Newsletter:
NWA SPC Update: April 2009
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Industry News
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NWA SPC Update is a newsletter from Northwest Analytical (NWA), the world's leading provider of statistical process control software. Here you will find the latest SPC news and solutions for manufacturers and laboratories.
Industry News
NWA Quality Analytics Server at Rio Tinto Alcan
NWA clients are now using Quality Analytics Server to simplify their work and reduce the overhead for process management and improvement. In this issue we describe how ALCAN has implemented Quality Analytics Server to monitor their carbon anode forming process in one of their smelters.
For several years, many Rio Tinto aluminum plants around the world have integrated NWA Quality software with their control and MES systems. These systems have successfully provided plant operators and management with the process and manufacturing analytics they need to manage and improve their processes.
The Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth Smelter in the UK has integrated NWA Quality Analytics Server with the control systems in their carbon plant to monitor the carbon anode forming process. The goal is to allow operators to focus on anode production and manage the process by exception instead of manually checking control charts every several minutes.
Product and SPC Training
Applied SPC with NWA Quality Analyst
If you are interested in the open-enrollment Applied SPC with NWA Quality Analyst seminar, please contact Lynn Theis for further information:
ltheis@nwasoft.com
503-224-7727 x105
toll free 888-692-7638 x105
If you have several people to train, NWA will bring the course to your facility. Contact Lynn Theis and arrange to get your entire group up to speed on problem solving and process management with Quality Analyst.
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Events and Publications
White Paper: "Integrating ISO 9001 and ISO 22000"
International food standards are critical to facilitate global trade. Standards such as ISO 22000 and ISO 9001 provide a common international definition for products and processes. This reduces misinterpretation of customer requirements across national and language borders.
In this white paper one of the authors of ISO 22000, Dr. John Surak, discusses how ISO 22000 and ISO 9001 are related and how together they define food safety and quality management systems. Systems such as NWA eHACCP are an important part of building and maintaining a compliant system in your plant.
IS0 22000 provides a number of advantages to food processors that would like to improve their food safety management system. The standard ensures that the food safety management system uses a systems approach to the management of food safety. In addition, the standard is fully compatible with an ISO 9001 based quality management system. ISO 22000 provides a better understanding of Codex HACCP. The auditable form allows a food processor to easily determine if there are deficiencies in an existing food safety management system.
The scope of ISO 22000 is food safety while the scope of ISO 9001 is food quality. ISO 22000 can be used in two ways:
- It can be used as a standalone standard for an organization that wants to develop a state of the art food safety management system.
- It can be used with ISO 9001 to develop a management system that addresses both food safety and quality issues.
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“Moving from Paper to Electronic HACCP Records”
Food Safety Magazine, Feb/Mar 2009
Most existing HACCP programs were implemented a decade ago. These programs were generally designed as paper-based data-collection and record-management systems.
In the intervening years the limitations of paper-based systems have become painfully clear. These include labor intensive operations, transcription errors, difficult and time consuming record retrieval and reporting, and cost and space requirements for record storage.
We have been researching the requirements to create a viable electronic HACCP (eHACCP) system that successfully manages the operational aspects of HACCP from collecting data to validating and reporting results. NWA eHACCP is an effective automated HACCP system that meets these operational needs.
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Webinar: ISO 22000 Compliant Food Safety Systems
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 11:00 am EDT
NWA, in conjunction with Pilgrim Software, will present a one hour web seminar discussing the role of Food Safety Systems such as NWA eHACCP in meeting the ISO 22000 standard.
ISO 22000 Compliant Food Safety Systems will examine the ISO 22000 standard and the role of standard commercial software in implementing a compliant food safety management system (FSMS). ISO 22000 is a linked standard and the FSMS is the enabling system architecture. The standard describes a FSMS that is not simply a records archive, but rather an active process management tool.
The webinar will describe the strategy of system creation and maintenance to manage the operational aspects of prerequisite and HACCP programs, ingredient and product genealogy, and quality management with the necessary alerts and analytics to support truly intelligent process management and improvement. The session will also discuss how the FSMS links with other corporate functions such as supply chain management.
ISO 22000 Compliant Food Safety Systems will address these frequently asked questions:
- What are the components of the FSMS specified in ISO 22000?
- What is feasible to automate in programs such as prerequisite conditions and HACCP management?
- Which functions are handled by standard software modules and where is customization required?
- What is the role of active process alerts and analytics for effective food safety management and improvement?
- How is the FSMS operationally integrated with other enterprise computing?
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2009 Oregon IFT Food Ingredient Expo (FIX)
February 23, 2009
The 2009 Oregon Section of the IFT held its Food Ingredient Expo February 23, 2009 in Portland. The event included two technical sessions and an afternoon and evening exhibition. NWA met with customers and demonstrated NWA eHACCP.
Food Safety Summit
Washington, DC, April 28-29, 2009
NWA will exhibit at Booth 108 and be showing NWA eHACCP.
Jeff Cawley will speak on ISO 22000-compliant Food Safety Management Systems in Session W202, "ISO 22000 Perspectives," Wednesday, April 29, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
The Food Safety Summit is offering a 15% speaker client discount for registration. If you plan to attend, please take advantage of the offer and use the code SPKRCLNTS when you register online.
ISO 22000 Perspectives description:
In the few years since its emergence, ISO 22000, the internationally recognized quality and food safety management system, had garnered a great deal of interest. Recent food safety scandals have only drawn more attention to the system and what it can offer. This panel will provide an update on where ISO 22000 is and where it is going. It will offer the perspective of ISO 22000 experts as well as food manufacturers on the challenges and rewards inherent in implementing such a system.
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Current NWA Product Release Numbers
Users frequently ask us for the most current software release numbers so we publish them on our website.
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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