Archive for June, 2009

PQ Systems celebrating 25 years

June 23, 2009

Mike Cleary

Remember 1984? The Cosby Show premiered. So did Miami Vice. Mary Lou Retton won gold medals. Michael Jackson’s hair caught fire during the shooting of a Pepsi commercial. Geraldine Ferraro became the first female vice presidential candidate. Apple released its first Macintosh computer (replacing the Apple IIE, on which the first SQCpack had been created in 1983). PQ Systems was born.

Yes, we’re 25 years old this month. We’ve maintained a string of great software and training products during that time—SQCpack, CHARTrunner, GAGEpack, DOEpack, Total Quality Transformation among them—and missed the market on some—QDS OnLine, for example. Like most 25-year-olds, we’re still learning, thanks to our customers and their feedback. Our training sessions keep evolving, not only in technology (from printed seminar books then to on-line webinars now) but also in content, as our customers become more knowledgeable about SPC and about technology itself. And like other twentysomethings, we’re a little impatient for what’s ahead, and never satisfied with what is.

So we hope we’ll keep learning and leading. Help us with that. And wish us a happy birthday!

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »

How my thoughts became an article on 4th Generation SPC

June 17, 2009

Steve Daum

I occasionally get the urge to write some thoughts. These often end up as files on my computer; never to be opened or used again. Every few years, I sort by date and start deleting the oldest files. Once in a great while, some document will feel more useful and I’ll develop it further. Eventually, I might show it to someone and say, ‘do you think anyone would read this?’ Usually the answer is no. Here is an exception. The article includes thoughts I’ve developed after several years and many customer conversations about the experience of implementing SPC. Thanks to Barb Cleary and Beth Savage for cleaning this up and finding a publisher, Quality Digest.

http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/metrology-article/it-s-time-new-and-innovative-approach-spc.html

If you have comments or questions drop me an email at steved@pqsystems.com

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Stats Tip: A run of 5? Or 6? The debate continues.

June 15, 2009

Matt Savage

I received a lot of e-mails  in response to my last blog entry and a few of you have posted comments on the blog. It is fantastic to see such a lively debate! And while I like to win a debate as much as the next guy, I am more concerned with utility.  After all, if your control charts don’t give you information that helps you control your processes, what’s the point?

We must remember the purpose of a control chart, which is to provide guidance as to when to investigate and when not to investigate. Essentially, a control chart should create an effective balance between reacting too quickly and not reacting quickly enough. While it is evident that we aren’t all using the same operational definition of a run, the nice thing about SQCpack and CHARTrunner is that they allow you define your own run rules.

Note the two distinct runs of points between samples 8 and 18 on the following chart of fictitious data.

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What type of training do you need?

June 12, 2009

Alison Nelson

This week we hosted a sold-out Gage management and R&R using GAGEpack training seminar in Dayton, OH. All participants walked away from the training with a better understanding of gage R&R, and this got me thinking about what other types of training our customers need.

So, I’m asking you, our readers and customers, what type of training you would like to see us host? Would you like to see more gage R&R training, basic statistics training, process capability training, or something else? Please reply with your input so we can better serve you.

Posted in Seminars, Training, Webinars | Comments Off

Software short: Adding some style to your charts in CHARTrunner

June 10, 2009

Scott Johnson

Every now and then I’m complimented on the way my charts look.  I’m not going to give myself all the credit. I mainly give the credit to the CHARTrunner and its designers.  Each month, I create a chart for our monthly newsletter, Quality eLine. I have found myself utilizing CHARTrunner’s chart style options more and more.  I would like to go through some of the advantages that I have found.

A few benefits of chart styles include:

  1. Helps produce consistent charts each time they are drawn;
  2. Allows you to assign fonts to different areas on the chart;
  3. Has many options for color management;
  4. Provides options for other various styles like line styles and data marker styles;
  5. Properly used, it can make charts easier to read;
  6. And there is no limit to the number of styles (each one is a file ending in .csc).

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Posted in CHARTrunner, Software, Software short | Comments Off

Upcoming articles in this month’s Quality eLine

June 8, 2009

Alison Nelson

As usual, we’ve been working hard on wrapping up the latest edition of Quality eLine, our monthly e-newsletter that gives you industry news, case studies, and product tips you can use to enrich your software use. Here is what you’ll see in this month’s issue:

  • Going green—and a whole lot more with document management
  • Quality Quiz: Another quiz from Professor Cleary—and last month’s winners!
  • Data in everyday life: Flag Day invites this chart about U.S. flags imported from China
  • Six Sigma and more: Goal setting and innovation

We’ll be sending it out tomorrow, so if you’re not a subscriber yet, subscribe now to receive your free copy.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off

Thanks for responding!

June 1, 2009

Steve Daum

We recently surveyed some of our CHARTrunner users. Each time we do this, I am amazed at the diversity among our charting software users. CHARTrunner has found a home in so many different industries. If you responded to the survey, thank you. Your input is invaluable. It helps us to prioritize and plan for future product improvements.

For many years PQ has taken pride that our customers drive the next set of enhancements to our software products. Recently, we began an effort to shorten this feedback cycle. The idea is to get customer input earlier and more often during a project. To this end, we are having many reviews of progress throughout a project. Additionally, we are making daily builds of functioning, if incomplete, new versions as enhancements are added. It is important that we get feedback from non-software developers who have a stake in the project outcome. This means not only sales staff, tech support analysts, and the management team–but most importantly customers.

If you did not have a chance to respond to our survey or if you are interested in providing feedback on early product releases, feel free to drop me an email (steved@pqsystems.com). We would love to hear your suggestions and evaluations of early software builds.

Steve

Posted in CHARTrunner, Software | Comments Off