The Elsmar Cove Forum

Interesting article - Analysis of Risk: Are Current Methods Theoretically Sound?

mmantunes — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:27:13 GMT

There�s an interesting article in the October edition of MDDI - Analysis of Risk: Are Current Methods Theoretically Sound?.

I�ve read it once but will need a second read to fully have an opinion...meanwhile, if anyone has an opinion, please put it here for some discussion.

Google Offers Peek at Operating System, a Potential Challenge to Windows

Juan Dude — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:24:52 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. � Google began lifting the veil on its planned Chrome operating system on Thursday, but it said that computers powered by the software would not be available for a year.

The new operating system, which is closely tied to Google�s Web browser, also named Chrome, is seen as a potential challenge to Microsoft, whose Windows software powers the vast majority of personal computers.

But with the Chrome operating system, Google is not trying to build a better version of Windows. Instead, it is aiming to shift users toward its vision of �cloud computing,� a model in which programs are not installed on a PC but rather are used over the Internet and accessed through a Web browser. In Google�s approach, a user�s data will also reside on servers across the Internet, rather than on their PC.

Most PC users already rely on cloud computing, using their Internet browsers to access things like e-mail, photo albums and digital maps.

�Hundreds of millions of users are living on the cloud,� said Sundar Pichai, a vice president for product management at Google in charge of Chrome.

Every program that users enjoy on their PCs today, Mr. Pichai said, will soon be available as a Web application. �The trend is very, very clear,� he said.

While Microsoft and others say they believe that cloud-based programs will coexist with traditional PC software, Google has often said that Web applications will replace all desktop software, another area that Microsoft dominates. Machines running the Chrome operating system, which initially will be limited to lightweight, portable computers known as netbooks, will not run any desktop applications other than the Chrome browser.

But even Mr. Pichai said that devices on the Chrome operating system were likely to be used, at least at first, as a complement to users� more powerful computers at home.

Analysts said that the Chrome operating system could pose a challenge to Microsoft over the long term but said that Microsoft was not sitting still.

�Chrome OS moves the playing field to the cloud,� said Ray Valdes, an analyst at Gartner. �But Microsoft is a multifaceted company. They have a systematic effort to put a lot of their technology portfolio in the cloud as well.�

In a statement, Microsoft said that the Chrome operating system was in �early stages of development� and that �customers are already voicing their approval of the way Windows 7 just works � across the Web and on the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs.� Speaking to investors at Microsoft�s headquarters, Steven A. Ballmer, the chief executive, said that Windows 7 was outselling any previous version of Microsoft�s operating system.

On Thursday, Google demonstrated an early version of the Chrome operating system on a netbook during a news conference at its Mountain View headquarters. Google also announced that it was releasing the underlying programming code for the operating system to anyone who wants to tinker with it under an open-source license.

Not surprisingly, the Chrome desktop looked similar to the Chrome browser. It included a handful of smaller tabs that Google calls application tabs, which are meant to run the programs people use most often, like e-mail or calendar software.

The netbook using the operating system booted in seven seconds, and Google said it was working to make the start-up time even faster. Google declined to say which hardware makers were planning to build machines that used the operating system, but said it would work closely with manufacturers. It said it had been pushing them to make netbooks that were slightly larger than today�s models and included full-size keyboards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/technology/companies/20chrome.html

Lean Simulation Game

jikhtiari — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:23:09 GMT

:bigwave:

Hi,

I was hoping someone could direct me to Lean Simulation Game resources. I've used the Lego's in the past but don't know where they came from or how to get the system. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks -- Jack

Anyone seen Metrology Improvements (P/T, GR&R) as Six Sigma Projects?

puck1263 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:56:35 GMT

I've done a lot of projects reducing P/T ratios from way over acceptance, to being <30%. There were definitely a lot of six sigma tools used, and it was a decrease in variability. Only issue is showing $ savings......any ideas?

Does Six Sigma Project have to Reduce Variability? What about a mean shift to target?

puck1263 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:44:01 GMT

Does six sigma project have to reduce variability? What about a mean shift to target to increase capability?

Bad news/good news day

Colpart — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:16:53 GMT

First the bad news - I was diagnosed as suffering from swine flu today, at least it explains the odd symptoms I have been suffering.

On the other hand there was some good news - a colleague and I have been helping a construction company to develop and implement an integrated management system. It covers the usual suspects (9001, 14001 & 18001) and they are a reasonable size (250 employees) and they passed first time!

They deserve the success because of the effort they put into it too. It was a 10 'man day' audit (they visited 5 construction sites) and whilst they found a few minor N/C's and raised some observations, the company came through pretty unscathed really.

Just for the record, we started in Feb 09 and it has a manual of 17 pages and 17 procedures plus quite a lot of work instructions.

Legacy Forms - Should Change Control apply to legacy forms?

ewh3356 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:57:43 GMT

Quick question... If you have legacy forms that you want to renumber (three companies being rolled into one), should any type of change control be required other than pasting a sticker that states "FORM XYZ Rev A SUPERCEDES FORM ABC Rev B" on the face of the form original (hard copy or electronic file, as the case may be)? Shouldn't there still be some sort of change document? Or is it acceptable to do this across the board to legacy forms?
There are no Quality procedures to cover this here, yet.
TIA!

What are the main reasons to update data in MDS?

erozas2003 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:10:16 GMT

We're transfering some production lines from other plant (thru the same corporation) and we have several part numbers with IMDS id, do we have to update something in the MDS for those part numbers? or we can use the old ones to include in the PPAP docs?

:confused::confused:

Plotting Cpk as Function of Measurement Event

wilburgizmo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:36:38 GMT

I have been thinking of ...

Calculate Cpk based on the most recent 25 data / measurements and then record that Cpk value. Then re-calculate Cpk every time another measurement happens.

Then plot those Cpk's (Y-axis) as a function of the measurement event (increment the X-axis by 1 unit).

Has anyone found this to be a useful or insightful technique or graph?
Or possibly, is this technique a statistical confusion without merit?

Thank you for your time and thoughts.

Need help on printing report in Camio (CMM software)

rbriggs5145 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:23:07 GMT

We finally got a used CMM up and running. It has Camio software on it that no one has been trained in. We have figured out how to calibrate, measure and format the report but cannot figure out how to print the report. :frust: Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Traceability and Control of Manufacturing Lots

ajay.khosla — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:18:02 GMT

Hi to all the quality gurus,
This time I am here with a new problem which is as follows
Actually we are encountering a problem of tracability of lots.

In our company,most of the items get manufactured inside and system is like this.whatever material is required by whatever deptt.(like moulding),store will issue that on a certain number and when it will get manufactured it will go back to store aftrer closing on that certain no. on which it was issued and then next deptt. will have that material again from stores and after completion,it will get back to store,and finally assembly work order will open and assembly will be done and then dispatch.this is just an overview.
Actually with this,traceability becomes a bit difficult like in product audit.
so, plz suggest some other fine system if someone can

Standard Version(s) on Declaration of Conformity (DoC) - Necessary or required?

Jwreeves — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:09:52 GMT

I want to make sure that I am correct. On the DoC, aren't you required to list the current version of the standard(s)

example: ISO 13485:2003 instead of just listing ISO 13485

This ensures you are compliant to the current version. Correct?

UL 508C section 44 - what does it say?

smryan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:57:45 GMT

I've already tried ul.com and find it less than helpful for my question.:frust: Can anyone here tell me the difference between UL508 and UL508C?

I need to know what the test parameters are in section 44 of 508C and all I've been able to find is 508. Are they the same?:confused:

We were told we needed UL810 so that is what we got, but now it seems section 44 of 508 applies and I don't see a way to purchase just the one section. Thanks for any help.

What exactly is Facility Management?

anil123 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:29:48 GMT

What exactly mean the facility management, any SOP or any template please provide

VDA 6.3 Audit Evaluation Sheet

Chandradhar Shukla — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:50:44 GMT

Hi,

Can any one provide me audit evaluation sheet/Questionair for VDA 6.3.