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(Geomagic: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) -- Geomagic software has been selected by Team North American Eagle in its quest to set a new land speed record by reaching 800 mph. Project engineers will use Geomagic Studio software to digitally recreate the 56-foot-long Eagle vehicle for…
(FARO Technologies Inc.: Lake Mary, Florida) -- FARO, the world leader in portable 3-D measurement and imaging technology, announced that it has won the Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award from the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT).
The National Center for Defense…
Bipin Roy
During a recession, the concept of lean should make absolute sense to an information technology (IT) manager who wants to pursue every channel to increase efficiency and productivity.
We have seen a procession of quality standards adopted by software services organizations in the last two…
(Smarter Solutions Inc.: Austin, Texas) -- Business management governance needs reinvention now. Current management practices didn’t prevent occurrence of the current financial crisis and often permitted creation of detrimental policies without risk assessment, says Forrest Breyfogle, CEO and…
(Moresteam.com: Columbus, Ohio) -- Cardinal Health, a global manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and technologies, uses innovative lean Six Sigma training methods to pursue their goal of total process and safety excellence. In a Feb. 19 web cast available to the public, Cardinal…
Bill Kalmar
Anyone who has ever purchased merchandise from L.L. Bean is no doubt aware of this rock solid guarantee:
“Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L.L. Bean…
(ISPE: Tampa, Florida) – The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, a global not-for-profit association of 25,000 pharmaceutical science and manufacturing professionals, will hold the 2009 Tampa Conference at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, March 2–5.
Among the many…
(ECCB: Milwaukee) -- The Electronic Components Certification Board (ECCB) and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) will partner to develop a program for accredited certification to ensure that manufacturers have effective processes for controlling the hazardous materials in their…
Thomas R. Cutler
Plan-do-check-act (PDCA) is an iterative four-step problem-solving process typically used in business process improvement. It’s also known as the Deming Cycle. When W. Edwards Deming postulated this process, there was no such system as e-commerce.
PDCA has been rarely applied to websites or to the…
William A. Levinson
Carbon dioxide emissions are symptomatic of energy consumption in manufacturing, especially in transportation. Therefore initiatives to reduce them often cut supply chain costs as well. However, the exaggerated focus on carbon emissions is dysfunctional and it may overlook other cost-reduction…
(FDA: Rockville, Maryland) -- In an effort to combat counterfeiting and contamination, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is launching a voluntary pilot program for drug makers to determine the practicality of developing a secure supply chain program.
The goal of the program is to allow the…
(GAO: Washington) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was added to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) biennial update list of federal programs, policies, and operations that are at “high risk” for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, or in need of broad-based transformation…
Richard Strouse
Internal auditing, when effectively implemented, can arguably be considered the most important tool in the quality system tool box. It’s the primary method for continuously monitoring a company's quality management system (QMS). In fact, the feedback from internal auditing is critical to the growth…
Daniel M. Smith
Why would anyone start a new metrology business in this economic climate? Why would they do it in Michigan, the epicenter of the automotive industry recession? The short answer is that if you can identify a clear need in the marketplace for your product and have the ability and expertise to bring…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) – The United States has 1 million miles of water mains, 600,000 bridges and 4 million miles of public roadway. Experts have pointed to serious gaps in the nation’s ability to monitor these networks adequately to ensure timely maintenance and repair. Twenty-five…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The field of nanotechnologies is advancing rapidly and is expected to influence virtually every facet of global industry and society. International standardization contributes to the potential of this technology for the betterment and sustainability of the world through economic…
Belinda Jones
As energy prices continue to soar and the public—with increased awareness and concern for the environment—continue to demand environmental accountability from manufacturers, companies are looking long and hard at ways to decrease their influence on the environment. But there are competing goals.…
(Aveta Solutions LLC: Cleveland) -- As Barack Obama takes office, the weight of many Americans will be on his shoulders over the next four years. Many expect to see the changes instantly in their lives. They expect employment to increase dramatically, their tax liabilities to be reduced, the stock…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- Learn how to effectively confront the barriers for the deployment of lean and Six Sigma in a health care setting at Worldwide Conventions and Business Forum’s (WCBF) 8th Annual Lean, Six Sigma and Process Improvement in Healthcare Summit. The event will be held March 18–19, with…
David C. Crosby
There are several issues about the Six Sigma approach to quality that bother me. First, Six Sigma is a performance standard that hardly anyone can understand. Secondly, it’s an engineering approach to quality management. It’s more of a defect-management program than it is defect-prevention.…
Mike Micklewright
Question: Name the modern-day politicians who best exemplify the Seven Deadly Sins of greed, envy, gluttony, sloth, lust, pride, and anger. The last one is a group of people, not a politician.
Answer: Please record your answers, put them in your purse or wallet and save them for Part 2 of this…
Bill Kalmar
Many of us will look back on 2008 as the year when gas prices soared to unbelievable highs and our 401ks dropped to unbelievable lows. A key measure of consumer confidence fell to an all-time low in December and a dismal job market and uncertain outlook for 2009 did little to settle our nerves. In…
Second only to leadership, strategic planning has been likely more written about than any other management subject.
In studying leadership, we seek to learn the emotional characteristics that define a successful entrepreneur. What makes Bill Gates or Jack Welch succeed when so many CEOs…
(TBM Consulting Group: Durham, North Carolina) -- While general cost pressures continue to be the main challenge for manufacturers globally, rising energy costs have reached a new level of concern according to TBM Consulting Group’s sixth annual “Multinational Manufacturing Pulse.” The study…
