Queer as Folk 5 Year
Queer as Folk was an American/Canadian television series co-production,
produced by Showtime and Temple Street Productions, which was based on the
British series of the same name created by Russell T. Davies. This North
American version of Queer as Folk used various Canadian directors known for
their independent film work (including Bruce McDonald, David Wellington, Kelly
Makin, John Greyson, Jeremy Podeswa and Michael DeCarlo) as well as famed
Australian director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) who directed the pilot episode.
The head writers were Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman who were also the executive
producers of the series along with former Warner Bros. Television president Tony
Jonas. Other writers in the later seasons included Michael MacLennan, Efrem
Seeger, Brad Fraser, Del Shores, and Shawn Postoff.
QAFY: Quality Assurance For You
Quality assurance (QA) is the activity of providing evidence needed to
establish confidence among all concerned, that quality-related activities are
being performed effectively. All those planned or systematic actions necessary
to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given
requirements for quality.
For products, quality assurance is a part and consistent pair of quality
management proving fact-based external confidence to customers and other
stakeholders that a product meets needs, expectations, and other requirements.
QA assures the existence and effectiveness of procedures that attempt to make
sure - in advance - that the expected levels of quality will be reached.
QA covers all activities from design, development, production, installation,
servicing to documentation. It introduced the sayings "fit for purpose" and "do
it right the first time". It includes the regulation of the quality of raw
materials, assemblies, products and components; services related to production;
and management, production, and inspection processes.
The term Quality Assurance, as used in the United States Nuclear Regulatory
Commission regulation 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, comprises all those planned
and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a
structure, system, or component will perform satisfactorily in service. Quality
assurance includes quality control, which comprises those quality assurance
actions related to the physical characteristics of a material, structure,
component, or system which provide a means to control the quality of the
material, structure, component, or system to predetermined requirements.
One of the most widely used paradigms for QA management is the PDCA
(Plan-Do-Check-Act) approach, also known as the Shewhart cycle.
Statistical control
Many organizations use statistical process control to bring the organization to
Six Sigma levels of quality, in other words, so that the likelihood of an
unexpected failure is confined to six standard deviations on the normal
distribution. This probability is less than four one-millionths. Items
controlled often include clerical tasks such as order-entry as well as
conventional manufacturing tasks.
Traditional statistical process controls in manufacturing operations usually
proceed by randomly sampling and testing a fraction of the output. Variances of
critical tolerances are continuously tracked, and manufacturing processes are
corrected before bad parts can be produced.
QA encompasses all measures taken to ensure the reliability of investigations,
starting from test selection, through obtaining a satisfactory sample, analysing
it and recording the result promptly and correctly, to appropriate
interpretation and reporting, with all procedures being documented for
reference.
ISO 17025
ISO 17025 is an international standard that specifies the general requirements
for the competence to carry out tests and or calibrations. There are 15
management requirements and 10 technical requirements. These requirements
outline what a laboratory must do to become accredited. Management system refers
to the organization's structure for managing its processes or activities that
transform inputs of resources into a product or service which meets the
organization's objectives, such as satisfying the customer's quality
requirements, complying with regulations, or meeting environmental objectives.
For software development organization, CMMI (Capability Maturity Model
Integration) standards are widely used to measure the Quality Assurance. These
CMMI standards can be divided in to 5 steps, which a software development
company can achieve by performing different quality improvement activities
within the organization.
Company quality
The company-wide quality approach places an emphasis on four aspects :-
1. Infrastructure (as it enhances or limits functionality)
2. Elements such as controls, job management, adequate processes, performance
and integrity criteria and identification of records
3. Competence such as knowledge, skills, experience, qualifications
4. Soft elements, such as personnel integrity, confidence, organizational
culture, motivation, team spirit and quality relationships.
The quality of the outputs is at risk if any of these four aspects are deficient
in any way.
In manufacturing and construction activities, these business practices can be
equated to the models for quality assurance defined by the international
standards contained in the ISO 9000 series and the designated specifications for
quality systems. Still, in the system of company quality, the work being carried
out was shop floor inspection which did not control the major quality problems.
This led to quality assurance or total quality control, which has come into
being recently.
Using Contractors and/or consultants
It has become customary to use consultants and/or contractors when introducing
new quality practices and methodologies as in some instances the relevant
skill-set and experience might not be available within the organisation. In
addition, when new initiatives and improvements are required to bolster the
current quality system, or perhaps improve upon current manufacturing systems,
the use of temporary consultants becomes a viable solution when allocating
valuable resources.
There are various types of consultants and contractors available in the market;
most will have the basic skills needed to facilitate improvement activities such
as Quality Management Systems (QMS) Auditing and procedural documentation
writing. But the higher end consultants will have a wealth of knowledge and
experience implementing and improving manufacturing processes using the latest
cutting edge improvement activities such as Six Sigma, Measurement Systems
Analysis (MSA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advance Product
Quality Planning (APQP)
In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are
involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and
produced to meet or exceed customer requirements. These systems are often
developed in conjunction with other business and engineering disciplines using a
cross-functional approach.
History
When the first specialized craftsmen arose manufacturing tools for others, the
principle of quality control was simple: "let the buyer beware" (caveat emptor).
Early civil engineering projects, however, needed to be built to specifications.
For instance, the four sides of the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza are
perpendicular to within 3.5 arcseconds.
Craft and tradespersons
During the Middle Ages, guilds took the responsibility of quality control upon
themselves.
Royal governments purchasing material were interested in quality control as
customers. For instance, King John of England appointed a certain William
Wrotham to supervise the construction and repair of ships. Some centuries later,
but also in England, Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Admiralty, appointed
multiple such overseers.
Prior to the extensive division of labor and mechanization resulting from the
Industrial Revolution, it was possible for workers to control the quality of
their own products. Working conditions then were more conducive to professional
pride.
The Industrial Revolution led to a system in which large groups of people
performing a similar type of work were grouped together under the supervision of
a foreman who also took on the responsibility to control the quality of work
manufactured.
Quality Assurance has developed a good deal during the last 80-90 years (in
about 20 year intervals) from its inception to the current state of the art.
Wartime production
During World War I, the manufacturing process became more complex, and the
introduction of large numbers of workers being supervised by a foreman
designated to ensure the quality of the work, which was being produced. This
period also introduced mass production and piecework, which created quality
problems as workmen could now earn more money by the production of extra
products, which in turn led to bad workmanship being passed on to the assembly
lines.
Due to the large amount of bad workmanship being produced, the first full time
inspectors were introduced into the large-scale modern factory. These full time
inspectors were the real beginning of inspection quality control, and this was
the beginning the large inspection organizations of the 1920s and 1930s, which
were separately organised from production and big enough to be headed by
superintendents.
The systematic approach to quality started in industrial manufacture during the
1930s, mostly in the USA, when some attention was given to the cost of scrap and
rework. With the impact of mass production, which was required during the Second
World War, it became necessary to introduce a more stringent form of quality
control which can be identified as Statistical Quality Control, or SQC. Some of
the initial work for SQC is credited to Walter A. Shewhart of Bell Labs,
starting with his famous one-page memorandum of 1924.
This system came about with the realisation that quality cannot be inspected
into an item. By extending the inspection phase and making inspection
organizations more efficient, it provides inspectors with control tools such as
sampling and control charts.
SQC had a significant contribution in that it provided a sampling inspection
system rather than a 100 per cent inspection. This type of inspection however
did lead to a lack of realisation to the importance of the engineering of
product quality.
For example, if you have a basic sampling scheme with an acceptance level of 4%,
what happens is you have a ratio of 96% products released onto the market with
4% defective items – this obviously is a fair risk for any company/customer –
unless you happen to be one of the unfortunate buyers of a defective item.
Postwar
After World War II, the United States continued to apply the concepts of
inspection and sampling to remove defective product from production lines.
However, there were many individuals trying to lead U.S. industries towards a
more collaborative approach to quality. Excluding the U.S., many countries'
manufacturing capabilities were destroyed during the war. This placed American
business in a position where advances in the collaborative approaches to quality
were essentially ignored.
After World War II, the U.S. sent General Douglas MacArthur to oversee the
re-building of Japan. During this time, General MacArthur invited two key
individuals in the development of modern quality concepts: W. Edwards Deming and
Joseph Juran. Both individuals promoted the collaborative concepts of quality to
Japanese business and technical groups, and these groups utilized these concepts
in the redevelopment of the Japanese economy.
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance covers all activities from design, development, production,
installation, servicing and documentation. This introduced the rules: "fit for
purpose" and "do it right the first time". It includes the regulation of the
quality of raw materials, assemblies, products and components; services related
to production; and management, production, and inspection processes.
One of the most widely used paradigms for QA management is the PDCA
(Plan-Do-Check-Act) approach, also known as the Shewhart cycle.
Failure testing
A valuable process to perform on a whole consumer product is failure testing,
the operation of a product until it fails, often under stresses such as
increasing vibration, temperature and humidity. This exposes many unanticipated
weaknesses in a product, and the data is used to drive engineering and
manufacturing process improvements. Often quite simple changes can dramatically
improve product service, such as changing to mould-resistant paint or adding
lock-washer placement to the training for new assembly personnel.
Statistical control
Many organizations use statistical process control to bring the organization to
Six Sigma levels of quality, in other words, so that the likelihood of an
unexpected failure is confined to six standard deviations on the normal
distribution. This probability is less than four one-millionths. Items
controlled often include clerical tasks such as order-entry as well as
conventional manufacturing tasks.
Traditional statistical process controls in manufacturing operations usually
proceed by randomly sampling and testing a fraction of the output. Variances of
critical tolerances are continuously tracked, and manufacturing processes are
corrected before bad parts can be produced.
Company quality
During the 1980s, the concept of “company quality” with the focus on management
and people came to the fore. It was realised that, if all departments approached
quality with an open mind, success was possible if the management led the
quality improvement process.
The company-wide quality approach places an emphasis on three aspects :-
1. Elements such as controls, job management, adequate processes, performance
and integrity criteria and identification of records
2. Competence such as knowledge, skills, experience, qualifications
3. Soft elements, such as personnel integrity, confidence, organisational
culture, motivation, team spirit and quality relationships.
The quality of the outputs is at risk if any of these three aspects are
deficient in any way.
The approach to quality management given here is therefore not limited to the
manufacturing theatre only but can be applied to any business activity:
* Design work
* Administrative services
* Consulting
* Banking
* Insurance
* Computer software
* Retailing
* Transportation
It comprises a quality improvement process, which is generic in the sense it can
be applied to any of these activities and it establishes a behaviour pattern,
which supports the achievement of quality.
This in turn is supported by quality management practices which can include a
number of business systems and which are usually specific to the activities of
the business unit concerned.
In manufacturing and construction activities, these business practices can be
equated to the models for quality assurance defined by the International
Standards contained in the ISO 9000 series and the specified Specifications for
quality systems.
Still, in the system of Company Quality, the work being carried out was shop
floor inspection which did not control the major quality problems. This led to
quality assurance or total quality control, which has come into being recently.
Total quality control
Total Quality Control is the most necessary inspection control of all in cases
where, despite statistical quality control techniques or quality improvements
implemented, sales decrease.
The major problem which leads to a decrease in sales was that the specifications
did not include the most important factor, “What the customer required”.
The major characteristics, ignored during the search to improve manufacture and
overall business performance were:
* Reliability
* Maintainability
* Safety
As the most important factor had been ignored, a few refinements had to be
introduced:
1. Marketing had to carry out their work properly and define the customer’s
specifications.
2. Specifications had to be defined to conform to these requirements.
3. Conformance to specifications i.e. drawings, standards and other relevant
documents, were introduced during manufacturing, planning and control.
4. Management had to confirm all operators are equal to the work imposed on them
and holidays, celebrations and disputes did not affect any of the quality
levels.
5. Inspections and tests were carried out, and all components and materials,
bought in or otherwise, conformed to the specifications, and the measuring
equipment was accurate, this is the responsibility of the QA/QC department.
6. Any complaints received from the customers were satisfactorily dealt with in
a timely manner.
7. Feedback from the user/customer is used to review designs.
8. Consistent data recording and assessment and documentation integrity.
9. Product and/or process change management and notification.
If the original specification does not reflect the correct quality requirements,
quality cannot be inspected or manufactured into the product.
For instance, all parameters for a pressure vessel should include not only the
material and dimensions but operating, environmental, safety, reliability and
maintainability requirements.
To conclude, the above forms the basis from which the philosophy of Quality
Assurance has evolved, and the achievement of quality or the
“fitness-for-purpose” is “Quality Awareness” throughout the company.
Quality management is a method for ensuring that all the activities necessary to
design, develop and implement a product or service are effective and efficient
with respect to the system and its performance.
Quality Improvement
W. Edwards Deming is best known for his management philosophy establishing
quality, productivity, and competitive position. He has formulated 14 points of
attention for managers, some of these points are more appropriate for service
management:
* Break down barriers between departments;
* Management should learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership;
* Improve constantly;
* Institute a programme of education and self-improvement.
The following diagram is the Shewhart cycle (PDCA) for quality improvement, made
popular by Deming.
Enlarge picture
Shewhart Cycle
The philosophy is to keep improving the quality of an organization. It is
defined by four keys:
* Plan: Design or revise business process components to improve results
* Do: Implement the plan and measure its performance
* Check: Assess the measurements and report the results to decision makers
* Act: Decide on changes needed to improve the process
The consolidation phase enables the organization to take stock of what has been
taking place and to ensure made to processes that require documentation (both to
allow processes to be repeatable and to facilitate recognition of the
achievement of some form of quality standard).
Quality Standards
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the Quality
Management System (QMS) standards in 1987. These were the series of standards
comprising ISO 9001:1987, ISO 9002:1987 and ISO 9003:1987; which were applicable
in different types of industries, based on the type of activity: designing,
production or service delivery. The standards have been regularly reviewed every
few years by the International Organization for Standardization. The version in
1994 and was called the series; comprising of the ISO 9001:1994, 9002:1994 and
9003:1994 versions. The last revision was in the year 2000 and the series was
called series. However the ISO 9002 and 9003 standards were integrated and one
single certifiable standard was created under ISO 9001:2000. Since December
2003, ISO 9002 and 9003 standards are not valid, and the organizations
previously holding these standards need to do a transition from the old to the
new standards. The document gives guidelines for performance improvement over
and above the basic standard (i.e. ISO 9001:2000).
The Quality Management System standards created by ISO are meant to certify the
processes and the system of an organization and not the product or service
itself. ISO 9000 standards do not certify the quality of the product or service.
Recently the International Organization released a new standard, ISO 22000,
meant for the food industry. This standard covers the values and principles of
ISO 9000 and the HACCP standards. It gives one single integrated standard for
the food industry and is expected to become more popular in the coming years in
such industry.
The most elaborated and accepted concept of quality management is the model of
the EFQM Excellence Model.
Academic resources
* International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, ISSN 1746-6474,
Inderscience
* International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, ISSN: 0265-671X,
Emerald Publishing Group
Quality audit means a systematic examination of a quality system. Quality audits
are typically performed at defined intervals and ensures that the institution
has clearly-defined internal quality monitoring procedures linked to effective
action. The checking determines if the quality system complies with applicable
regulations or standards The process involves assessing the standard operating
procedures (SOP's) for compliance to the regulations, and also assessing the
actual process and results against what is stated in the SOP.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires quality auditing to be done as
part of its Quality System Regulation (QSR) for medical devices, title 21 of the
United States Code of Federal Regulations part 820.
The process of a Quality Audit can be managed using software tools, often
Web-based.
Internal Quality auditing is an important element in ISO's quality system
standard, ISO 9001. . With the upgrade of the ISO9000 series of standards from
the 1994 to 2000 series, the focus of audits has shifted from procedural
adherence only to measurement of the effectiveness of the Quality Management
System processes to deliver in accordance with planned results.
Higher education quality audit is an approach adopted by several countries,
including New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Finland Norway and the USA It was
initiated in the UK and is a term designed to focus on procedures rather than
quality.
Are you interested in
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Game Online-games, tips, cheats and kids forumsAnother
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More IJFG.COM Jokes, Pranks, Runescape and other cool games at IJFG.COM.
RuneScape is set in a medieval fantasy world, similar to "Guild Wars" or
"EverQuest", where players control character representations of themselves. As
with most massive multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPG), there is no
overall objective or end to the game. Players explore, form alliances, perform
optional tasks, and complete quests for rewards and to build character's skills.
RuneScape has often been one of
the top massive online role playing games. It is a unique game. But, with a
unique game, comes unique players. Players get bored, and then try to develop
cheats....autos or bots that will help them achieve success in their beloved
games of Runescape 2.
RuneScape is a virtual world which
is divided into two part: Members Areas and Non-Members areas. People who pay to
play (p2p), receive access to the special areas. They also have access to the
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gameplay of rs2, and much, much more. The character that you create when you
first start playing runescape, moves around the game on foot; either by running,
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2 is an RPG (Role playing game), there is no set path a person must take to play
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Of course the king of all game
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trick
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The master of massive multiplayer
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Trik.com; this site is one of the best today. The forum section,
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players control character representations of themselves. As with most MMORPG,
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characters' skills.
Trik.com continues IJFG.com's
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With the rising popularity of
commercial MMORPG games came the desire from ardent players of these games to
run their own servers beside the ones run by the game's creator. Since the
original server software is not usually available, the behavior of the server
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original server, or by disassembling and analyzing the client which is
available.
Ultima Online was one of the first
large MMORPGs. Due to its openness in implementation, server emulators arose
very quickly, even during the beta stage of development. The destination to
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stage the client-server data stream was not encrypted yet. The term server
emulator became known through Ultima Online server reimplementation such as UOX,
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its source code was released under the GNU General Public License relatively
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implemented anti-cheating measures, many gamers left and started their own
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Another useful site is
Rune
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A defining moment in internet
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