Quality Management : Baldrige National Quality Program
One Size Fits All
There’s a reason why simple tools endure: They work, regardless of the situation. That’s a characteristic
shared by the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence....
Perspectives: Salvaging Baldrige
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is in trouble. It was in trouble before its federal funding was threatened. And it’s because the program has gotten away from its roots....
Climb to the Top
Who said it’s lonely at the top? For only the second time since the Baldrige program began in 1988, seven organizations were recognized last year with the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence—the Baldrige Award....
Tip of the Iceberg
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS KNOW it’s not enough to treat a patients’ conditions and send them on their way. Often, the patient’s condition and symptoms are simply the tip of the iceberg. Many other factors—including human behaviors and societal conditions...
On the Plus Side
Without a doubt, quality at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T) is built in, not bolted on. Given the sensitive and serious nature of FM&T’s business, there can be no other way....
On the Mark
It’s really no wonder that an organization that subscribes to the vision “To be the best-run business in American for the benefit of its customers” received a 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. MidwayUSA, a 2008 Missouri Quality...
PDSA Leads to Top Accolades
Force field analysis. Two-way communication. SWOT analysis. These terms are likely familiar to quality professionals in the manufacturing, service and possibly even healthcare fields. But to those in education? It’s unlikely....
Danger Zones
I’ve often been asked to identify the toughest questions in the Baldrige criteria. Which questions make or break an assessment? What answers does an examiner seek that aren’t explicitly asked for in the criteria? What questions are the hidden jewels?...
Watershed Moment
Cargill Corn Milling North America approached its Baldrige site visit in 2008 with the same level of preparation any organization would, but with the unique perspective that comes with rebuilding your operation after surviving a natural disaster....
Narrow Healthcare's Quality Chasm
Today's healthcare leaders face the need to effectively manage not only the clinical but also the business side of their operations. This includes demonstrating cost reductions, overall organizational improvement and long-term sustainability....
Small Business, Big Feat
Efforts to continuously improve employee and customer satisfaction, and business practices led PRO-TEC to a Baldrige award. The company has incorporated many best management practices, including lean manufacturing and continuous improvement, and relied on...
Far-Sighted
In the first year nonprofit organizations could apply for the honor, Coral Springs became the first local government to take home a Baldrige award by proving it didn't emphasize the
present at the expense of the future....
Customer Servicemen
Customer Feedback is a key component of improvement. The challenge has always been finding the most effective way of procuring it....
Expert Answers: May 2008
Government and cost of quality ... Understanding the slack factor....
Eyes on the Dashboard at Mercy Health System
Patient satisfaction has been a component of Mercy Health System’s dashboard system for about six years, so when emergency department satisfaction into the red zone in late 2005, it immediately set off an alarm....
American Statistical Association Conference on Statistical Practice
February 16–18 | Orlando, FL
Visit www.amstat.org/meetings/csp/2012/index.cfm.
ASQ Lean and Six Sigma Conference
February 27–28 | Phoenix, AZ
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ASQ members exchange comments, suggestions, questions and ideas inspired by articles or letters in Quality Progress.
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