All Features
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- Tomorrow’s global leaders will have to be tech-savvy and ready for advanced manufacturing jobs requiring skills in electronics, computers, software, and automation. Continuing its mission to encourage young people to focus their education on science, technology, engineering…
R. Eric Reidenbach Ph.D.
One of my clients, a wireless business-to-business (B2B) telecom company, was experiencing a significant problem in their call center. They were absolutely inundated with calls—most of them problems. They were spending a significant amount of money trying to manage the call center—adding new call…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
(ACSI: Ann Arbor, MI) -- Customer satisfaction with the goods and services that people buy in the United States remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The index is largely unchanged, dipping a mere 0.1 percent from the previous…
(Jesse Garant & Associates: Windsor, ON, Canada) -- Using computer tomography (CT) technology similar to what has been used in the medical industry for years, Ontario-based Jesse Garant & Associates has adopted and expanded this technology for automotive, mining applications, and medical…
ETQ LLC
(EtQ Inc.: Farmingdale, NY) -- EtQ Inc. has announced the addition of new and enhanced features in its latest release, Reliance 7.0.
Enhancements to the latest release of EtQ Reliance contribute to EtQ’s vision of providing the most robust solution in the industry. Below is a sample of just a…
(Creaform: Lévis, QC, Canada) -- Creaform has launched the fourth version of the proprietary software VxScan. This program can now integrate data acquired by both a Handyscan 3D laser scanner and the HandyPROBE armless and portable CMM in the same referential and in real time. Creaform now offers…
Catalyst Development Corp.
(Catalyst Development Corp.: Yucca Valley, CA) -- Catalyst Development Corp., publisher of software components and applications, recently announced the release of ChoiceAnalyst, the first affordable decision support tool with application to Six Sigma decision making.
The define, measure,…
COX Instruments
(Cox Instruments: Scottsdale, AZ) -- COX Instruments, a supplier of precision and industrial flow measurement instrumentation for the world’s most demanding applications, has announced its turbine flowmeters are now available with ceramic ball bearings. These rugged bearings are superior to…
Mountain Home Training and Consulting Inc.
(Mountain Home: Denver, CO) -- Mountain Home Training and Consulting Inc., a provider of continuous process improvement (CPI) training and certification, has shaken up their own industry during the last six months with some innovative approaches to the way they do business. It started with a…
Mark Graban
When I was in Sweden recently, we had a lot of good discussion about the lean concept of “standardized work.”
There was much agreement from different presenters at the lean laboratories conference, and from the hospital people we visited, concerning standardized work—that it isn’t a robotic…
Cognex Corp.
(Cognex Corp.: Natick, MA ) -- Cognex Corp. has announced 3D-Locate, a library of 3-D vision software tools that expands application possibilities in vision-guided robotics, assembly, and inspection.
Logistics and package tracking
Robot-guided depalletizing
Precision assembly…
National Standards Authority of Ireland NSAI
(NSAI: Nashua, New Hampshire) — Even though no firm action was taken during the 2009 Climate Conference in Copenhagen, the U.S. administration has still pledged that the country will tighten carbon emission regulations. The most plausible possibility is what is referred to as a “cap and trade”…
TÜV Rheinland PTL
(TÜV Rheinland PTL LLC: Tempe, AZ) — In an important decision, Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (ABCs) recommended the adoption of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) quality standards for all modules purchased in the U.S. marketplace. The aim of this initiative is to…
Knowledge at Wharton
In 2008, the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care System faced a challenge: Length of stay per patient at this major nonprofit health system and academic medical center was longer than it needed to be. If administrators could figure out how to cut the length of stay by an average of just…
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions
(Carl Zeiss Metrology: Maple Grove, MN) -- In addition to a highly accurate measuring machine, the most important resources in measuring technology are the latest software and detailed application knowledge. Today, knowledge and software updates are increasingly exchanged via the internet. Carl…
ISO
(ISO: Geneva) -- For reasons of safety and reliability, the importance of being able to trace products throughout the supply chain has strongly increased in recent years. The new standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17367:2009 will help manufacturers and…
Sakor Technologies Inc.
(SAKOR Technologies: Okemos, MI) -- SAKOR Technologies Inc., a provider of implementation of instrumentation products for dynamometer testing, introduces the MicroDyne series of small motoring dynamometers. Ideal for a wide range of automotive, military, and aerospace testing applications, this…
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- While there has been a significant loss of repetitive manufacturing jobs, workers with engineering and high-tech skills remain in demand and are vital to keeping manufacturing and the economy going.
A recent survey conducted by Deloitte, Oracle, and the Manufacturing…
Patrick Beauchemin
Optical comparators, also referred to as profile projectors and contour projectors, were first introduced in the 1940s and they are still widely used today in a broad range of industries to verify that manufactured parts are within tolerance. These versatile instruments are easy to use and the fact…
Bill Kalmar
In March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell uttered these now famous words, “Mr. Watson, come here—I want to see you.” That day marked the beginning of an extraordinary time in communication—the advent of the telephone. Since then there have been thousands of changes in our communication systems, many of…
MoreSteam.com
(MoreSteam.com: Columbus, OH) -- On March 10, MoreSteam.com, the a provider of online lean Six Sigma training and support technology, will host an unprecedented live web cast to discuss the need for a rigorous, third-party global certification standard for lean Six Sigma.
The candid, one-hour…
Indicate Technologies
(Indicate Technologies Inc.: Santa Clara, CA) -- Indicate Technlogies and the International Institute of GD&T are partnering to present a seminar series that explores the implications of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) as it applies to all manufacturing and design disciplines…
(Hirayama Consulting: Tokyo) -- Hirayama Consulting introduces a new service line, sending consultants into the field to provide clients with kaizen solutions. Hirayama offers clients on-site consultation in the Toyota Production System (TPS), quality management, and other aspects of lean…
Citrix Systems Inc.
(Citrix Systems Inc.: Goleta, CA) -- Customer satisfaction and loyalty are two highly desirable results in a support environment. But which performance factors deliver both?
Join Citrix for an interactive webinar to hear Dave Brown, president of Support Center University and author of Optimizing…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
On a summer weekend in 1977, my friend Tony and I made plans to go water-skiing. When he picked me up there were two people in the car that I did not know. He introduced his new girlfriend, Sue, and her brother, Bubba.
Bubba was the quintessential redneck. Within minutes of getting on the boat…
