All Features
3DX-RAY
(3DX-RAY: Loughborough, UK) -- 3DX-RAY has launched its MDXi-200 X-ray inspection system, expanding its industrial inspection product portfolio. The new MDXi-200 has a compact footprint that delivers a cost reduction while increasing the effectiveness of process control for organizations performing…
Mike Micklewright
Many companies’ internal quality audit systems suffer from a reputation of being mildly effective to completely ineffective or just nonvalue-added. Often, it’s viewed as a policing department from which one’s dirty laundry must be hidden. Also, the audit system itself is not viewed as a true “…
Karl Stephan
This is a story that, as far as I know, has never appeared in print before. It’s not exactly hot news—the incident happened in 1970—but it exemplifies Henry Petroski’s dictum that engineers often learn more from failure than success.
One of the big tourist attractions of Texas during the 1960s was…
Davis Balestracci
As you all know, the influence of W. Edwards Deming on my career and thinking has been profound. A criticism always leveled at him was that he was short on specifics—but he would always growl at someone who alluded to this, “Examples without theory teach nothing!”
Enter Joseph Juran, the other…
The Lane Report
Whether analyzing Toyota’s supply-chain management, culture, history, or philosophy, writers have long been intrigued by the inner workings of the internationally successful automotive manufacturer. Some books have become celebrated best-sellers. Yet despite the acclaim, Fujio Cho, former president…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: Washington, D.C.) -- Between October and December, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is offering a number of classes and workshops on key standards and conformance topics such as the American National Standard process, international standardization procedures, and…
ASTM International
(ASTM: West Conshohocken, PA) -- To facilitate the development and use of sustainable manufacturing processes, ASTM International’s Committee E60 on Sustainability has created a new subcommittee, E60.13 on Sustainable Manufacturing. The new group will hold its first meeting during Committee E60’s…
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has released a national action plan, “Workforce Imperative: A Manufacturing Education Strategy,” which calls for manufacturers, educators, professional organizations, and government to coordinate and standardize efforts for…
Bill Kalmar
For those of you looking for a way to emerge from the doldrums of realizing that summer is almost over, I suggest you circle today, Wed., Sept. 19, on your calendar. No, it isn’t the first day of fall; that is Sept. 22. Sure, the leaves turning brilliant colors, sipping cider, and getting sticky-…
Michelle LaBrosse, Kristen Medina
Take a calming deep breath and maintain focus on the matter at hand. Find your center and stay balanced, calm, and ready. Now, tell me, are you on a yoga mat or in a boardroom preparing to negotiate? The reality is that the techniques learned in yoga can be applied across a broad spectrum of areas…
Alan Nicol
Most of us do some form of testing or other validation of our designs and production systems before we initiate production of our products. For some of us, especially those who produce products related to safety, we must prove to a regulatory agency that our products are safe and meet regulations…
NIST
During a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) unveiled a new laboratory designed to demonstrate that a typical suburban home for a family of four can generate as much energy as it uses in a year. Following an initial…
Davis Balestracci
Let’s revisit two scenarios from my July 2012 column, “The Sobering Reality of ’Beginner’s Mind.’” First, a medical center’s Harvard MBA COO insisted on nothing less than 100-percent computer uptime, no excuses. His IT department’s inability to get 100-percent uptime consistently has resulted in…
Gallup
Only 11 percent of employees worldwide are engaged in their jobs, according to Gallup. That’s an alarmingly low number and suggests profound problems for workplaces in almost every corner of the world. Low engagement results in lower productivity and profitability—and damages a company’s future…
Nathan Jamail
One of the greatest misunderstandings in leadership and coaching is the term “micromanaging.” Most leaders never want to be thought of as a micromanager; that would be considered an insult or a weakness. When micromanaging is used as a coaching or leadership style, it will most likely deliver bad…
Verisurf Software Inc.
(Verisurf: Anaheim, CA) -- Verisurf Software Inc. and select resellers worldwide have introduced the 3DGage coordinate measuring machine (CMM). “The new 3DGage enables manufacturers to quickly implement lean model-based inspection right on the shop floor that yield real improvements in production…
MIT News
MIT researchers have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up oil spills. They believe that, with their technique, the oil could be recovered for use, offsetting much of the cost of cleanup.
The researchers will present their work at the…
Knowledge at Wharton
Has international trade come to a standstill with the crisis that started in 2008? Things are not that simple, says Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), during a recent joint interview with ParisTech Review and Knowledge@Wharton. Although protectionist pressures…
NIST
A refined method developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for measuring nanometer-sized objects may help computer manufacturers more effectively size up the myriad tiny switches packed onto chips’ surfaces. The method, which makes use of multiple measuring instruments…
Miriam Boudreaux
When implementing a new management system based on ISO standards, experts usually invoke the grandfather clause as a way to relieve the enforcement of some requirements. When, where, and how often can the grandfather clause be invoked?
The grandfather clause is a statement that an organization…
Cognex Corp.
(Cognex: Natick, MA) -- Cognex Corp., a global leader in industrial ID, has integrated advanced 2DMax+ code-reading software technology into the compact DataMan 100 and 200 fixed-mount barcode readers. With 2DMax+, the readers can now identify and decode severely damaged or poorly marked 2D matrix…
NIST
The United States already has one of the highest direct fire loss rates among developed nations, and progress in reducing this tremendous burden is slowing.
Fires claim more than 3,000 lives a year, injure more than 90,000 firefighters and civilians, and impose costs and losses totaling more than…
Joel Smith
Admit it; if you follow the National Football League (NFL), both of the following statements are likely true: When talking about the preseason with friends, you say that the preseason doesn’t matter and doesn’t mean anything for the regular season, so you’re not really worried or excited about your…
Bill Lee
I want you to see your customers in a (lucrative) new light. The old paradigm works like this: Your company produces goods and services that help customers get a job done. In return, the customers pay you money. You take that money and invest a good portion of it in traditional sales and marketing…
Paul Naysmith
I’m back, writing about another Toyota dilemma of mine. In part one, interestingly titled “My Toyota Dilemma,” I wrote how I, as an avid fan and supporter of the Toyota Production System (TPS) have never owned a Toyota. I ended that column vowing I would use Toyota’s greatest gift—the 5 Whys—to…
