Here's this month's issue of Quality eLine, a newsletter from PQ Systems, Inc. that provides industry news, case studies, quality tips, and information about software products and training services. In this issue you will find: Easy, easier, easiest: Chart from within Excel with no jumping back and forth. Quality Quiz: Another quiz from Professor Cleary--and last month’s winners! Data in everyday life: Ever hit a wombat? Chart shows animal-vehicle collisions in the land of the wallaby and kangaroo. Six Sigma and more: David Schwinn explores knowledge management. Bytes and pieces: Patient flow, reducing project cycle times. FYI: How to check current version numbers and maintenance releases.

Easy, easier, easiest: Chart from within Excel with no jumping back and forth If you already use CHARTrunner, you know how easy it is to create quality improvement charts from your Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. With the upcoming release of CHARTrunner, known as CHARTrunner-XL version 1.7, integration with Excel is even better. Instead of jumping back and forth between CHARTrunner and Excel, you can now get access to CHARTrunner without leaving Excel. Go to http://www.pqsystems.com/eline/2003/12/excel.htm

Quality Quiz: Another quiz from Professor ClearyÑand last month's winners! Winners of last month's quiz (and a copy of Quality Gamebox) are Ruth Blackwell (Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas); Debi Kramm (Aerofil Technology, Inc.); Marilee Haynes (DuPont); William Moll (Alcoa CSI); Kenneth Vandegrift (Wright Patterson Air Force Base). Congratulations!  http://www.pqsystems.com/eline/2003/12/Quality_Quiz.htm

Data in everyday life: One of Australia's largest insurers, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), has released data indicating that from Sept 2002 to August 2003, there were 3,099 vehicle-animal collision claims, with a total repair bill of AU$8.5million (US$6million). This chart shows animal-vehicle collisions in the land of the wallaby and kangaroo. Maybe hitting a squirrel isn’t so dramatic after all. Go to http://www.pqsystems.com/eline/2003/12/chartsyoucanuse.htm

Six Sigma and More: Managing knowledge David Schwinn explores well-known theory of knowledge management to Six Sigma efforts. Go to http://www.pqsystems.com/eline/2003/12/sixsigmaandmore.htm

Bytes and pieces: Information you can use:

• Improving patient flow: For a discussion of Emergency Department patient flow, sharing information with a “bed huddle,” and more, go to http://www.qualityhealthcare.org/QHC/Topics/Flow/FlowGeneral/
  
  
• USPS award to Northrop Grumman: Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC - News) Government Systems division has been awarded the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) 2003 Quality Supplier Award for successfully implementing a host of productivity and quality enhancements to automated mail-sorter systems used at Postal Service facilities across the U.S. http://www.americanquality.com/artman/publish/article_291.shtml
  
  
• Reducing project cycle times: While Six Sigma continues to evolve, the most often cited complaint is long project cycle times. To learn more about how to reduce these times, go to http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c031110a.asp

FYI: Current software releases: Do you have the most current release? To determine the most recent version of PQ Systems’ primary software products, check Help/PQ on the web/check for updates on your program (for SQCpack 2000, GAGEpack 2000, and CHARTrunner). To review current maintenance downloads and version numbers for all PQ Systems software, go to: http://www.pqsystems.com/support/Maintenance_release_downloads.htm