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Baldrige
Award
2000 Criteria
Now Available; New Competition Begins
Whether
or not your organization applies for the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award, it should have a copy of the newly updated
Baldrige
Criteria for Performance Excellence. One of the nation's
most popular and influential organizational improvement publications,
the criteria are tailored for three different audiences: for-profit
businesses, health care providers and education organizations.
The
2000 criteria booklet is easy to use and includes a series of
questions covering seven key areas: leadership, strategic planning,
customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resource
focus, process management, and results. Over the years, NIST has
revised and streamlined the criteria to focus more sharply on
overall performance excellence and results as integral parts of
today’s management practice.
Thousands
of U.S. organizations use the criteria to assess and improve their
overall performance. Since 1988, almost 2 million copies of the
Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence have been
distributed, and wide-scale reproduction by companies and electronic
access add to that number significantly.
And
if you’re ready to place your organization’s quality program among
the nation’s best, then now is time to enter the competition for
the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Mark two important
dates on your calendars: April 6 is the due date for eligibility,
and May 31 is the application deadline.
In
1999, 52 organizations applied for the award. Four were honored
in the manufacturing, service and small business categories. Organizations
may apply for the 2000 award in these categories, as well as in
health care and education.
Even
organizations that do not win receive valuable benefits by going
through the application process. Every applicant receives a detailed
feedback report based on the independent, external assessment
conducted by a panel of specially trained experts.
Single
copies of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence
are available from NIST by calling (301) 975-2036; faxing a request
to (301) 948-3716; sending e-mail to nqp@nist.gov;
or by downloading from the World Wide Web at www.quality.nist.gov.
Packets of 10 or more copies, as well as other Baldrige-related
materials (such as case studies and videos on Baldrige Award recipients)
may be ordered for a fee from the American Society for Quality,
(800) 248-1946; www.asq.org.
The
2000 Baldrige Award application forms and instructions also are
available from the same phone, fax and e-mail listings above.
Or download the documents from the World Wide Web at www.quality.nist.gov/process.htm.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Quality
‘Baldrige
Index’ Outperforms S&P 500 by Almost 5 to 1
Although
you won’t find it listed in the financial section of the newspaper,
the “Baldrige
Index” once again has outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500—this
year by 4.8 to 1, one of the highest returns since NIST started
doing the study in 1995.
The
“Baldrige Index” is a fictitious stock fund made up of publicly
traded U.S. companies that have received the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award. NIST “invested” a hypothetical
$1,000 in each of the whole company winners—ADAC Laboratories
(1997 winner), Eastman Chemical Co. (1994 winner), Federal Express
Corp. (1990 winner), Motorola Inc. (1988 winner) and Solectron
Corp. (a winner in 1991 and 1997). The investments were tracked
from the first business day of the month following the announcement
of award recipients through Dec. 1, 1999. Adjustments were made
for stock splits. Another $1,000 hypothetically was invested in
the S&P 500 for the same time period.
NIST
found in this sixth annual study that the group of whole company
winners outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.8 to 1, achieving a 1,101
percent return on investment, compared to a 228 percent return
for the S&P 500.
NIST
also tracked a similar hypothetical investment in a group made
up of the whole company winners and the parent companies of 18
subsidiary winners. This group outperformed the S&P 500 by about
3.8 to 1, achieving a 841 percent return on investment, compared
to a 222 percent return for the S&P 500.
For
a copy of the Baldrige Index stock study, go to the World Wide
Web at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/g00-26.htm
or send a faxed request to (301) 926-1630.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Building
Research
Upgraded
System Means Better Data, Lower Costs for Buildings
Comparing
how much it costs to build and maintain different buildings allows
developers and owners to make a host of improved decisions—especially
the cost-effective selection of building designs and materials.
However, making accurate and reliable comparisons of data collected
during a building’s life cycle is impossible unless everyone uses
the same system to define elements. Elements are the major components
common to most buildings that usually perform a given function
whatever the design specification, construction method or materials
used. Examples include foundations, exterior walls, sprinkler
systems and lighting.
NIST’s
Building and Fire Research Laboratory has refined and expanded
its UNIFORMAT II system for standardizing these building-related
classifications. A new report from the lab’s Office of Applied
Economics describes the improvements to the 1992 NIST system adopted
as a standard by the American Society for Testing and Materials.
The
proposed changes in UNIFORMAT II—designed to be implemented in
the near future as a revised ASTM standard—would enable the development
of more detailed comparisons among buildings. They advance the
use of the UNIFORMAT II classification system in three ways: (1)
adding a fourth level of elements to the current ASTM standard;
(2) describing applications for the system that were not anticipated
in earlier versions (such as life-cycle electronic tracking of
project data); and (3) presenting a standard format for summarizing
an elemental cost estimate.
Applying
UNIFORMAT II at each step of the building process provides significant
saving to industry. Data entered in a consistent format will not
have to be reentered at different phases of the building life
cycle. This means better, inexpensive information that is easily
accessed and compared.
NIST
Interim Report 6389 was developed by NIST’s Harold Marshall and
Robert P. Charette of Concordia University in Montreal.
For
technical questions or to request the report, contact Harold
Marshall at NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 8603, Gaithersburg,
Md. 20899-8603; (301) 975-6131. NIST IR 6389 also is available
in Adobe Acrobat format from the World Wide Web at www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/publications/nistirs/6389.html.
Media
Contacts:
John
Blair, (301) 975-4261
Information
Technology
Digital Signature
Standard Now Includes More Choices
Upon
NIST’s favorable recommendation, the Secretary of Commerce has
expanded the Digital Signature Standard, clearing the way for
federal agencies to choose from a broader field of computer security
products.
Digital
signatures confirm the identity of the signer and verify that
electronic information has not been altered. They are gaining
wide use in electronic commerce transactions.
The
DSS was approved in 1994. It specified the use of a single technique
for generating signatures using the Digital Signature Algorithm.
Mathematical formulas called algorithms are at the heart of computerized
cryptographic systems and various other computer security products.
The
latest revision of the standard allows federal agencies to use
products containing elliptic curve technology to generate digital
signatures, greatly increasing the number of off-the-shelf systems
that can be purchased.
NIST
previously revised the federal standard last year to allow for
RSA techniques for generating signatures. This followed the approval
of an RSA standard by the private-sector American National Standards
Institute. Similarly, the Commerce
Department’s move to include the elliptic curve technique
follows ANSI approval of a standard based on this method. Technical
specifications of the revised standard, known officially as FIPS
186-2, are available at http://csrc.nist.gov/fips/.
Media
Contact:
Philip
Bulman, (301) 975-5661
IT
Security
May Conference
to Teach Effective Use of Common Criteria
The
three-day First International Common Criteria Conference will
take place at the Baltimore Convention Center on May 23-25, 2000.
Executives from information technology companies will learn about
the international computer security arrangement that makes it
easier for American companies to sell their products in other
countries. Vance Johnson, vice president for security at Visa
International Inc., will be the keynote speaker.
The
International Common Criteria Mutual Recognition Arrangement is
a pact that establishes a concise but common language specifying
security requirements in information technology products and systems.
Seven nations, including some of the world’s largest markets,
now participate in the Common Criteria (also known as ISO/IEC
15408). They are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand,
the United Kingdom and the United States.
In
the United States the evaluation and validation program is managed
jointly by NIST and the National Security Agency.
The
signatory nations recognize the results of security evaluations
conducted by each other’s accredited testing laboratories. This
eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming testing by different
countries. As the arrangement creates a standardized evaluation
process across borders, it fosters a barrier-free, worldwide market
for IT security products.
While
private-sector laboratories do the testing of computer security
products, the governments involved accredit the participating
laboratories and certify or validate the resulting tests. For
more information, or to register electronically, go to the World
Wide Web at http://niap.nist.gov/cc-scheme/index.html.
Media
Contact:
Philip
Bulman, (301) 975-5661
Editor:
Michael Newman
HTML conversion: Crissy
Robinson
Last updated: Feb. 29, 2000
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