PQ Systems eLine

September 2004

www.pqsystems.com

Vol. 6, No. 9

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:

Reports? What reports? SQCpack gives you what you need.
Quality Quiz: Another quiz from Professor Cleary--and last month's winners! Plus, watch for video to support the quiz answer.
Six Sigma and more: David Schwinn addresses outsourcing, Six Sigma, and greed.
Data in everyday life: Back to school lunch.
Bytes and pieces: Make Good Great; PQ Australia Seminars; Self Service;and more.
FYI: How to check current version numbers and maintenance releases.

Reports? What reports? SQCpack gives you what you need.
Many SQCpack users-even long-time customers-are unaware of the potential that the software offers in creating a variety of useful reports. SQCpack can generate reports much faster and with fewer steps than the ponderous reports that Excel creates, according to PQ Systems software consultant Matt Savage. SQCpackReports.htm

Quality Quiz: Another quiz from Professor Cleary and last month's winners!
Winners of last month's quiz (and a copy of Quality Gamebox) are Paul Grejdus (Baldwin Hardware); Dick Isenhart (Arizant Healthcare, Inc.); James Lowe (Centra Industries); Jim Lynch (Bensalem Township School District); and Marilyn Walker (Saint Gobain Crystar Plastics) Congratulations! For September’s quiz question, and a chance to win a copy of this fun, interactive teaching tool, go to Quality_Quiz.htm

Six Sigma and More: Crucial conversations and gut reactions
Author and commentator Lou Dobbs writes about the relationship between job loss and corporate greed. David points out that it isn’t quite that simple. Go to sixsigmaandmore.htm

Data in everyday life: Back to school lunch.
As students head back to school this month, many return to free or reduced-price lunches. Since the Federal School Lunch Program began in 1969, children from poverty-level homes have benefited from free or reduced-price lunches throughout the nation. Here’s a graphic history of the program since its inception, when only 15.1% of total lunches served were free or at a reduced price. A CHARTrunner p-chart illustrates the changes (USDA statistics). chartsyoucanuse.htm

Bytes and pieces: Information you can use:

ASQ campaign: Raising awareness of the value of quality is the goal of a major ad initiative launched by ASQ this month. "Make Good Great"TM will be featured in ads in major business and industry trade publications, as well as radio and media relations sources. Special content and customer service are offered at http://www.makegoodgreat.org
Next month PQ Systems will hold a round of public seminars in Sydney and Melbourne that will help you to apply statistical techniques to your system or process to significantly improve your output. To learn more, visit October Seminars.
Self service: Good news, or bad? A little of both, according to this article by marketing consultant Lois Brown. She gives suggestions about ways to keep customers. http://www.americanquality.com/artman/publish/article_490.shtml

Current versions of software: 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, GAGEpack, and CHARTrunner). To review current maintenance downloads and version numbers for all PQ Systems software, go to: Software Updates