All Features
(Department of Defense: Orlando, FL) -- On Dec. 13, 2022, the Overall Award winner and the People’s Choice Award winner for the Department of Defense Maintenance Innovation Challenge (MIC) were announced during the DOD Maintenance Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
The Overall Award winner is “E-Drill…
Gleb Tsipursky
One of the key stakeholders in stakeholder capitalism is the employee. You could argue that the employee is the key stakeholder, because without employees you’d have no stakeholders at all. This is why employers need to stay aware of today’s health environment and its effect on their employees.…
Matthew Barsalou
A root case analysis is performed to identify “what, how, and why something happened, thus preventing reoccurrence” (“Root Cause Analysis for Beginners.” Rooney, J. J. and Vanden Heuvel, L. N. Quality Progress 37, 2004, p. 45). This can be difficult when the problem being investigated is both…
Marni Baker-Stein, Bridgett Paradise, Rodney Petersen
There’s a growing movement to increase competency and skills-based education and hiring practices in both the public and private sectors.
For example, the Executive Order on Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates calls on the federal government to “ensure…
Bryan Christiansen
The U.S. utility industry, a cornerstone of modern infrastructure, is undergoing a significant transformation. Recent trends, primarily the shift toward renewable energy, are reflected in the sector’s changing statistics.
Strategic asset management in the utility sector is essential for…
Michael Muillenburg
Consider these two pieces of recent industry data: (1) 75 percent of the workforce will be millennials by 2025. Thousands of experienced workers are retiring daily. The Silver Tsunami is real, and it’s rising fast. This unprecedented talent loss is draining industry of its ability to train and…
Rachel Gordon
The manufacturing industry (largely) welcomed artificial intelligence with open arms. Less of the dull, dirty, and dangerous? Say no more. Planning for mechanical assemblies still requires more than scratching out some sketches, of course—it’s a complex conundrum that means dealing with arbitrary…
(WFL Millturn Technologies: Linz, Austria) -- The classic Millturn complete machining center ushered in a completely new era in its original version more than 25 years ago. It was the first WFL Millturn with an individual tool carrier for turning, drilling, and milling with a B axis.
Many of these…
Megan Wallin-Kerth
It’s an adage heard time and time again: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Conversely, is it possible that you can’t train a new dog without using some new, exciting tricks? With technology changing at rapid rates, the newer generation is accustomed to different training styles and methods. In…
Sue Via
Research shows that during times of economic uncertainty, companies that find a balance between reducing the resources they need to survive and investing in key areas for growth will fare better through a recession and beyond. It’s a nuanced approach that involves playing offense and defense at the…
Matthew Greenwood
Getting the most out of your older capital equipment is a priority for any manufacturer. Luckily, the technology needed to bring legacy equipment into the internet of things (IoT) is readily available.
Let’s take a look at some specific products and technologies businesses can use to bring legacy…
(L.S. Starrett Co.: Athol, MA) -- L.S. Starrett Co., a leading global manufacturer of precision metrology systems, measuring tools and gauges, and more, has announced it will be featuring the automated inspection capabilities of its metrology and force measurement systems at ATX West, an Informa…
(CIMdata Inc.: Ann Arbor, MI) -- CIMdata Inc., a leading global PLM strategic consulting and research firm, announced its first Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) Certificate program of 2023 will take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, March 13–17.
This unique program prepares PLM professionals to…
Harry Hertz
Yes, I have a wicked dream. No, not that definition of wicked—I mean wicked in the sense meant by scientists when they discuss “wicked problems.” Wicked problems are those that typically involve a combination of technical, social, and economic challenges. Wicked problems are daunting. They’re…
Craig Matthews
Producing quality work is imperative in every field, particularly in the construction industry. A well-built structure, whether it’s an educational facility, hospital, or a commercial establishment, provides shelter, safety, and stability, which is why quality should always be a top priority. As…
(Opto Diode: Camarillo, CA) -- Opto Diode Corp., an ITW company, has introduced the AXUV100G, a 100 mm x 100 mm active-area electron detection device specially designed for use in radiation detection applications.
The electron photodetector features electron responsivity at energy levels as low as…
Donald J. Wheeler
The computation for skewness does not fully describe everything that happens as a distribution becomes more skewed. Here we shall use some examples to visualize just what skewness does—and does not—involve.
The mean for a probability model describes the balance point. The standard deviation…
Adam Zewe
Engineers at MIT have developed ultralight fabric solar cells that can quickly and easily turn any surface into a power source.
These durable, flexible solar cells—thinner than a human hair—are glued to a strong, lightweight fabric, making them easy to install on a fixed surface. They can provide…
(Critical Manufacturing: Porto, Portugal) -- Critical Manufacturing, a company that is redefining the role of manufacturing execution systems (MES), is exhibiting with technology leader, ASMPT, at the 2023 IPC APEX EXPO, Booth 1701, scheduled for January 24–26, 2023, at the San Diego Convention…
(LASER COMPONENTS: Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) -- The LS-WL1 white light module provided by LASER COMPONENTS has an output power of more than 500 mW at the fiber end (core diameter: 1 mm; NA = 0.5). The light is generated by a laser-pumped white light source. The dot-shaped illuminated…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Since its founding in 1987, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program has served the U.S. economy through its enduring purpose: to improve the performance and long-term success of businesses and other organizations by recognizing role models and fostering the adoption…
In a press statement released on Jan. 6, 2023, the European Commission reported the adoption of a proposal to allow more time to certify medical devices to mitigate the risk of shortages. The proposal introduces a longer transition period to adapt to new rules, as foreseen under the Medical Devices…
Brian Brooks
Manufacturers spend too much on quality issues. Some issues they are blind to, some are due to poor detection, and some are the costs incurred when issues escape to a customer.
It seems like in recent years the challenges have been great in both magnitude and quantity—supply chain turmoil, global…
Kate Zabriskie
‘I can’t take it anymore! We’re short staffed, I’m killing myself to hold it together, nobody says thank you, so goodbye! Life is too short for this. I can work somewhere else.”
Thoughts like that happen many times every day in organizations large and small. If you haven’t heard something like…
(Hexagon AB: Stockholm) -- Hexagon AB, a global leader in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software, and autonomous technologies, has announced a $100 million investment in Divergent Technologies Inc., a pioneer of green manufacturing technologies with the first modular digital factory…
