All Features
Trimble Navigation Ltd.
(Trimble: Sunnyvale, CA) -- Trimble has introduced the Spectra Precision DR400 DigiRod, a combination productivity tool that eliminates the need for grade rods when checking grades with a rotating laser. The combination of a laser receiver with digital readout, laser distance meter, and built-in…
Mineral Technologies
(Minerals Technologies: Bethlehem, PA) -- Minerals Technologies Inc. has introduced a fourth-generation Lacam laser measurement system for use in the worldwide steel industry that is 17 times faster than the previous version. This new technology provides the fastest and most accurate laser scanning…
(TAKE Solutions: Princeton, NJ) -- TAKE Solutions, a leader in the supply chain management (SCM) and life sciences domains, has released a new version of OneSCM, a multi-enterprise collaboration suite for managing extended supply chain operations. The latest version introduces tight integration for…
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Berkeley, CA) -- A long-time staple of science fiction is the tractor beam, a technology in which light is used to move massive objects—recall the tractor beam in the movie Star Wars that captured the Millennium Falcon and pulled it into the Death Star.…
Robert Half International Inc.
(Robert Half: Menlo Park, CA) -- For workers, “show me the way” can be just as important as “show me the money,” suggests new research from Accountemps, the world’s largest specialized temporary staffing company for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals. In the survey, more than half (…
Guidon Performance Solutions LLC
(Guidon Performance Solutions: Phoenix) -- According to an article in the American Medical News journal, 150 hospitals in the United States have seen reduced readmission rates, improved emergency care, and better adherence to care standards due to involvement in the Hospital Quality Network.…
Christopher Martin
Last year, the Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC) left a lasting impression from the onset, with the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix being rocked by a huge thunderstorm the night before the conference kicked off, all amid hot and humid weather. Not to be outdone, CMSC 2012 took to New…
Tammy Serensits
Now that the 2012 Olympics have concluded, the sight of all those muscular athletes has me thinking about my own physical fitness. I’m pretty active for 30-something. I try to hit the gym or pool daily, and I’ve been working through the Beachbody P90X and INSANITY workout programs for the past…
Kyle Toppazzini
Whenever I write about continuous improvement and lean Six Sigma, without fail I get a comment about Toyota and its quality issues. So I decided to investigate this matter further, present the facts, and let the data be the voice of reason. I do expect the proverbial “Yabut and Costello” comments—i…
CRC Press
(CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Following in the footsteps of its popular predecessor, the second edition of this workbook explains how to apply kanban replenishment systems to improve material flow. Kanban for the Supply Chain: Fundamental Practices for Manufacturing Management, Second Edition, by…
Alan’s Apothegms with Alan L. Austin
When I was a little boy we flew to Hawaii to visit my sister. I remember the excitement of getting on the plane and sitting by the window. I didn’t want to miss anything on this, my first flight. We took off from San Francisco International and climbed into the clouds. Once we were through into the…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- At the September 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago, the Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium (DMSC) and eight software vendors will demonstrate standards-based workflow of manufacturing quality data. The emerging standard, Quality…
Konica Minolta Sensing Americas Inc.
(Konica Minolta: Ramsey, NJ) -- Konica Minolta Sensing Americas, a global leader in the industrial measurement of color, light, and 3D shape, has launched in the United States the ColorScoutA3+ XY Table for the digital imaging and graphic arts market.
The ColorScoutA3+ enables accurate, efficient…
ANVER
(Anver Corp.: Hudson, MA) -- A new, self-contained vacuum-operated inspection station that grips heavy enclosures from the sides and lets operators fully inspect the front, back, top, bottom, and inside is being introduced by Anver Corp.
The Vacuum-Operated Inspection Station lets operators pick…
ISO
(ISO: Geneva) -- Anyone who has received an inaccurate or late bill for gas, electricity, water, or telephone services can understand why billing is one of the main sources of customer complaints against utilities. A new ISO standard provides solutions by giving recommendations for billing…
Andrew Sobel
Most doctors firmly believe that certain types of regular screening tests and checkups are essential and help save lives. And most of us, no matter how much we despise devoting an hour or more to getting poked and prodded, dutifully go for an annual checkup each year. Annual checkups can play a…
Lean Enterprise Institute
(LEI: Cambridge, MA) -- As you know, it’s difficult to achieve continuous improvement. Lean efforts generate many successes, but not so many sustained ones. Lean projects tend to rely on dedicated lean experts, and when they turn their attention to the next improvement project, the one just…
Sensorex
(Sensorex: Garden Grove, CA) -- Sensorex has developed an industry-first mobile accessory for pH measurements. Compatible with Apple, iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices, the PH-1 pH meter accessory measures and records pH values in the lab or field for use in environmental, education, and industrial…
Geomagic
(Geomagic: Morrisville, NC) -- As more than 35,000 gamers descend on Indianapolis later this week for the start of Gen Con, the largest gaming show in the world, Wyrd Miniatures will debut an entire new line of plastic miniatures for its hit character skirmish game “Malifaux.” The designs’ intense…
Mettler-Toledo
(Mettler-Toledo: Columbus, OH) -- The Liquidator96, from Mettler-Toledo, researcher and developer of precision instruments, is a manual bench-top pipettor that drives measurable efficiency in leading-edge genomics, proteomics, and cellular studies.
Molecular biology techniques that enable the…
Miriam Boudreaux
Your ISO management rep is leaving the company, and you have yet to reassign the post. If you’re wondering whether there are any formalities that must be followed, don’t worry. There’s no need to hit the panic button. With some simple planning, you can ensure your management systems remain in shape…
The main plant of Hitachi Engineering and Services (HES) has produced pipe spools for large scale plants. These pipe spools have complicated shapes and are made by various types of materials. In the process of these pipe spools fabrication, high accuracy and high throughput are required. Especially…
Robb McIvor
CMSC 2012 is now “in the books,” and it was a smashing success at a great venue in New Orleans. Every year, the conference is filled with up-close looks at the latest portable coordinate metrology technologies, unparalleled networking opportunities and social events, and fantastic white paper…
The Pyzdek Institute
(The Pyzdek Institute: Tucson, AZ) -- The return on investment realized by any continuous improvement effort comes down to two basic functions: How well a company can pick the right battles to fight (project selection), and how efficiently they can fight those battles (project execution).
The…
Bruker Corp.
(Bruker: Santa Barbara, CA) -- Bruker, developer, manufacturer, and provider of scientific instruments and analytical services, has released the new PeakForce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) mode for its line of atomic force microscopes. PeakForce KPFM utilizes frequency-modulation detection…