Tag: Elsmar Cove

Replacements for Elsmar Cove

It’s been a few weeks since Elsmar Cove closed and folks are starting to regroup to continue the work that Marc Timothy Smith started.  Face it, pursuing quality within your organization can only benefit from open discussion with others, particularly in today’s global economic environment.  So you’re probably looking for replacements for Elsmar Cove and here’s my suggestions so far:

As I noted in my comments to my blog on the closing of Elsmar Cove, the first place that the moderators congregated was Ohio Bay Specialists at LinkedIn.  This remains a great first go-to site to get in touch with the moderators you “knew” in the past.  You have two choices to find them.  You can log into your account at LinkedIn and search for Ohio Bay Specialists.  Or you can go directly to their public LinkedIn Page at https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=8333501.

Now, it’s no easy task to operate a forum.  It takes time, expertise, and a topic that folks are interested in.  And all of the “replacements for Elsmar Cove” are in the early stages which means that there is not the depth of information that the long history of Elsmar Cove had generated.  However, each of the following forums has a good number of participants already.  One or more of them should be able to provide you with access to others interested in quality and quality issues!

QualityForumOnline was an early entry into the replacements for Elsmar Cove group of forums.  It’s located at http://www.qualityforumonline.com/ and uses the tag “Continuing in the Spirit of People Helping People” that resonates with Elsmar Cove users.  Here you’ll find your areas of interest divided up by specific standards and specific organizational topics.  So there’s sections for Quality and Environment Standards, Automotive Quality Standards, Aerospace Standards, Medical Device Standards and Regulations, and so on.  Since it’s been online since early July, there’s about 300 participants.  With the nice layout, good membership and thoughtful organization, it’s sure to be an easy forum to use.

QualityRecord started up in mid-July.  It’s located at http://qualityrecord.com/ and has a variety of sections of interest.  You can check out the topical interest items, daily questions or a selection of quality management standards and other topics like statistics.  A library of non-copyright information is provided.  And there is a section for off-topic discussions as well.  A section for lean manufacturing has been set up, but no activity there as of this review.  And if you’re interested, there’s a promotion area for book reviews, consultant listings and so on.  There are over 200 registered users, with about 25% of them posting so far.  There’s about 75 threads that have been generated in the month that the forum has been operational.  It is a forum for all types of quality issues, with no specific area of specialization at this point.

Next on our list is The Quality Connection.  It’s URL is http://www.batrich.com/ and is more limited in scope than the previous two suggestions.  You’ll find sections on 4 quality standards, general discussion, management, CMM programming and funny pictures.  Participation is limited at the moment as the forum was only recently begun.

To round up our list of replacements for Elsmar Cove, there is the more focused Medical Devices Expert Forums.  It’s at http://www.medicaldevices.expert/ and stays true to it’s name — medical devices and their standards rule the day.  There’s a section on essentials, then the site is organized by Medical Device regs, standards, health informatics, other meddev topics and miscellaneous topics.  Nicely organized, you’ll find it a breeze to use.  It’s another early contender, having been started at the beginning of July, and was the first of the replacement forums I was alerted to.  Again, you’ll find that the moderators are from Elsmar Cove so there’s that sense of continuity you’re looking for.

Of course, there’s no true replacement for Elsmar Cove.  The history of information that it contained has now been removed and is unlikely to ever be reposted.  However, you’ll be glad to know that the folks who worked behind the scenes to make it so valuable are continuing to have an active role within the community at large through these new forums.  I hope that you’ll soon find one or more that appeal to you and make use of them on a regular basis.

Meantime, when you need standards, be sure to obey the rules of copyright and purchase your publications from an authorized distributor like Document Center Inc.  You can order your paper format or pdf copies of over 500,000 different titles from our webstore, www.document-center.com.  Or check in with our staff about starting a multi-user Standards Online subscription service for a complete standards solution for your business.  You’ll reach them by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com.)  We’re your Standards Experts!

Elsmar Cove is closed!

Elsmar Cove, a discussion forum for both professionals and novices in the business of quality assurance and industry standards, is closed.  It is clear that the site is already missed by thousands of users.  And folks who’ve come to rely on the “people helping people” Elsmar ethic are scrambling for venues to replace the information-sharing service the site provided.

Since both Document Center and Elsmar Cove have (had) a mission to help people understand standards and use them effectively, founder Marc Timothy Smith and I had a phone conversation on Monday to discuss Elsmar and it’s closing.

What happened to Elsmar Cove?  As noted on the website’s homepage (and only page now), it’s has been closed as part of a settlement that stemmed from a civil lawsuit filed in Florida. Mr. Smith, who founded the site in the mid 1990’s, is not allowed to reveal any details of the settlement that resulted in the closure of the Elsmar Cove.

What made Elsmar Cove special?  First and foremost, the site was a free resource for anyone with a question about quality assurance, national and international standards, regulations, or compliance.  Elsmar Cove was originally started as a informational website and evolved over the years into a discussion forum specifically geared to the questions folks have when dealing with many specialized niches.  It gave you a place to ask if anyone has faced a particular quality assurance related problem and find out what solutions have proved to be effective.

Elsmar Cove was a moderated site, with perhaps 10 moderators active at any given time but a stable of 25 to 30 in total.  Why moderated?  Like it’s founder, Elsmar was interested in providing an environment for sharing rather than self-promotion.  So folks with strong quality backgrounds monitored the forum to make sure that interchanges were on topic and focused on the mantra of “People helping People.”

Who is Marc Timothy Smith?  Mr. Smith is an “old quality hand” with extensive experience stemming from work with military quality systems back in the 1980’s.  His background in biology and chemistry from his college years made him particular strong in processes, using flow charts for both business analysis and quality control.   Since he’s from the Ohio area, his defense gig soon morphed into consulting work in the automotive and aerospace industries and beyond.  Stints included work for such companies as Harley Davidson, Motorola, Ford, Borg-Warner and Boeing.

As a side-line, Mr. Smith started a quality assurance information website in January, 1996.  Over time, this became the Elsmar.com discussion forum we’ve come to know and love.  With the gradual expansion of the forum, Marc found himself concentrating on the service and it’s software backbone by 2003/2004.  Only after early 2004 did Marc turn to Adsense and other advertising for the financial support that’s needed to operate such an extensive site.

Will Elsmar Cove be back?  No, the Elsmar Cove you’ve known will not be returning.  However you will find a number of niche forums cropping up as various moderators create venues based on their areas of expertise.  For example, those of you in the medical device field should now check out www.medicaldevices.expert.

What’s next for Marc Smith?  You can bet that Mr. Smith is looking for the next opportunity to make a contribution to the quality assurance and standards community.  His extensive consulting background is only one of the assets he possesses.  From his unique perspective watching and monitoring the landscape of the quality field, he offers a wealth of experience in understanding the compliance challenges many companies and industries face.

Never much of a self-promoter, he’s always relied on recommendations to generate business for himself.  But he still has an on-going interest in the quality community, in the requirements for compliance that face many businesses, and in participating in helping others achieve success.  Of course, his CV is lengthy displaying a familiarity with the quality concerns of a broad range of industries.  And his experience with Elsmar has only further expanded his grasp of the continuing concerns around which most quality issues revolve.  Check him out at http://www.linkedin.com/in/elsmarmarc or reach out to him at marcsmith102@cinci.rr.com.

As our conversation wrapped up, I ask Marc what legacy he hoped Elsmar Cove would have.  Of course, he replied “People helping people.”  There’s no question that he achieved that goal.  I’m looking forward to seeing what door opens for him in the next phase of his fascinating career!

As for me, there’s still a lot of questions about what happened.  It looks like I’m going to have to do some sleuthing on my own to get any answers, if they’re out there at all.  If I find them, you’ll be the first to know!