improve the company processes. Whether it is the newest idea bubbling out on the market or an old tried and true method you dust off the shelf, you need to make sure that whatever strategy you employ is one that best fits the needs of your company.You may have to try several before finding one that works best with your industry, machinery / technologies and personnel.

Here are some strategies that you can try to help improve your company's processes.

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Manufacturing quality control

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Quality control is used by manufacturing companies to make sure the products or services that are offered to customers live up to their expectations. When a company employs quality control, they will improve the safety, reliability, and maintainability of their products. Their sales will increase because the company is looking for ways to please the customer. They will overhaul their products to ensure that their customer's needs are met and that the design, development, and production of the product are successful.

With manufacturing quality control, companies will regulate their raw materials and assembly of these materials. They will take a look at all services that are related to the production of the product and they will also look at internal operations like management. There are three main aspects of manufacturing quality control:

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How to reduce manufacturing variations and defects

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Small defects and manufacturing variations can become costly for any company. Several companies have begun implementing different lean manufacturing approaches to reduce manufacturing variations and defects. Some of the common methods include Six Sigma, Total Quality Control, and the 5 "S" Methodology.

Six Sigma
Six sigma was developed by Motorola and has been used by other notable companies like GE. The six sigma method was developed to remove defects and variations in manufacturing. It uses a series of quality management methods to implement the changes. These quality management methods are known as "master black belts, black belts, and green belts." Each company will have different employees that are trained within their different sector. When a company implements Six Sigma to reduce defects and product variation, they will follow the DMAIC or DMADV method.

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What is total quality management, and how does it apply to your business

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So many things have to take place when working in manufacturing. There are so many different ways that things can go wrong when going through the manufacturing line. If everything isn't done just right the parts won't fit together or the product that you are manufacturing might be flawed and not work correctly. Most manufacturing lines do what is called quality management to help decrease on the mistakes that are made. Quality management is a great way to have less waste. In this article you will learn what total quality management is, and how it applies to your business.

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What customers mean when they talk about manufacturing quality

manwithblueprints26817332.jpg This article will discuss what the definition of quality is.While there are actually hundreds of different definitions of what quality is-just go look in your dictionary and you will come up with at least five or six.In this article, we will discuss quality as it is used in business, particularly in business processes, whether financial, human resource, customer relations, or manufacturing.

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Using computers to aid your quality assurance process

manwithcomputers32015719.jpg There are so many different things that you can do to improve the way your manufacturing company performs. One of the most important things to make sure that you do when owning manufacturing company is to make sure that your quality assurance process is up to par. The reason for this is because if you're not exceeding in quality assurance you are probably losing a lot of money. This is why it is important to pay close attention to your quality assurance process. One way that a lot of manufacturing companies are paying close attention to their quality assurance process is by using computers. If you need a better way to aid your quality assurance but don't have any ideas, here is some information on using computers to aid your quality assurance process that might help you.

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What is failure testing; why is it important?

equipment37875039.jpg Failure testing is an important part of the manufacturing process, no matter what you are manufacturing.Failure testing is a way to ensure that you are producing a product and service that will not fail under different circumstances and situations of stress, weather, temperature, and so on and so forth.Continual failure testing, even after a product is developed, will help you ensure that your manufacturing processes are as optimal as possible and that you are continually improving your products and your services.

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Using statistical process control to bring things to Six sigma quality

woodpiles30512995.jpg An intengral part of a six sigma quality approach to your manufacturing processes is statistical process control.Statistical process control is a way to monitor a manufacturing process (or any other sort of process) by using control charts.Statistical Process Control lets you see what is going on in the center of the process and will also let you see what variations are occurring around that process center.Statistical process control collects data from various points within the process instead of just the beginning and the end of the process so that you can see what happens within the process that affects the end product and that product's quality.Statistical process control is one of the more effective approaches to contorlly processes and ensuring quality because it takes place earlier in the process rather than testing the end product for quality.You want to see what is going on before the end product so that you can see what occurs beforehand, catch problems before the end of the process, and see what points of the process are affecting your end product quality.

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Training for quality assurance

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Training for quality assurance can be a very difficult thing to do or to conduct if you are not sure that types of quality issues are most important to your manufacturing operation.As with many of the steps in the manufacturing and production process, without quality control you cannot hope to be able to consistently produce a product that your consumers will be happy with and, more importantly, willing to buy.There are many considerations to make when training for quality assurance; just a few things to keep in mind are listed below.

Knowledge of the process (not necessarily just their step in the process)

Quality control employees tend to be able to be most productive when they have a good understanding of the importance of every step in the manufacturing process rather than just the specific step that they may have stewardship over ensuring the quality for.Having a knowledge of that which is happening both before and after the step in question can help in determining how to best address production and efficiency issues.

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Quality control techniques for manufacturing

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In manufacturing the quality control aspect of the business is there to ensure that the end product meets the requirements of the customer.If the product is not acceptable to the customer's standards, they will not purchase the product.This means the manufacturer not only received no compensation for the product, but that he must absorb the costs of the materials, labor and equipment use that it took to create that faulty or defective product.As with many steps and employee roles in manufacturing and business as a whole, quality assurance is a natural step that is needed to ensure that the product or service being produced will be accepted and paid for by the consumer. After all, if there is no pay there is no reason to produce in the first place.

Quality control techniques for manufacturing will vary from plant to plant as processes, equipment and human skill will vary from plant to plant.Small variations in quality control methods are in some cases a "secret weapon" used by manufacturers to give them an edge over the competition.In general however there are some basic quality control techniques that most other strategies stem from.Here are some brief descriptions of these quality control techniques:

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How to have fewer defective finished products

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Introduction

No one likes defective products, especially the manufacturers of those defective products.Making a product that no one is willing to buy means wasting precious resources of time, effort, and money with absolutely no prospect of return.Defective products can quite literally take a business with great ideas and turn it into a business that has no hope of making money (or recovering lost costs) and must ultimately close its doors.A defective finished product is a detrimental error that can fortunately be eliminated.

Instructions

It takes time and resources to perfect your production line.So although occasional defects are to be expected, all must be done to prevent the same defect from happening twice.Recognizing and learning from points in the production process that consistently yield unsatisfactory results is a good place to start when working towards having fewer defective finished products.

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Using TQM to reduce costs and improve quality

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Developed in the 1980's, Total Quality Management (TQM) has been established at various companies to help manage quality through various processes. TQM is another approach to improving effectiveness, competitiveness, efficiency, and flexibility in order to best suit the customer's needs. TQM is broken down as follows:
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total
= Quality involves everyone and all activities in the company.
Quality = Conformance to Requirements (Meeting Customer Requirements).
Management = Quality can and must be managed.
TQM = A process for managing quality; it must be a continuous way of life; a philosophy of perpetual improvement in everything we do.

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Using lean manufacturing to reduce costs and improve quality

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Lean manufacturing was developed in part from the War Manpower Commission that led to the Toyota Production System (TPS). Lean manufacturing is a concept that focuses on eliminating seven wastes. Toyota defined three types of waste: "muda" or nonvalue-added work, "muri" or overburden and "mura" or unevenness. By eliminating waste, overall quality can be improved and production time as well as cost can be reduced.

The Toyota seven wastes are as follows:

  1. Over-production (production ahead of the demand)

  2. Waiting Time (waiting for the next production step)

  3. Transportation (moving products that are not required to perform the processing)

  4. Over-Processing (Poor tool or product design creating activity)

  5. Inventory (Finished product not being finished)

  6. Motion (people or equipment moving or walking more than the production requires)

  7. Defects (Effort involved in identifying and fixing defects)

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How to ensure quality with your manufacturing

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Producing a product that is of high quality is of extreme importance when you are in the manufacturing business.There are a number of different ways to ensure quality with your manufacturing.There are a couple of different ways to go about looking at quality control.One of them is looking at the physical composition and product performance, and the other is looking at your employees and how you manage them, or Lean Manufacturing.Both play a big role in how you can ensure quality with your manufacturing plant.

Physical Composition and Product Performance

Testing
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  • Quality testing and inspections is one way to help ensure quality products from your manufacturing company.You can hire someone to come in and perform the testing, or sometimes you can have an automated inspection.Automated testing is only done with certain types of industries so make sure you check into it before you get excited about doing it.Sometimes manufacturing companies can hire individuals within their own company to do the testing.This is popular among companies as they don't have to hire another person they don't know or trust.It saves the company valuable time and money.

  • Computer software can also be a great way to ensure quality products in your manufacturing company.There are many software programs available to help ensure product quality but it might take some time and research finding the one that is right for your manufacturing plant.

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What is iso, and how can it help your quality


If you have never heard of ISO then you might be wondering what it is. Basically ISO is an actual organization in the business environment that helps to keep all businesses on the same page. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. This organization was created in 1947 and their primary goal was to develop international standards for all types of businesses from electronics to management systems. Currently the ISO has over 13,000 standards in place and new ones are created every year. But the best thing about ISO is that it can help your company's quality because it has created a auditing and certification process that is known as ISO 9001 which deals with quality standards.

One of the best things about ISO is that it is not designed just for manufacturing companies. ISO is actually designed for any type of business and what happens when you implement it is that the standards are personalized for your company. What this means is that regardless of if you do automobile manufacturing or work in aerospace the ISO standards can be personalized for your business so that your company can benefit from what the ISO has to offer and improve your quality.

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How to improve quality and quantity at the same time


One thing that every manufacturing plant manager is going to be aware of is the quality of their products and the quantity of their products. The reason that they are going to be aware of both the quality and the quantity of their products is that what the company is producing is how they are making their profits, basically the quality and quantity of the products is the company's bottom line it is what can make or break the manufacturing company. So every manufacturing company is going to do what ever it takes to improve both their quality and quantity at the same time. The reason for this is that if they improve their quality they are not going to be wasting as much money on failed productions but at the same time they are also going to be making a better product which will in turn please their customers. But by improving the quantity of products the company is going to be able to sell more products which in turn will led to increased profits, but the only way that they are going to be able to improve the amount of product they are manufacturing is to cut down on waste and to improve their manufacturing process all around. And the best way to go about improving both quality and quantity at the same time is to implement lean manufacturing.

Here are some of the things that you are going to need to do to implement lean manufacturing to improve both quality and quantity at the same time.

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Seven step quality manufacturing, how to improve your process quickly


The key to acquiring a profitable business is in having a great quality product that the customers want. Every business is always looking for ways to improve its product and its advertising to gain more customers. In order for your manufacturing plant to enhance its productivity, you could try using the seven step quality manufacturing method. This method helps you to go through different steps with your product to make a quality product.

1) To implement effectively the seven step quality manufacturing approach, find out first the cause of your manufacturing productivity problems and decide on a plan of attack. For instance, check with the management of the manufacturing line to see why is it taking its department longer to produce a certain numbers of products. Can it be that some people are slower than others in assembling parts of the product or can it be that the assembly line is antiquated and very slow?Once you what needs to be done, you can begin to plan on how to solve the problem.

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How TQM (total quality management) is going to make your life easier


The major function of TQM (total quality management) is to enhance the performance of a company in the quality of its products and services and to achieve total customer satisfaction. Customers expect quality in all aspects of the company's products and services with methods being done right the first time and imperfections eliminated from operations. Basically, total quality management is used to help a company to focus on satisfying the customers and suppliers and to keep up with the improvement of its products and services.
Total quality management (TQM) is a process involving management and employees continually finding ways to improve their products and services. It's a combination of quality and management tools seeking to build up new business growth as well as to reduce unwanted waste while aiming at increasing productivity and profits. Total quality management strives to continuously bring departments together like marketing, finance, engineering, customer service and production to focus on reaching quality customer satisfaction and the ultimate company goals. Total quality management incorporates the knowledge and experiences of workers using appropriate methods the first time and every time to enhance the quality of products and services.

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Ways to find a good manufacturing plant to make your product

Are you an inventor? Have you thought of a product and got it pointed but still looking for a place to get it manufactured? If you answered yes to any of those questions then here is some good news for you, there are numerous things that you can do to find a manufacturing plant for your needs. Perhaps you are thinking that it is easy to say that you can find a manufacturing plant, but that doesn't mean that the manufacturing plant is going to be any good. So now the questions becomes how can you find a good manufacturing plant to make your product.

As we all are aware of there is such a thing called sweatshops and none of us want to let our product be made by a sweatshop, so we try to do everything that we can to avoid them? But if you know nothing about the company how are you supposed to know if they are considered a sweatshop or if they have a good reputation. The good news is that there are plenty of things that you can do to find out if the manufacturing plant is considered a sweatshop or if it is actually a good manufacturing plant.

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How to most efficiently monitor your quality control

There are a lot of different things that you can do to help improve your manufacturing. One thing that can greatly improve your manufacturing is to now how to efficiently monitor your quality control. If you are having problems with monitoring your quality control and want some help there are some things you will want to know. Here are some tips on how to most efficiently monitor your quality control.

The first tip on how to most efficiently monitor your quality control is to figure out what the best strategy for monitoring your quality control is. There are a lot of options out there for monitoring your quality control. It is up to you to decide how much work you want to put into monitoring your quality control.

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How to choose a manufacturing quality control system


Quality control is a vital part of any good manufacturing business.Without a quality control system in place a manufacturing system has no chance of staying in control of the worth of their product in the eyes of the consumer.If the consumer of a product does not perceive value and a certain sense of reliability in that product they will not invest their money in your company.So, it may not be new news to you that you need a quality control system.In fact, you may have some sort of quality system already in place.But how are you to know how to choose a manufacturing quality control system that works best with your company and your product?

When it comes to choosing a manufacturing quality control system you must choose a system that is able to most adequately test the product that your manufacturing organization creates.For example, the quality control system of a steel manufacturing plant will be quite different than that of a manufacturing plant that specializes in smaller parts.

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A look at the different kinds of manufacturing quality control systems


The quality of your product and the systems that you have in place to ensure a certain level of quality have a great deal of bearing when it comes to assigning a value to the product that you are in the business of selling.If you as a manufacturer are unable to maintain a certain level of quality in your product, your consumers will not have confidence in your product and sales will suffer.

Having the right kind of manufacturing quality control system can mean a great deal of difference to your bottom line.When it comes to quality assurance there are several different methods that can be initiated.These plans and explanations are listed below.

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How to improve quality and efficiency in your TQM manufacturing


The purpose of instigating a Total Quality Management (TQM) manufacturing system is to raise awareness and improve the quality of all the organizational processes that the organization is a part of.TQM is also aimed at increasing customer satisfaction while lowering the cost of production.

In order to understand how to improve quality and efficiency in your TQM manufacturing operation, you must look at all of the aspects of TQM individually.TQM manufacturing consists of planning, organizing, directing, control, and assurance.More specifically, total quality is usually looked at in terms of the quality of the return on the shareholder's investments, the quality of the products and service offered, and the quality of life that exists among the members of the organization.

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How to improve your seven step quality manufacturing process

They key to having a successful business is having a good quality product that the customers demand.Everyone is looking for ways to improve their business, whether it is getting more customers with advertising, or improving your product.There are many ways that a business can improve it's self.For instance if you have a manufacturing system that is not quite up to standards on producing a high quality product, you are going to want to find a way to improve that.Lets say you have a seven step quality manufacturing process, there are ways that you can improve that and we will talk about them now.
Every business has their own idea of what their seven step manufacturing is; basically it is the process they go through with their product to produce a quality product.Here are some examples of seven step manufacturing processes with different products.

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What you should know about implementing seven-step quality manufacturing processes efficiently

There are so many different systems that manufacturing companies try to cut costs and make more profit by making everything run smoothly. One process that manufacturing companies use is the seven-step quality manufacturing process. If you are thinking about using the seven-step quality manufacturing process there are some thing you will want to look into. Here are some tips on what you should know about implementing seven-step quality manufacturing processes efficiently.

The first tip you should know about implementing seven-step quality manufacturing process efficiently is to find out what problems there are in your manufacturing that is causing your manufacturing process not to run smoothly. For example if you have a manufacturing line that is not getting the numbers of product out that you want it to fund out why. Maybe the way that the product is being assembled would be easier and faster if it was assembled another way. Or it might be as easy as one of the people on the manufacturing line might not be as fast at assembling a certain part as they are another.

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Ways to ensure quality of products

When you are in the manufacturing business, you want to make sure that you produce a high level of quality in everything that you make!There are many different ways to ensure the quality of products, which range from the physical composition components of the product to the actual product performance itself.Don't get overwhelmed when you start to think about ensuring quality control - there are a couple of different ways that you can ensure the quality of products, and there are a lot of people and programs which can help you!Here is a list of a couple of the ways you can ensure the quality of products:

1) Quality control tests and inspections are a great way to help ensure the quality of your products!You can have a live inspector or tester come to your company to perform an audit.However, with the development of technology, you might also be able to have an automated inspection.The option of an automated inspection or test depends on the type of industry and testing that you need completed.Some industries do not lend themselves well to this kind of testing.For example, in circumstances where smell, texture, appearance, and product performance are important, live inspectors will need to be used.In addition, instead of hiring a live inspector to come to your company, you also can hire an individual within your company who will be trained in quality inspection.This is becoming another popular option for people to ensure the quality of products, particularly because then the company won't need to hire an additional person!For example, you could hire a production worker who has regular assigned tasks, with quality control as an additional task.By training this way, you'll not only be able to get two things done with the same employee, but you'll also save money!

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Hiring someone for manufacturing quality control

The manufacturing industry has a lot of procedures that have to be followed when producing a product. One procedure that manufacturing companies have is quality control. Quality control can be a great tool for manufactures in all the different industries. Quality control helps to get the most out of a company's money. Quality control helps to have less waste which in return helps to save manufacturers money by not having to buy more product than needed. There are different ways to go about doing manufacturing quality control. There are even different ways that you can hire someone for manufacturing quality control. Here are some different ways that manufacturers look for when hiring someone for manufacturing quality control, and the different positions that a company might have when hiring someone for manufacturing quality control.

The first thing that a company might look for when hiring someone for manufacturing quality control is how organized and detail oriented a person is. It is very important that a person that is doing manufacturing quality control be detail oriented because they have to make sure that they inspect the product over and make sure that there are not any flaws. Some products for example an airbag can't have flaws in it because if it does it will not deflate right. It is up to the manufacturing quality control person to make sure that there are no flaws before it gets shipped out. If a faulty product goes out and it mal functions the company can be held liable for it and will be spending a lot of money to make up for the damages. This is why it is very important that when hiring someone for manufacturing quality control that they pay close attention to the persons attributes to make sure that they will be able to fulfill the position.

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What is ISO? How does it help you with quality control?

What is ISO? How does it help you with quality control? ISO or International Organization for Standardization is a body of representatives that have the job of setting international standards. These representatives come from various national standards bodies.

The ISO is not a government organization. Though, many of the standards they set do become law. There is a strong link with the government for ISO, more so than any other non-government organizations. Therefore this does tend to make it a more powerful organization for the creation and enforcement of national standards.

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How to manufacture for quality as well as price

There are a million different things that are manufactured these days, everything from cars to tables. There are different techniques that can be used depending on what you are manufacturing. You want to make sure that when you are manufacturing something that you not only get a good quality, but that you can make it for a good price. Here are some tips how to manufacture for quality as well as price.

The first tip on how to manufacture for quality as well as price is to make sure that you cut out the middle man if you can. Do some research and see what you are paying for certain parts that are going into the product that you are manufacturing and see if you can get them wholesale through some one else. This will help you to get the same product for cheaper. This in return means that you can sale your product at a good price without loosing any quality.

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What is a control chart and how is it used in Six Sigma?

Control charting is a tool used to monitor processes and to assure that they remain stable. The control chart is also known as the 'Shewhart chart' or the 'process-behavior chart'.It is a statistical tool often used in Six Sigma and is intended to assess the nature of variation in a process and to facilitate forecasting and management. The control chart is one of the seven basic tools of quality control, which also include the histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, cause-and-effect diagram, flowchart, and scatter diagram.
Control charts were proposed by Walter A. Shewhart in 1924 while working for Bell Labs.They recognized the need to reduce the frequency of failures and repairs because their telephony transmission systems' amplifiers and other equipment had to be buried underground.Shewhart stressed that bringing a production process into a state of statistical control, where there is only common-cause variation and keeping it in control, is necessary to predict future output and to manage a process economically.Dr. Shewhart concluded that while every process displays variation, some processes display controlled variation that is natural to the process, while others display uncontrolled variation that is not present in the process causal system at all times.

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What is value-added work? Non-value added work?

The concept of value-added work and non-value added work is important for anyone in the world of manufacturing to understand. The success of your business, as well as the satisfaction of your customers, is dependant upon the amount of value-added work versus the non-value added work.

Value-Added Work
Value-added work is the work that is actually valuable and results in a finished product. Keep in mind that a customer is only going to want to pay for value; if they feel that their money is being wasted as a result of insufficient processes, the customer will take his business elsewhere.

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Using quality manufacturing processes

Manufacturing is the process by which raw materials become a finish product. Manufacturing is a wildly diverse field. Manufacturing applies to the metals that make everything from cars to kitchen appliances, the wood that builds homes, the medications that save lives. The one thing that all manufacturing processes have in common is size. Manufacturing processes usually aren't little ones. Manufacturing processes mean a lot of different people doing a lot of different things. These people come from different backgrounds and have different levels of education. Somehow, all the people and all the diverse activities have to be organized and harmonized so that the manufacturing process is like a tidy, effective machine rather than a chaotic waste where no one's sure of what they should be doing.
When considering manufacturing processes, it's important not to let sheer size be the overriding factor in your approach. Manufacturing processes can be said in general to work like any other business process. That is, you have a leadership element, a creative element, a manual labor element, a skilled labor element, a marketing element, and so forth. The creative element in manufacturing usually consists of a pool of engineers who are constantly trying to update the machines and tools that turn raw materials into finished products. Once you begin thinking of manufacturing processes like other business processes, ways of effective organization and operation become clearer.

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What is the difference between different ISO plans?

ISO plans, or standards are the minimum quality standards that technical industries must meet. Thus the different ISO plans are simply the different standards that different facets of the technical industry must meet. For example, there is the safety issues, and there are the customer service issues, and there are the usability and quality issues.

Let's just take a look at two different ISO plans, and by looking at these determine the difference between different ISO plans in general:

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What are ISO standards?

ISO stands for the International Standards Organization (ISO). This organization issues certifications for those who meet their standards of quality.

So, what are ISO standards? They are standards that many companies try to meet in order to better their business, quality, and service. ISO standards simply said are a set of international standards that can be used in any type of business and are accepted around the world as proof that a business can provide assured quality.

When a business is ISO certified it shows consumers that they provide quality. The certification process is long and rigorous as the standards are tough. However, if there were no standards, we would soon notice.

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What is a six sigma champion?

Those looking to get ahead in the world of manufacturing or increase their six sigma knowledge and training should consider becoming six sigma champions. The Six Sigma Champion plays a key role in the success of implementing six sigma within an organization and has a variety of roles and responsibilities.

What is six sigma?
In order to fully understand what a six sigma champion is, it's important to first become familiar with the concept of six sigma. In a nutshell, six sigma is a method used to provide business with the necessary tools to increase their overall performance and customer satisfaction. This is done by statistically analyzing various forms of data and information, then using it to anticipate the needs of their customers. The overall goal of Six Sigma is to increase a company's profits by identifying and then eliminating factors that contribute to waste and customer dissatisfaction.

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What is a Pareto chart and how is it used in Six Sigma?

A Pareto chart is a type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order.It is one of the key tools used in total quality control and Six Sigma.The purpose of a Pareto chart is to graphically summarize and display the importance of the differences between different groups of data.
The Pareto chart was named after Vilfredo Pareto and is based on the Pareto principle.Pareto was an Italian economist who is credited for discovering what we know as the Pareto principle or 80/20 rule.It also is known as the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity.What he observed was that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by only 20% of the population.He soon discovered that this phenomenon was evident in other aspects of his life as well.For example, 80% of the peas in his garden were produced by 20% of the peapods.This expanded to become the 80/20 rule: that 80% of the consequences stem from 20% of the causes. The assumption is that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes.Some examples of 80/20 rule applications are:

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What is a time value map and how is it used in Six Sigma?


A Time Value Map is a tool used in Lean and Six Sigma methodology.It tracks a work item through its process and tracks where it spends its time.It follows the product from raw material to output into the customer's hands to determine where it spends valuable time and where waste time can be eliminated.To better understand what this means, we must first explore both Lean and Six Sigma a little.

Six Sigma methodology is a process improvement methodology using data and statistical analysis to identify and fix problem/opportunity areas for any particular company.A problem or process is identified, and defined objectively.The process's output performance is measured.The problem is analyzed in all phases of the process in order to identify causes of variation.By doing so, output processes can be improved by reducing that variation.This improvement program can affect everyone involved in all processes from production/manufacturing processes to service processes to business processes.

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How To Hire an ISO Consultant

Companies pursuing ISO certification or registration frequently begin the process by hiring consultants. Consultants help speed the process along and help you overcome any road bumps.

So how do you hire a consultant?

First and foremost know what it is you are getting: Many people think they are hiring a consultant to do a contractor's work. Don't confuse contractors with consultants. The difference between the two will affect outcomes, expectations and fees.

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How to Get an ISO Certification

ISO Certification, what is it? How do you get it? In today's market most manufacturers know the value of ISO certification and the negative implications of failing to meet these international quality standards. What many do not know though is how to get one, or really just how important it is to be ISO certified.

ISO certification is a must for any manufacturing company to compete, bid and win business in a tough global economy. So, why isn't everyone ISO certified? Well, the following are a few of the reasons some manufacturers are not...Either there is a lack of commitment from top management, insufficient financing to get certification, poor training or understanding and planning, or simply an overall perception that certification is too expensive and unattainable.

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