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Quality
Baldrige
Program for Education Getting Broad Support
Although
the Baldrige National Quality
Program for education is still very new, many organizations
are supporting the program and urging widespread adoption of the
Baldrige performance excellence principles. For example, the National
Education Goals Panel recently held a nationwide teleconference,
“Creating a Framework for High Achieving Schools,” to focus on
the Baldrige criteria in education.
In
the foreword to a report issued in conjunction with the teleconference,
Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin and 2000 chair for the NEGP,
said the Baldrige criteria for education “ … can provide educators
with a framework and strategies for improving their schools and
helping all children to reach high standards.” At the teleconference,
Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, said,
“The Baldrige process and what I call ‘new unionism’ are a quality
match. Most crucially, NEA’s new unionism and the Baldrige process
share the same bottom line, improving student achievement.” Further
information is available by calling (202) 724-0015 or online at
www.negp.gov.
Also,
the National Alliance of Business and the American Productivity
& Quality Center have formed the Baldrige in Education Initiative,
a partnership of 26 business and education organizations dedicated
to reforming the education system based on quality principles.
Further information is available by calling (800) 787-2848 or
online at www.nab.com.
For
further information about the Baldrige National Quality Program,
call (301) 975-2036 or see the web site at www.quality.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
ATP
New
Video Highlights ATP Role in Technology Innovation
For
10 years, the NIST Advanced
Technology Program has worked to spur the development of path-breaking
new technologies by providing cost-shared funding for potentially
valuable but high-risk R&D; projects. Nearly 200 projects have
been completed, and more than 200 currently are under way. In
industry after industry—medical diagnostics, semiconductor manufacturing,
automobiles, telecommunications, information technology, electronics,
high-performance composites, biotechnology—the United States can
offer the world’s markets many leading-edge technologies that
we wouldn’t have without the ATP.
A
new NIST video on the ATP features interviews with industry research
managers that highlight how the program enables breakthrough technologies
in a wide variety of fields, promotes the formation of cooperative
R&D; consortia, and offers valuable early support to small entrepreneurial
technology firms.
“Innovation
and Impact: The Advanced Technology Program,” a 12½-minute video,
is available in VHS format from the Advanced Technology Program
by calling (800) ATP-FUND (287-3863), faxing a request to (301)
926-9524 or sending an e-mail message to atp@nist.gov.
Additional
information on the Advanced Technology Program and the new technologies
it has helped develop is available online at www.atp.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Michael
Baum , (301) 975-2763
Manufacturing
Industry
Gives ‘Seal’ of Approval to Remote Weld Monitoring
Take
the power of the Internet, add to it a sophisticated blend of
computer brains and robotic dexterity, and then apply the mix
to a common, yet vital, manufacturing process. What do you get?
Remotely
monitored welding, that’s what.
NIST’s
Manufacturing Engineering
Laboratory and several industry partners have teamed for years
to develop, refine, test and, eventually, commercialize advanced
welding technologies such as remote monitoring as part of the
NIST-managed National
Advanced Manufacturing Testbed. The remote monitoring project
recently achieved a significant milestone when one of its partners,
Impact Engineering, of Jackson, Mich., incorporated NAMT-derived
technology into a commercially viable product.
Impact
discovered that remote collaboration tools—tools that allow welding
experts to debug and optimize automated welding processes from
remote locations by videoconferencing—could be integrated into
commercial welding systems. This “long- distance repair service”
can save manufacturers production time, decrease maintenance,
reduce or eliminate travel costs for repairs, and increase the
efficiency of automated welding operations.
And
it appears that manufacturers won’t need much convincing of the
system’s benefits. Impact recently demonstrated the technology
to some very interested representatives from Johnson Controls
Inc., a major international Tier 1 automotive component supplier.
Impact officials believe that JCI and other companies soon will
integrate automated welding systems with remote collaboration
tools into their regular production operations.
For
more information, contact Bill Rippey, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop
8230, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8230; (301) 975-3417; william.rippey@nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Michael
E. Newman , (301) 975-3025
Trade
EU
Approach to Standards Explained in New NIST Guide
A
new NIST guide to European Union directives,
standards and procedures for demonstrating compliance with these
requirements can help aspiring U.S. exporters enter the world’s
largest regional market.
A
Guide to EU Standardization and Conformity Assessment (NIST
Special Publication 951) explains the general principles behind
the EU’s so-called New Approach Directives. These establish uniform
health, safety and environmental requirements for major categories
of products sold in the EU’s 15 member nations. The directives,
now numbering 24, supersede the requirements of the individual
countries, greatly reducing transnational differences that impeded
international trade.
Written
by international standards experts Helen Delaney and Rene van
de Zande, the guide describes the EU approach to setting standards.
It also provides an overview of the EU’s approach to granting
product approvals, and it discusses the steps involved in securing
the “CE” mark. Sometimes called the passport to Europe for exports,
CE mark indicates that a product is in compliance with the essential
requirements of all applicable directives.
The
publication distills relevant technical concepts and terms from
the “notified bodies” and “competent bodies” that perform testing
or other conformity assessment activities to risk assessment requirements.
In addition, aspects of the EU approach to product liability are
outlined.
The
guide soon will be available from the NIST online library of publications
on standards and conformity assessment activities. The web address
for downloading will be http://ts.nist.gov/europe.
Media
Contact:
Mark
Bello, (301) 975-3776
Materials
Charpy
Machine Operation and Maintenance Is Easier by the Book
A
new
publication from NIST will be of interest to the more than 1,000
owners worldwide of Charpy impact testing machines. These machines,
based on the swing of a pendulum, are used to determine the temperature
at which structural materials go through a ductile-to-brittle
transition. Charpy impact testing is often specified as an acceptance
test for materials used in critical structures such as bridges
and pressure vessels.
The
latest NIST document describes recommended practices for installing,
maintaining and verifying Charpy impact machines. In great detail,
NIST explains how to prepare the foundation for the machine to
rest on, the type of bolts to use to secure it to the foundation,
and the type of grout to use to interface between the machine
and the foundation. The publication also describes direct and
indirect means of verifying that the machine is in good operating
condition and is functioning as closely as possible to a simple
pendulum with only small losses due to friction and windage. The
indirect verification method, which uses carefully characterized
test specimens to stress the machine components to levels similar
to those experienced during routine usage, serves as an important
supplemental test of the machine performance. The publication
comes in two sizes, 8½ x 11 inches or 5½ x 8½ inches; the latter
is a handy size to keep near the test machine.
For
a free copy of NIST Technical Note 1500-8, Recommended Practice:
Installing, Maintaining and Verifying Your Charpy Impact Machine,
contact Sarabeth Harris, MC 103, NIST, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337;
(303) 497-3237; sarabeth@
boulder.nist.gov. Please specify the size you wish to order.
Media
Contact:
Fred
McGehan, (Boulder)
(303) 497-3246
Standards
U.S.,
Korea Sign Agreement to Enhance Trade and Commerce
Commerce
Secretary William M. Daley and Republic of Korea Minister of Commerce,
Industry and Energy Kim Young-ho recently signed an agreement
that will establish a new cooperative relationship between the
two nations—a relationship that will help harmonize standards
and reduce redundant product testing and other technical obstacles
that can impede trade.
The
memorandum of understanding between the Commerce
Department’s NIST and the
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards will pave the way for
closer technical cooperation in three key areas: documentary standards,
conformity assessment (the procedures required to show that products
meet the standards and regulations of an export market) and measurements—all
of which influence market access and import/export flow.
Among
the planned activities are:
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