All Features
Ryan E. Day
They did it again—ruined my scoop. I pride myself on what I consider a natural ability to read between the lines and then find information and facts to fill in that void. Like the void created when companies wax verbose about some altruistic subject like “trust,” but keep mum on their motivation…
Kimberly Egan
What do China, Maine, Connecticut, Chipotle, and Whole Foods have in common? They all think you have a right to know whether the food you are eating contains any genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs.
I like that. Why do I care? Because the genes in GMO plants have been altered in a…
Michael Ray Fincher
For me, a quality professional with 20 years experience in manufacturing—producing everything from garbage bags to luxury ski boats—my transition to the service industry was a shocking experience to say the least. It was not without challenges, I must confess.
When I was asked to join the…
Bruno Scibilia
All processes are affected by various sources of variations over time. Products that are designed based on optimal settings will, in reality, tend to drift away from their ideal settings during the manufacturing process.
Environmental fluctuations and process variability often cause major quality…
Bull Wranglers
There are more than 1,100 textbooks referring to “short-term process capability,” as distinct from “long term.” Surely 1,100 textbooks can’t be wrong? Let’s apply the first Bull Wrangler test. Does short- and long-term process capability make common sense?
What is capability?
According to ISO…
Mike Richman
Trend conferences are all the rage these days. For those of you who have never attended one, this is an event in which corporate managers gather together their colleagues, their customers, and assorted media types willing to work the rubber-chicken circuit. During the course of a day or two, you’…
Akhilesh Gulati
Editor’s note: This article continues the series exploring structured innovation using the TRIZ methodology, a problem-solving, analysis, and forecasting tool derived from studying patterns of invention found in global patent data.
Belinda started the My Executive Council (MEC) meeting with the…
Jamie Ambrosi
With summer and family vacations coming up, I feel compelled to publicly reveal a vacation-related personality quirk of mine (one of many, to be completely honest) and then to invite you to play a fun, though slightly geeky, game that will reveal this quirk in action.
First, the revelation: My…
NIST
Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—called cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and…
NIST
A technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for improving optical microscopes now has been applied to monitoring the next generation of computer-chip circuit components, potentially providing the semiconductor industry with a crucial tool…
Jack Dunigan
Editor’s note: This continues Jack Dunigan’s series about unsung heroes in the workplace, and the 16 traits they all share.
When I lived in the Virgin Islands, I learned that almost all luxury yachts in the world are finished by women… and the reason is not that they will work for less money.
No…
Bruce Hamilton
Some time ago, while giving a presentation titled “Organizational Obstacles to Lean,” I displayed a slide captioned “It’s not about culture.” My point was that “culture” is a bad analogy because it places the burden for change on the shoulders of employees rather than on management where it…
Richard Chambers
I recently spoke at a conference where one of the sessions was called “Four Most Dangerous Words in Finance.” It reminded me of a blog I wrote a few years ago called “Ten Things Not to Say in an Audit Report.” Beyond the categories of phrases or messages that I explored in that blog, however, lie…
Alan Nicol
At the heart of lean methodology are the seven classic wastes (eight or nine if you subscribe to evolved methods). Waste is the enemy of lean. Strategies such as pull systems, first-in-first-out prioritization, takt time management, and kaizen are methods we use to minimize and eliminate waste in…
Matthew Littlefield
Editor’s note: There is a free recording of the QD/LNS webinar on enterprise quality management software (EQMS) which ran Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at 11 a.m. Pacific. Click here to view recording.
There are a number of costs and benefits when standardizing across the enterprise a process that’s…
InfinityQS
With cloud computing becoming the new norm in the market, manufacturing leaders would be wise to fully educate themselves on how they can benefit from its services. Following are six benefits you can expect from the cloud.
Cost flexibility. By using the cloud, manufacturing leaders can reduce IT…
MIT News
You may have seen little squares of Tcho chocolate in their brightly colored wrappers decorated with futuristic parabolas of gold and silver. They’re easily found: Starbucks has sold them; Whole Foods sells them now.
Those usually aren’t the stores you visit to track down handcrafted chocolate…
Michael Causey
The Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away. For years, we’ve been hearing about the benefits online tools will bring to the medical industry, especially at hospitals and physicians’ offices. Many of those promises have come true, and it’s been a benefit for patients and industry.
But that…
(Schneider Messtechnik, Bad Kreuznach, Germany) -- Schneider Messtechnik, a leading company in the field of production measurement technology, has launched V-CAD rapid, a 2D optical measuring device that is both mobile and compact.
“Thanks to the intuition-based user interface of the M3 measuring…
Paul N. Gardner Co. Inc.
(Paul N. Gardner: Pompano Beach, FL) -- Paul N. Gardner Co. recently released three products for testing paints and coatings: an anti-sag meter, multiple clearance square applicator, and a stainless-steel bar film applicators.
Anti-sag meter
Coatings applied on nonhorizontal surfaces will sag due…
Matthew E. May
If you’ve followed the evolution of my thinking through the series of books I’ve written, you know that elegance—defined as the ability to achieve the maximum effect with minimum means, and characterized by the presence of both uncommon simplicity and surprising impact—is my root cause.
Elegant…
MIT News
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series on how technology is, in part, behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. To read part one, click here.
To get some insight into Harvard economist Lawrence Katz’s question, “Will the job disruptions caused by technology…
Mark Graban
From my experience, you have to be cautious when somebody says either, “Lean says you should...” or “Toyota would tell you to...” because those statements, even if stated authoritatively, can be wrong.
At a recent speaking engagement (I won’t disclose where), a professor (one who teaches about…
LNS Research
Editor’s note: LNS president and principal analyst Matthew Littlefield will appear on Quality Digest Live this Friday, June 21, 2013. There will also be a free QD/LNS webinar on enterprise quality management software (EQMS) Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at 11 a.m. Pacific. Click here to register.
When…
MIT News
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on how technology is, in part, behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. To read part two, click here.
Given his calm and reasoned academic demeanor, it is easy to miss just how provocative Erik Brynjolfsson’s contention…
