Welcome to NWA SPC Update, a newsletter from the world's leading provider of SPC software, featuring the latest solutions from NWA and SPC-related news in manufacturing and the laboratory.

NWA Product News

NWA Visits China to Explore Local Support and Distribution

Last month, NWA representatives traveled to major trade zones in China for a series of meetings to explore local support and distribution for NWA's statistical process control and quality analysis software solutions. As global manufacturing companies create world-class production facilities in China, they are recognizing the need for state-of-the art process analysis to help create a sustainable competitive advantage.

NWA Roundtable: Industry Leaders Meet to Define Future Process Analysis Needs and Product Directions

Representatives from leading manufacturers representing the chemical, electronics and food industries participated in the first of a series of discovery roundtable sessions hosted jointly by NWA and ARC Advisory Group. The roundtable provided a forum for forward-thinking discussions regarding real-time performance management in manufacturing, the analytical needs of manufacturers, and the strategic direction of NWA's analytical software solutions.

New NWA Quality Analyst Web Server 2.1 Now With Exception Reports

The latest version of NWA Quality Analyst Web Server—version 2.1—now includes exception reporting. Exception reports are displayed in web pages and list product specification and SPC violations organized by user-defined views. Users can create the relevant SPC chart for each set of exceptions with the click of a button and can "subscribe" to specific reports using RSS syndication.

In addition to exception reports, Quality Analyst Web Server 2.1 includes a number of other new enhancements.

What's New in Quality Analyst Web Server 2.1?

New NWA Quality Monitor Maintenance Release

The latest NWA Quality Monitor maintenance release will be shipping to all Quality Monitor maintenance customers. Please contact us at nwa@nwasoft.com or 888-NWASOFT (888-692-7638) or 503-224-7727 with any changes to your address or contact information.

Industry News

NWA Business Partner Profile - Quality Solving Srl

Quality Solving Srl, based in Milan, Italy, specializes in quality management system software. Quality Solving Srl resells the IQS Business System in Europe. IQS, Integrated Quality System for Business Performance, is an ISO 9000:2000 compliant client/server solution.

NWA Quality Analyst has been integrated with the IQS database and provides real-time SPC charts and SQC analysis during data collection activities.

Quality Solving Srl also integrates NWA Quality Analyst with CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) equipment.

Quality Solving Srl
piazza IV Novembre, 4 - 20124
Milano
Italy
TEL: +39.02.6716.5651
FAX: +39.02.6716.5251
www.qualitysolving.com

ARC Advisory Group's Performance Driven Manufacturing Forum

NWA representatives Cliff Yee, CEO; Louis Halvorsen, VP Development; and David Shearer, Technical Director participated in the ARC Advisory Group's Performance-Driven Manufacturing Forum in Boston, MA from June 23 through 25. The forum provided attendees with information on real-world implementations of solutions in the process, hybrid, and discrete industries that enable users to achieve Real-time Performance Management (RPM). Forum presentations focused on enabling technologies for deploying an RPM strategy and on changes in work processes and the manufacturing organization that are necessary to achieve and sustain RPM.

NWA is actively expanding the integration and reporting capabilities of its products to better serve leading edge enterprise quality strategies such as RPM. Contact us to see how you can leverage NWA's SPC analysis and reporting software as part of your RPM solution.

More about the ARC Advisory Group

Upcoming SPC Training in Philadelphia

Applied SPC with NWA Quality Analyst

Date: September 14-15, 2004
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Participants gain expertise using NWA Quality Analyst while applying statistical quality control techniques in classroom exercises. The class then works in teams to solve problems in a simulated manufacturing process. Attendees learn how to maximize their use of NWA Quality Analyst while brushing up on SPC.

Full course description

Accommodations and registration information

SPC Insights

Alarm Displays in NWA Quality Monitor

NWA Quality Monitor provides a rich offering of plant floor test station alarm options. However, if you are alarming on multiple values, you may not get the indicators you expect. This tech note discusses the displays on multiple value alarms and how to configure the alarm combinations you want.

Alarm Displays in NWA Quality Monitor

Events and Publications

IFT (Institute of Food Technology) Annual Meeting and Exposition

Last week, NWA participated in the IFT Annual Meeting and Exposition in Las Vegas. The company showed its complete NWA Quality product line and demonstrated an integrated system using all the components of the NWA software suite. In addition, NWA presented a conference symposium entitled "Converting Process Data into Action".

The symposium was sponsored by the IFT Quality Assurance Division and co-sponsored by the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Division of the American Society for Quality. It was moderated by Jeff Cawley, VP, NWA and John G. Surak, Ph.D., Clemson University.

The symposium presentations included:

• "Structure of a Quality Analytics System"
  John G. Surak, Clemson University
• "Elements of a Successful Plant Data Collection System"
  Jeffery Cawley, Northwest Analytical
• "Integrating Quality Analytics to Business Systems for FDA Compliance"
  Sean Robinson, ASECO Integrated Systems
• "Successful Process Engineering/IT Collaboration"
  Bob Hitomi and Kurt Huebner, Blue Diamond Growers

For more information on any of the conference symposium topics, contact us at nwa@nwasoft.com or 888-NWASOFT (888-692-7638) or 503-224-7727.

More about the 2004 IFT Annual Meeting

New White Paper: Monitoring Lab Test Procedures to Ensure Reliability of Test Data

Industrial test labs are chartered with providing proof that manufacturing processes meet customer specifications and regulatory requirements. If lab test methods used to generate this proof are not accurate and precise, the test data will not be reliable.

Labs must demonstrate that their test methods are accurate and precise and their test data reliable so the customer can accept the certificate of analysis with confidence. How can I ensure my data is reliable? How can I be sure my test methods are in control? How do I identify and understand the sources of variability in my manufacturing processes? These issues are addressed in this white paper.

Download white paper

Monthly Newsletter for Mill Products Manufacturers from NWA Systems Integration Partner

Roll Call is EnteGreat's monthly newsletter publication for Mill Products manufacturers. The last edition of Roll Call discussed ways that Mill Products manufacturers realize the benefits of Advanced Reporting, and went in depth to look at using Advanced Reporting with Proficy. This edition's articles included:

• "The Benefits of Advanced Reporting"
• "Using Advanced Reporting with Proficy"

EnteGreat's Roll Call newsletter

Current NWA Product Releases

Users frequently ask us for the current release numbers for their NWA products. To help you keep your NWA software up to date, we publish the release numbers on this web site.

Current Product Release Numbers

© Northwest Analytical, Inc., all rights reserved. NWA Quality Monitor, NWA Quality Monitor Supervisor, NWA Quality Analyst, NWA Quality Analyst Web Server, NWA QAx, and NWA SPCx are trademarks or registered trademarks of Northwest Analytical. *All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of those respective companies.

Northwest Analytical (NWA) is the leading provider of SPC software with more than 50,000 licenses shipped to over 5,000 companies. NWA software is recognized for its ease-of-use and ability to integrate with other software and systems. The NWA SPC software suite includes plant floor data collection and supervision, enterprise-wide charting and analysis, web-based reporting and embedded SPC.

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