All Features
CRC Press
(CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- For almost every sensationalized media report of product failure, a closer look often determines these failures occurred due to inadequate reliability theory and methodology. Current theories and practices cannot solve these problems, mainly because test…
The word kanban means “sign” or “signboard” in Japanese and is often used in conjunction with lean or just-in-time principles for scheduling and manufacturing. Kanban is a “pull” system, whereby product, parts, or inventory move forward based on customer demand, thus eliminating inventory, waste,…
MIT News
The manufacturing sector, its advocates note, is burdened by negative stereotypes. Outsiders often mistakenly think that manufacturing consists of jobs that are “dumb, dirty, and dull,” as MIT President Susan Hockfield said during a recent conference on the subject.
Many people also view…
Miriam Boudreaux
So, you think you’ve got them all figured it out, and then, bam! Somebody else comes up with a new quality acronym to throw you off your game. But don’t give up too soon. Acronyms are confusing, but they all boil down to continual improvement. The trick is to decide, along with your company, which…
GDO BV
(GDO: Eygelshoven, Netherlands) -- GDO BV is a designer and builder of production automation and visual inspection systems based in The Netherlands. In 2007 a major European stent manufacturer came to GDO with a request: Could the company develop a system to automate stent inspection?
Out of this…
Cognex Corp.
(Cognex: Natick, MA) -- Cognex, the a global supplier of machine vision systems, has released SensorView 2, a smart display for Checker machine vision sensors. With SensorView 2, production engineers can fully configure, test, and monitor Checker 4G vision sensors without a PC being required at any…
Donald J. Wheeler
Editor--Part 2 of this article can be found here.
In some industries a few test batches will be produced prior to going into production. When this happens, a critical question is: “Are all of the test batches alike?” With only one value per batch, how can we compare a set of three or more values to…
Kistler
(Kistler: Novi, MI) -- Kistler, a global supplier of precision sensors, systems, and instrumentation for the dynamic measurement of pressure, force, torque and acceleration, has introduced the Type 4550A KiTorq system, designed to add greater measurement flexibility of the highly dynamic torque…
Bill Kalmar
A government task force recently proclaimed that the prostate scientific antigen (PSA) test need not be administered to detect cancer. The report indicates that the results of surgery can result in incontinence, sexual dysfunction, heart problems, and even death.
Men for years have had this test,…
Dimensional Control Systems DCS
(DCS: Troy, MI) -- Dimensional Control Systems (DCS), a provider of quality management software solutions and consulting services, has announced that DCS vice president Donald Jasurda will address product design and manufacturing professionals at the 2012 International Forum on DFMA. The event will…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- On Thurs., May 24, 2012, the Obama Administration announced a $26 million federal funding opportunity for the multiagency Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension…
Jossey-Bass
(Jossey-Bass: San Francisco) -- For managers and business leaders who want to enhance performance, Engaged: Unleashing Your Organization's Potential Through Employee Engagement, by Linda Holbeche and Geoffrey Matthews (Jossey-Bass, 2012), is an easy-to-use guide offering real solutions for getting…
Jude Holmes
What is the greatest threat to the U.S. manufacturer? The great recession? Close, but not quite. Corporate espionage? Save it for the movies. Obamacare? Let’s not go there. A product recall can make every other problem seem trivial.
The folks at Toyota know something about that. The 2009–2010…
The Conference Board
According to a new report from The Conference Board, the proportion of employees who work predominantly from home or from another remote location has, during the last decade, more than tripled in many industries, while nearly doubling nationwide among all full-time (nonself-employed) U.S. workers…
Mike Micklewright
I write this as I am sitting in the Jury Assembly Room (JAIL for short) on the 17th floor of the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago, waiting for something to happen.
I estimate that there are another 130 poor souls who probably have a million things to do and are waiting just like I am in…
Productivity Press
(Productivity Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- There is a secret inside health care, and it’s this: We can do health care for a lot less money. The only way to do that is to do it a lot better. We know it’s possible because it is happening now. In pockets and branches across health care, people are…
Cognex Corp.
(Cognex: Natick, MA) -- Cognex Corp., a global leader in industrial ID, has added liquid lens optics for the DataMan 300 series of fixed-mount barcode readers. The new accessory allows any DataMan 300 reader to be easily upgraded from fixed focus to autofocus. Liquid lens variable autofocus…
Capture 3D
(Capture 3D: Farmington Hills, MI) -- The ATOS ScanBox from Capture 3D, manufacturer and provider of the services of 3-D industrial measurement solutions, is an innovative optical measuring system for 3-D coordinate measurement that offers a comparable investment volume to traditional coordinate…
IMEC
(IMEC: Peoria, IL) -- The Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) is launching a lean Six Sigma Green Belt training series beginning on June 8, 2012, in southern Illinois. The series is designed to help small and midsized manufacturers learn how to integrate concepts of lean and Six Sigma to…
Umberto Tunesi
They come trendily dressed, grinning and baring their teeth. They are equipped with the latest electronic tools. And they are forever hypnotizing you into believing that they come in peace.
I’m one of them. I know these aliens from inside their world.
They tell you that you have problems, but do…
For the better part of five decades, commercial access to space has been limited by the high cost of flight operations. However, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has rewritten the rules by adopting a new business model and cutting-edge technologies to enhance reliability and reduce the…
TÜV SÜD America
(TÜV SÜD: Peabody, MA) -- TÜV SÜD America now provides Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Formed in 1993, the FSC is an independent, nonprofit organization tasked with promoting responsible and sustainable foresting…
Setra Systems
(Setra Systems: Boxborough, MA) -- With more than 20 years of successful field-proven experience, Bios International Corp. (Bios), a designer and manufacturer of flow calibration products equipment and solutions for primary gas flow measurement, and a recently acquired division of Mesa Laboratories…
Taylor Hobson
(Taylor Hobson: West Chicago, IL) -- Taylor Hobson, a global leader in ultraprecision measurement instrumentation, plans to unveil the latest addition to its line of autocollimators at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at Chicago’s McCormick Place, Sept. 10–15, 2012.
Used…
ISO
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Conformity Assessment (ISO/CASCO) has developed a new standard and a technical specification that will help build confidence between partners in business-to-business dealings and provide support for trade…
