The quest for quality

An analytical laboratory (or a company as a whole) can strive for ISO certification or EN accreditation. The certification in accordance with ISO 9001 refers to formal and technical processes only and not to quality issues. For an institution which sells goods or services an accreditation in accordance to EN 17025 is to be preferred. This norm claims  

An accreditation needs a long and intense preparation it is only granted after a thorough inspection by external experts who visit the laboratory or company for several days. The list of requirements to be fulfilled is long and detailed. 

Even without certification or accreditation it is highly recommended to implement a number of quality assurance actions (they are mandatory for an accreditation)  

ISO 9001 2000, Quality Management Systems - Requirements, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, 2000. 

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In the quest for quality data, the question inevitably arises as to how the isolated gut preparation compares with intravenous versus oral administration in vivo or the in situ cannulation of veins draining specific areas of the gut into which the compound(s) has been administrated or in vitro studies that use Ussing chambers or colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). 

Kachhal, S. K., and Schramm, W. S. (1995), Using Statistical Methods to Improve Healthcare Systems, in Proceedings of the Quest for Quality and Productivity in Health Services Corrference, Institute of Industrial Engineers, pp. 219-228. 

The many modifications to the conventional RF PECVD method show that one still is trying to find methods that will in the end lead to improved material properties. This is especially the case for the intrinsic metastability of a-Si H. In this respect, the stable material that is obtained at discharge conditions at the edge of crystallinity is very promising. Also, the quest for higher deposition rates while at least maintaining device quality material properties shows the industrial drive behind the research. Faster deposition allows for more solar cells to be produced in the same time. 

The production of quality specimens is critically dependent upon the initial steps in the process treatment before transport, transport, grossing, and fixation before processing.4 Nothing about this is profound or even new, yet many specimens, perhaps a large majority of them, show evidence that some basic rule has been ignored. The quest for ever-shorter turnaround time has taken us down a very undesirable path. It has become such a hot topic that an acronym for turnaround time, TAT, has been coined for it. Specimen quality has suffered, putting diagnostic conclusions in doubt. This is well-known, but... 

Training of analysts and potential analysts in quality assurance techniques is a major task for universities and industrial and government laboratories. Re-training is also necessary since the quest for improvements in quality seems to be never ending. 

RMs, preferably certified by reputable and accredited laboratories, provide vital contributions to the science of chemistry, to industry in its quest for quality assurance, and to commerce for consensus product characterizations. All such RMs should have designated values bonded to the units of the SI, where possible through national metrology laboratories [9-13],... 

The central theme of authenticity and its social negotiation has been pursued in this chapter mainly in relation to cultural settings. In this natural-environment example the quest for authenticity is transmuted into the experience and appreciation of naturalness. Wildlife in their natural environment, behaving naturally, were key responses of all post-visit tourists. The ability to observe wildlife at close quarters reiterates the theme that quality encounters matter. This line of thinking is consistent with the view expressed earlier in this chapter that authenticity is devolving into more specific and localised concepts in accounting for tourists on-site experiences. 

What drove the quest for a manmade material that could be shaped and molded into solid objects In large part it was ivory, the hard, creamy white material harvested from the tusks of elephants and carved into attractive objectives. As the United States emerged from its Civil War in 1865, people resumed their normal lives and many desired possessions such as ivory-handled knives, ivory trays, combs and hairbrushes, ivory-backed mirrors, umbrellas with ivory handles, carved ivory jewelry, pianos with ivory keys, and, for the upper middle class, billiard balls for use on their new, popular pool tables. All of this demand was placing a huge toll on the elephant populations in such places a Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Africa, and India. The best elephant tusks for making billiard balls came from the elephants of northern Ceylon, and at that, only about 2% of the tusks were of sufficient quality. At the time, no materials other than ivory were deemed suitable (Fenichell 1996). 

For some compounds, suitable crystals simply can not be obtained and all attempts are frustrated. The reasons are not well understood. In some cases, repeated attempts with varied conditions always produce multiple or twinned crystals. Trying a range of different solvents is the most obvious approach. It is not just that the crystal quality may vary with the solvent used incorporation of solvent in the crystal structure generates a different crystalline form (a solvate), which will probably have quite different crystal growth characteristics. In most cases the nature of the solvent is unimportant in the quest for a definitive crystal structure analysis. However, the study of different solvates (and different polymorphs) of the same compound can itself be of interest, with significant changes in molecular structure resulting from different intermolecular interactions. 

The interest that had been aroused by the publicity given to the use of carbon in gas masks in World War I extended to liquid-phase purification, and workers in many industries began to explore possible benefits from the use of activated carbon. Considerable enthusiasm also developed in the direction of additional facilities for manufacturing activated carbon. As a result the period following World War I was marked by intense competition. Of the hundred or more brands of commercial carbon developed during that period, only a few remain. The quest for survival led to continual advancement in the quality of activated carbon. Within a space of twelve years, the process based on black-ash went through four major changes in method of manufacture. 

Rust, R., Zahorik, A., and Keningham, T. (1994), Return on Quality Measuring the Financial Impact of Your Company s Quest for Quality, Irwin, Homewood, IL. 

Van Trijp, H.C., Punter, P.H., Mickartz, F. and Kruithof, L. (2007) The quest for the ideal product comparing different methods and approaches, Food Quality and Preference, 18, 729-740. 

The American Hospital Quest for Quality Prize honors leadership and innovation in quality safety and commitment to patient care by hospitals and/or multihospital health systems. 

Sample preparation plays a central role in the process, but it too often leads a wall-flower existence, with primary attention being directed to the determination step. This sense of priorities is reflected all too conspicuously in the equipment and investment planning of many analytical laboratories. However, a welcome trend in recent years points toward fuller recognition of the true importance of sample preparation in the quest for high-quality analytical results and valid conclusions [I], 12],... 

The quest for high quality and reliability, driven by expected application lifetimes of 5-20 years. 

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