A Quality Rx for Healthcare Improvement
By Anonymous
As quality professionals look for new pimcriptions to help their healthcare provider organizations offer outstanding patient services, they are increasingly turning to patienAentered quality initiatives. To ensure the success of these initiatives, it’s vital to use the latest tools specifically tailored to the healthcare field.
The use of statistical methods is necessary for a patient- centered quality initiative, but this alone is not enough, advises Tom Simas, president and CEO of Statit Software. “First and foremost is that the right management climate is present or the statistical activity is just an idle exercise in arithmetic. After this, one way of proceeding with the quality initiative is to deploy the Plan-Do- Study-Act (PDSA) cycle. The PDSA cycle tests a change-by planning it, trying it, observing it, and acting on what is learned. Statit Software products are designed to guide the user through a process of continuous process improvement and are focused on providing the necessary assistance for a full quality initiative rollout,” Simas explains.
Healthcare organizations, like other businesses, manage vast amounts of data relating to each customer or patient. These data are a vital part of a successful patient-centered quality program. PQ Systems’ CHARTrunner software is a powerful tool for managing healthcare data as Steve Daum, development director for PQ Systems Inc., explains, “A large volume of data is gathered and stored during a typical patient encounter. To determine how much of it is related directly to the patient experience, CHARTrunner can help a clinical practitioner with a patient-centered approach to find, analyze, and understand the data that bear directly on the quality of the patient experience. Charts can help the professional not only to understand a patient’s condition, but also to communicate information to that patient in a visual, easy-to-understand format.”
Acquiring the Right Data for Quality Improvements
A key component for improving quality is having the right data available to address key quality issues. For staff and physicians to drive a quality improvement change, they need a clear picture of what they are doing well and where they have improvement opportunities. Dr. Kaveh Safavi, chief medical officer at Solucient LLC, a leading provider of healthcare business intelligence, says physicians and staff also need data that can pinpoint clinical performance improvement opportunities down to specific drugs, supply items, and/or diagnostic tests. They also need comparative data from relevant peer groups.
For example, Gwinnett Health System, a Georgia organization with three hospitals, used Solucient’s HBSI EXPLORE product to identify 12 project locations, select appropriate comparison groups, and drill into data pools to determine specific areas for improvement.
“EXPLORE’s comparative data allowed senior management to go into line details and highlight differences between Gwinnett performance and that of other community-based health systems. Armed with the knowledge they gained from EXPLORE, Gwinnett implemented a collaborative approach to change that fostered cooperation and buy- in throughout the organization. Physicians and staff embraced the health system’s improvement goals, and sponsored constructive changes to help achieve them. As a result, Gwinnett initiated improvements that could be quantified in the bottom line as well as in physician, staff, and patient satisfaction,” Dr. Safavi explains.
Joe DeFeo, president and CEO of the Juran Institute, which offers e-learning, workshops, consulting, and books, says the greatest driver of improvement is to focus on patient dissatisfaction. This typically shows up in excess wait times, excess labor dollars, nonreimbursable services, decreases in patient safety, etc.
“Quantifying these deficiencies and using the Dr. Juran-named Pareto Principle is a good way to start. A second approach and one that works in many instances is to follow patients as they move through the system (like value stream mapping) to see where the bottlenecks, obstacles, and process deficiencies occur. Using the same method, review the Pareto (charts) and focus on the vital few (first) and then move in sequence. With this method the patient feels immediate positive impact, and the organization orients the staff to what is important and enables upper management to meet its objectives of process efficiency,” states DeFeo.
Striking a Balance
Frequently, quality practitioners are tasked with striking a careful balance to help improve the quality of patient care and enhance the overall effectiveness of the healthcare organization. Matt Savage, technical support analyst for PQ Systems, says these are not mutually exclusive challenges. “Energy that is expended on improving the effectiveness of processes in the organization will translate to improved quality of care as well. For example, if the patient check-in system were improved because of signals from control charting software-perhaps reducing wait times and streamlining admission-benefit would accrue immediately to patients. Nursing staff would be better prepared to serve new patients, and clinical processes could start sooner. Improving processes through data collection will translate into better patient care.”
With the growing involvement of quality practitioners in the healthcare provider organizations, more efforts are becoming focused on the process of delivering medical care itself as a driver of cost and quality. The methods of continuous quality improvement using statistical process control, proven in other sectors, will enable improvement in medical care, notes Simas of Statit Software.
‘The key to changing individual healthcare provider performance is the precise presentation of statistically validated measures of individual and group-normed clinical processes and outcomes. Statit Software’s products and services overcome the three major obstacles that healthcare enterprises face in achieving this goal: identifying the relevant measures, specifying and assembling data, and displaying the results in a clear graphical format that physicians and clinical managers understand,” Simas says. “Our product has had dramatic results for many of our customers in reducing variation, saving millions of dollars, and measurably improving quality.”
Striking a careful balance happens with good decision-making; good decisions are made from accurate and reliable information. For example, St. Tammany Parish Hospital was challenged with the need to increase productivity and reduce cost. They secured the information needed from the largest comparative healthcare information database in the industry, Solucient’s ACTION 00 -1(TM) product.
“By comparing their own financial and operational performance data against that of their peers, St. Tammany was able to adjust their skill mix and reduce overtime to cut direct costs by $340,000 per year. Most important, in addition to improving productivity and cost performance, they developed a process to engage staff, management, and physicians to maintain quality of care,” reports Dr. Safavi.
Discovering Professional Development Opportunities
As a quality professional your credentials, education, and networking contacts all serve to increase your value to your healthcare provider organization as you are better equipped to offer and lead patient-centered quality solutions. One way to demonstrate your credentials is through the Healthcare Quality Certification Board (HQCB), which offers a unique professional certification, the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), for those working in the healthcare field.
“Our certification assures that the person has a level of demonstrated understanding of the concepts of quality in healthcare, the tools with which to monitor and report data, and an understanding of process improvement to guide the organization in making changes,” states Lynne Gagnon, administrator for ancillary services and performance improvement at Acadia Hospital in Bangor, ME. Gagnon has earned the CPHQ credential and is a member of the board of directors for the Healthcare Quality Certification Board.
Of course, another key professional resource is ASQ. The Society’s Healthcare Division averaged more than 10% growth in each of the past two years and product sales to healthcare organizations have increased more than 50% during the last year. These figures go hand-in-hand with ASQ’s concentrated effort to share performance improvement resources with the healthcare community.
“As part of this initiative, we are making a conscious effort to adapt existing content and the body of knowledge to make sure that it is easily adopted by healthcare provider organizations. There are many tried and true quality improvement methodologies that healthcare professionals can adopt as our country seeks to improve the quality and value of care provided. But in some cases the methodologies may need to be adapted to better address the complex needs of the healthcare industry. As a result, ASQ has made a conscious effort to have quality improvement professionals from both within healthcare and outside of healthcare work together to create practices and solutions for the healthcare industry,” explains Ray Zielke, healthcare market manager at ASQ.
Zielke also reports that ASQ is launching a Baldrige for Healthcare Network. This will be a virtual commun\ity where Baldrige- related resources developed by ASQ and others are made available to network participants. “A number of Baldrige healthcare subject- matter experts will participate. The aim of the network is to help healthcare professionals and organizations that wish to apply the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as a means to improve healthcare quality,” notes Zielke.
PARTICIPATING ADVERTISERS
American Quality Systems, Inc.
Cybermetrics Corporation
EtQ, Inc.
IBS America, Inc.
InfinityQS International
Juran Institute
Minitab
PQ Systems
SAS Institute
Statistical Process Controls
StatSoft
EtQ, Inc.
EtQ is the leading provider of enterprise quality and environmental management software, called EtQ Solutions. EtQ Solutions is the only intranet/lnternet-based quality (ISO 9000, cGxP, TS 16949, and more!) and environmental (ISO 14000) system that can be configured by a Web browser or by Lotus Notes, without programming. Key modules include Document Control, CAR/PAR, Customer Complaints, Audits & Surveys, APQP, Training, Calibration, Incidents, Aspects, and more than two dozen more.
EtQ Customers Rave About Our Flexibility and ease of Use
EtQ recognizes the need for flexibility in the compliance management industry, which is why EtQ Solutions is the only software that can be configured completely by the end user. Almost all common quality and environmental management workflow processes and forms are built into the software, but users can easily configure them. There’s no need for expensive programming to modify the way it works. Once the Power User, say the quality engineer, defines a form and workflow in the program through simple selections, anyone in the company who uses EtQ Solutions can access it, whether they have it on their workstation or not. EtQ has made the process even easier by integrating EtQ Solutions with Microsoft Office with the EtQ Office Integrator.
EtQ Office Integrator is a set of functions that manages links between EtQ applications and Microsoft Office applications. Users store document files in EtQ databases as attachments. EtQ Office Integrator allows users to read, edit, preview, and update documents and forms in familiar programs like Word, Excel, and Visio. The data in the Office applications can automatically update fields in EtQ Solution’s applications. EtQ Office Integrator also automates manual tasks like file attaching, detaching, and data searching. This elimination of manual work means reliability and productivity improvements. Users just select “Save to EtQ” in the MS Office tool bar… and the work is done. Other non-Microsoft Office documents can be created and stored.
Documents are stored in the EtQ Solutions database, with centrally administered access rights. There’s no searching for a form or piece of information. Sharing a common set of document templates ensures that every document is created with a unified layout, approved at the corporate level. Since all templates are centrally managed, the Power User can make any necessary changes easily and quickly. This kind of centralization combined with improved reliability and productivity means administrative costs go down.
About EtQ
EtQ Inc., based in New York and Tucson, is a complete quality and environmental management solution provider dedicated to delivering leading-edge software solutions. EtQ’s mission is to make compliance management easy and efficient.
For more information, please visit our Web site at http:// www.etq.com or contact EtQ at info@etq.com or 800-354-4476.
PROCEED: Purpose-Driven Data Mining for Manufacturing Process Intelligence
The PROCEED(TM) software implements the patent-pending approach developed and proven at Caterpillar Inc. and powered by the STATISTICA Enterprise(TM) Analytics Software Platform.
The PROCEED software utilizes your historical data to relate the manufacturing process parameters to product quality outcomes. PROCEED’s Actionable Decision Environment(TM) deploys that knowledge to perform “what-if” scenarios, identify root causes, optimize products and processes, and empower process owners with interactive tools for predicting product outcomes and evaluating prospective process changes. The PROCEED software delivers results in Six Sigma projects, perfect for data-driven decision making from your historical data and designed for the Analyze/Improve/ Control phases.
Case Study
In industrial machine equipment, rotating assemblies are frequently the source of vibration. Perfecting the assembly’s balance minimizes vibration and maximizes power and durability.
Traditional SPC data from manufacturing processes and production test results are used to build a PROCEED model of the cause and effect possibilities. Engineers use PROCEED to find a small subset of critical dimensions from a large population of candidate variables, which accurately models the relevant relationships. A “what-if analysis of the model, combined with the knowledge of the engineering experts, predicts that by implementing only two process changes a 50% decrease of vibration testing is possible. When the process changes are implemented, the balance conditions are met and actual product testing is reduced by 45%. Quality is improved with no additional cost by acting on what was learned from the data.
Return on Investment Scenarios
Today’s process improvement projects are results oriented. Below are example opportunities for the application of the PROCEED software:
Opportunities
* Complex manufacturing processes that involve many steps
* Difficult manufacturing process modeling problems
* Products with competing customer requirements
* Where Design of Experiments (DOE) is not practical or feasible
Outcomes
* Reduced testing
* Reduced postmanufacturing adjustments
* Loosening of raw material and process tolerances
* Reduced warranty claims
* Reduced scrap
* Increased product quality
Contact StatSoft (www.statsoft.com) for a consultation to determine the top opportunities for applying the PROCEED software to impact your manufacturing processes and outcomes. Call 918-749-1119 or e-mail proceed@statsoft.com.
SAS Institute
SAS/QC software, an integrated component of the SAS analytic platform, provides a wide range of specialized tools for all quality improvement efforts within the entire organization, from designing experiments and assessing product reliability to monitoring process stability and determining process capability. And since SAS remains committed to its long tradition of constantly enriching its statistical offerings, you know that you will have access to the most up-to-date quality improvement techniques not just today, but well into the future.
SAS/QC
SAS/QC software, a fully integrated component of the SAS System, provides point-and-click interfaces to guide you through standard statistical quality control applications and design of experiments.
Understand Processes
The dynamic graphics environment in SAS/QC software makes it easy to create and modify Ishikawa diagrams. With the click of a button, you can move, copy, delete, swap, reorient, and highlight the branches, stems, and leaves. Business process reengineering requires an understanding of existing processes as well as new process design. Process flow and modeling tools are helpful in graphically portraying existing processes vs. proposed implementations. To help with this, the SAS System provides a point-and-click graphical user interface for creating process flow diagrams (PFD). The PFD object is available in SAS/AF software.
Pinpoint Critical Problems
5A5/QC software includes tools for prioritizing quality improvement activities. You can create a standard Pareto chart based on a single set of quality problems, or construct multiple Pareto charts arranged in a matrix for easy comparison across levels of classification variables.
Establish Control and Reduce Variation
You can monitor process data with a variety of control charts, including Shewhart charts-the most popular method for studying process variation. Use SAS/QC software to generate:
* X and R charts for averages and ranges
* X and s charts for averages and standard deviations
* Control charts for individual measurements and moving ranges median charts
* p and np charts for the number of nonconforming items in a sample
* u and c charts for the number of nonconformities in an item
With SAS/QC software you can reuse control limits created during a previous analysis, automatically adjust control limits for varying sample sizes, and perform tests for special causes (Western Electric rules, runs tests). You can also create cumulative sum control charts for means or individual measurements, generate control charts for uniformly or exponentially weighted moving averages, and produce historical control charts to display the evolution of a process over time.
Determine Process Capability
After establishing statistical control, use SAS/QC software to determine how well your product meets design specificalions. Use techniques such as capability indices, histograms (optionally superimposed with specification limits and fitted curves), quantile- quantile plots, and probability plots.
Design Experiments to Improve Your Product or Process
SAS/QC software provides interactive tools for designing quality into your product or process from the start, fhe ADX interface guides you through the entire process of designing and analyzing statistical experiments. You can generate factorial, fractional factorial, and mixed-level designs, with or without blocking. And, for situations where standard designs are not appropriate, you can construct A-, G-, and D-optimal designs.
Determine Product Reliability
Whether in design or production, SAS/QC software can help you assess the reliability of your product. You can evaluate the risk of product or component failure, formulate warranty plans for future products, and schedule maintenance actions. Reliability engineers and statisti\cians can construct probability plots and fit life distributions with right and interval censored data, fit regression models including accelerated life test models, and analyze recurrence data from repairable systems.
Put SAS/QC Software to Work With Other Integrated Tools of the SAS System
Powerful and versatile, SAS/QC software provides the quality professional with a wide range of statistical and graphical methods. And, because SAS/QC software is part of the SAS System, you can bring all your process information together in a complete enterprisewide solution.
Contact Us Today
SAS * SAS Campus Drive * Cary. NC 27513 * http://www.sas.com * 800-727-0025
IBS America, Inc.
IBS offers enterprisewide shop floor control, quality management, and Web-based software solutions. The QSi compliance management system enables organizations to address the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, ISO/TS 16949:2002, and ISO 14000 certification. Companies depend on the QSYS quality control application to lower the cost of achieving quality across organizations in any industry.
The QSi System
Quality Management-Addresses the elements of ISO 9001:2000 and, if used in its entirety, provides a paper-free quality system.
Quality Management/Automotive-Specifically addresses the requirements of QS-9000 and ISOfTS 16949:2002 like APQP1 PPAP, and Gage RftR.
Environmental Management-Meets the requirements of ISO 14000 containing 12 additional environmental management modules such as Aspects and Impacts, Objectives and Targets, MSDS and Hazardous Materials, and Emergency Preparedness.
FDA Document Control 21 CFR Part 11-Enables the secure creation of Procedures, Work Instructions, Specifications, Quality Plans, and Process Description documents.
QSi Web System for Document Control-Provides a Web-based, document control system enabling organizations to create and manage quality documents complete with custom form layouts to meet unique organizational requirements.
QSi Reports-Includes more than 140 predefined reports with 2,800 drill-down options with easy-to-read graphical display formats, including pie charts, bar charts, and Pareto charts.
QSYS Professional
QSYS is a process-oriented, modular system that can be fully integrated, providing quality control software applicable in any sector. This solution gives you a scalable, enterprisewide quality system for shop floor control, supply chain management, six sigma initiatives, and productivity improvement.
Modules include: Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Audit, Concern Complaint Management (CCM), Gage Management System (GMS), Failure Mode ft Effects Analysis (FMEA), Incoming/Outgoing/ In- process Inspection (IGC/OGC), Inspection Plan Management (IPM), Measure System Analysis (MSA), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Statistical Process Control (SPC), Supplier Assessment Management (SAM), and ToolCom.
IBS is an ISO 9001:2000 registered company.
IBS America, Inc.
125 Hartwell Ave. * Lexington, MA 02421
Phone: 781-862-9002 * Fax: 781-862-9003
The World Trusts Minitab for Quality
Minitab is the leading provider of software for process improvement and statistics education. Quality professionals have used MINITAB Statistical Software-our flagship product-to implement hundreds of thousands of improvement projects, and more students have learned statistics using MINITAB than any other package.
Software You Can Count On
MINITAB Statistical Software contains the ideal collection of statistical methods for education and process improvement and is powerful, reliable, and easy to use. It has been used to implement virtually every major Six Sigma initiative around the world, and is the choice for statistics instructors in more than 4,000 high schools, colleges, and universities.
MINITAB offers Basic and Advanced Statistics, Regression, ANOVA, Reliability/Survival Analysis, SPC, DOE, and more.
Minitab Quality Companion is the tool professionals choose to design, organize, and execute their quality projects, and the package industrial engineering and applied statistics instructors can use to prepare their students for professional work. It is fully customizable, can be installed on a network drive, and includes process mapping, cause-and-effect diagrams, brainstorm/affinity diagrams, FMEA, CTQ matrix, and more.
Outstanding Services
World-Class Training-Minitab offers training courses around the world that teach quality and education professionals how to quickly harness the power of MINITAB. Classes are small and include hands- on instruction and plenty of time for individual questions. Course materials are filled with actual quality improvement projects, and our trainers are highly regarded statisticians and seasoned professionals with industry experience.
Exceptional, Free Technical SupportRegistered users of our software receive free technical support-available by phone, e-mail, or online-from a team of friendly and knowledgeable statistical specialists.
Six Sigma Expertise-MINITAB is the package used by the leading Six Sigma consultants to train their global clientele. We have a Six Sigma business coordinator and staff dedicated exclusively to Six Sigma practitioners, and a long history of improving MINITAB and developing new software to support Six Sigma initiatives.
A Sales Team That Works for You-Our sales representatives work closely with you to assess your needs and ensure that our software meets them. We offer the most flexible licensing options in the business, and our experience working with companies and universities of all sizes makes the deployment of our software in your organization simple and cost-efficient.
Learn more about Minitab at http://www.minitab.com, or call 800- 448-3555 (USA/Canada) or 814-238-3280.
Juran Institute Inc.
Enabling Enterprises to Attain Quality Leadership
The pressures on today’s enterprises are intense. Customers expect shorter lead times, new products, outstanding services, higher quality, and lower costs. Stakeholders want predictable financial performance and continuously improving profits. Employees want increasing responsibilities, better support and training, and new career opportunities. It is not enough to reduce costs or downsize. True breakthroughs must be achieved by identifying creative and innovative ways to expand opportunities, gain new business, grow revenue, and improve the bottom line.
Organizations around the globe contact Juran Institute for many different reasons. Some are world-class companies desiring a Six Sigma maturity assessment to identify gaps and create plans for further improvement. Others are excellent enterprises striving to achieve outstanding business performance and need guidance to move beyond Six Sigma. Still others have experienced weaknesses in competitive markets or are in need of reducing costs and increasing profitability.
Based on the pioneering work of our founder, Dr. Joseph M. Juran, and 26 years’ experience as a globally recognized leader in methods to attain quality leadership, Juran Institute knows that what counts most is our real-world experience in achieving sustainable breakthrough results. We have built a professional training and consulting staff comprised of experienced and practicing experts who help organizations improve the way they do business.
We can help you in many ways, including:
* Assessing current business performance against world-class standards
* Setting priorities for strategically implementing Lean and Six Sigma programs
* Increasing customer loyalty
* Reducing costs by eliminating waste in processes
* Dramatically reducing cycle times
* Improving profitability
* Improving design processes by accurately determining customer needs
* Integrating enterprise-wide initiatives into a strategic plan and deploying it throughout an organization to focus efforts on top priorities.
Juran Institute is in a unique position to support your enterprise as you implement successful strategies for dramatically improving business performance at all levels, divisions, and locations.
For more information, contact Juran Institute, Inc. at 800-338- 7726 or visit our Web site at www.juran.com.
American Quality Systems
For nearly 15 years, American Quality Systems has been a leading developer of software for quality management professionals. Low price, simplicity, and flexibility have earned the loyalty of thousands of clients ranging from the smallest job shops to the largest enterprises such as GM, Ford, Toyota, Delta Faucet, and GE.
ProGAGE ISO v6 is a value-priced, modular, customizable gage and calibration management package that allows multiple users to maintain gage records, schedule calibrations, and conduct MSA compliant gage RftR studies. Customizable screen fields, reports, certificates, and calibration labels make it adaptable to any manufacturing or service environment.
ProGAGE ISO is a true 32-bit software application that runs on Windows 98/2000/XP and is available in standalone or multi-user network versions. Supports reverse traceability to measurement standards, generates calibration recall lists, gage management reports, calibration work orders, certificates of calibration, and many other reports. Many competitive databases can be imported for those users looking to switch from their old calibration software to ProGAGE to save time and ensure a smooth transition.
Optional features allow ProGAGE ISO to be self-customizable, by allowing users to pick from a variety of built-in feature modules that can be activated at any time. Optional modules include Issue & Return, Gage RftR studies, Gage Kits and Fixtures, Parts, Suppliers, and the powerful Report Editor. No more paying for features your company may never use.
Prices start at $695 for the ProGAGE ISO Basic Package. Visit www.aqsinc.com or call 800-776-3090 for your free demo CD and brochure.
American Quality Systems, Inc.
204 N. Main Street
Monticello, IN 47960 USA
Toll Free: 800-776-3090
Internation\al: 574-583-0344
Fax: 574-583-0345
E-mail: sales@aqsinc.com
Web: www.aqsinc.com
CHARTrunner solves hospital’s daunting data task
Taming mountains of data can be a daunting task-a fact that is nowhere more apparent than in the healthcare industry. Hospitals generate data at a rate commensurate with the complex services they offer and the diverse customers whom they serve. The prestigious Cleveland Clinic has solved the problem of making data analysis quickly available to those who need it, with the help of CHARTrunner.
CHARTrunner is software that generates quality improvement charts and performs statistical analysis using data that are managed by other applications.
Balazs Nemeth leads Clinical Resource Management and Decision Support for the Cleveland Clinic Health System, Eastern Region. The four hospitals in the Eastern Region have been using CHARTrunner’s histograms, p-charts, and other charts to monitor length of stay, case mix index, case mix suggested length of stay, mortality rates, and other patient data.
“We love CHARTrunner,” Nemeth says. By freezing control limits at 16 data points, analysts have baseline data against which new data are evaluated. Charts are downloaded through the Eclipsys Support System, a clinical and financial database for the large hospital. Data entered “can be picked up by CHARTrunner anytime,” saving time and hastening needed improvement efforts. When changes are made in processes, improvement can be documented with data. Charts illustrating improvement in infection control, for example, provide dramatic evidence that the hospital’s approaches are working.
What used to take several days now happens in a half day or less. Nemeth says that the hospital has cut more than 75 percent from the amount of time it took to generate reports prior to acquiring CHARTrunner. “Every chart would have to be updated, and statistics calculated one at a time,” he says, adding that CHARTrunner not only updates charts automatically from Access, but automatically administers seven tests for stability (7 points up or down, too close to mean, etc.) in that time. Charts are shared in PDF format via the hospital’s Internet connections.
For more information about CHARTrunner, visit www.pqsystems.com or call 800-777-3020.
InfinityQS International
InfinityQS International is the premier provider of enterprise- wide quality control software solutions for manufacturers. These solutions empower manufacturers to monitor, control, and improve the quality of their manufacturing operations while continuing to provide significant returns on their initial investment.
With thousands of licensed users in the most demanding of manufacturing environments, InfinityQS’ real-time SPC software and expert consulting services empower corporate leadership, plant management, and shop floor employees to meet their business and quality objectives.
InfinityQS’ SPC solutions can be easily implemented across a site, an enterprise, or an entire supply chain to help increase productivity, reduce costs, and maximize quality. In addition, their data integration and collection tools give manufacturers the freedom to capture data from any source and easily integrate with existing databases and systems. InfinityQS also offers full service capabilities including e2e implementation, quality training, as well as professional consulting and analysis services.
InfinityQS’ continuous growth can be attributed to their real- world approach to designing software solutions that are built and tested from the ground up by nationally renowned industrial statisticians and quality managers. Committed to the accurate and practical application of SPC, InfinityQS ensures statistical validity through a suite of products and services anchored in the demanding realities of everyday quality management.
As a proven industry leader, InfinityQS has been part of every pivotal quality objective across numerous industries, including FDA- regulated, aerospace and defense, food and beverage, automotive, general manufacturing, and high tech. Clients include: Boeing, Siemens, Duracell, Honeywell, Delphi, McCain Foods, West Pharmaceutical, Quaker Oats, Caterpillar, Georgia-Pacific, The Kroger Company, Ball Corporation, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Kimberly-Clark, Nestle Waters, Novartis Pharmaceutical, OSRAM Sylvania, Bosch Braking, and Owens-Illinois.
For more information, please visit our Web site at www.infinityqs.com or call 800-772-7978.
GAGEtrak 6-Feature-rich, budget-priced calibration management software
Give your company the competitive edge it needs with GAGEtrak 6 Calibration management software. GAGEtrak increases your company’s profitability by helping you save time and money, increase efficiency, and ensure compliance with critical quality standards. Right out of the box, GAGEtrak gives you a quick, easy, affordable way to plan, automate, and track your company’s calibration workflow, manage assets, optimize their use, standardize procedures, perform MSA studies, and keep tabs on costs, inventory, and personnel.
GAGEtrak gage calibration software helps you automatically schedule calibrations, track gage locations, retrieve calibration records, generate work orders, produce calibration certificates, maintain equipment calibration, and perform many other functions swiftly and efficiently.
GAGEtrak’s full-featured MSA module helps you assess the repeatability, reproducibility, bias, stability, and linearity of your measurement systems.
Customizable reports keep you on top of trends, so it’s easy to forecast your workload, reduce costs, and comply with international calibration standards. If you need 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, that’s here, too.
GAGEtrak is as easy to install and implement as it is to learn and use, so the cost of your calibration program stays low.
It’s scaleable, too: GAGEtrak is designed to grow with your organization, whether you have a single user on one computer, several users on a local area network, or even many users who need access to several different databases across your enterprise.
Options like PDA software, the calibration label printer, and CalPro equipment calibration procedures provide even more flexibility and power.
Cybermetrics Corporation
16100 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop,
Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
E-mail: sales@cybermetrics.com
Web: www.cybermetrics.com
TOLL FREE: 800-777-7020
(USA and Canada Only)
480-922-7300 * 480-922-7400
Copyright American Society for Quality Nov 2005