All Features
James Tehrani
People get overly tired. People get distracted; they get stressed and make poor decisions. People multitask when they shouldn’t. People lack training at times.
Our brains and bodies are machines, but they are imperfect ones. Even the most thorough and careful person will become an “err apparent”…
Tim Lozier
The concepts and frameworks behind quality management are evolving. As more companies adopt new technologies, and standards like ISO 9001:2015 begin to shift in focus, there is a concept that is arising out of Industry 4.0, the factory of the future, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT).…
jeffdewar
On Feb. 25, 2018, an asteroid 30 ft in diameter flew past the Earth, closer than the moon is to us. The newly discovered asteroid, named “2018 DU,” is the 17th known asteroid to fly past Earth within one lunar distance (the distance between the Earth and the Moon, approximately 250,000 miles)…
Laurel Thoennes @ Quality Digest
Employers can’t find people with the skills needed for the today’s workplace, because high schools and universities fail to teach students useful job skills. The skills gap is a decades-old and well-known problem that will remain unsolved unless we flip priorities not only in our school systems…
Ian Setliff, Amyn Murji
The current 2017–2018 flu season is a bad one. Hospitalization rates are now higher than in recent years at the same point, and infection rates are still rising. The best line of defense is the seasonal influenza vaccine. But H3N2 viruses, like the one that’s infecting many people this year, are…
Scott Shackelford
While some countries struggle with air safety, U.S. airplane travel has lately had a remarkable safety record. In fact, from 2014 through 2017, there were no fatal commercial airline crashes in the United States.
But those years were fraught with other kinds of trouble: security breaches and…
John Toon
Can companies rely on the results of one or two scientific studies to design a new industrial process or launch a new product? In at least one area of materials chemistry, the answer may be yes—but only 80 percent of the time.
The replicability of results from scientific studies has become a…
Knowledge at Wharton
When Tide and other detergent manufacturers developed colorful, convenient pods designed to be tossed into washing machines and dishwashers, they never expected teenagers would try to eat them. But what was dubbed the “Tide pod challenge” quickly went viral, with teens posting videos of themselves…
AssurX
Recent FDA warning letters indicate that many drug manufacturers do not have their manufacturing in a state of current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) control. During the first half of 2017, the FDA cited adulterated products and insanitary conditions as the two most common violations in drug…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Our Feb. 9, 2018, episode of QDL looked at electronic notes, electronic privacy, smart electronic device, and... wow... have we taken technology too far?
“Study Shows Doctors Record Better Notes After Using Best-Practices Program”
Shortcuts to electronic note taking, such as autofill and copy…
Wendy Wood
Employers have a stake in their staff’s health. It’s not just a matter of keeping health insurance premiums in check which is a consideration in countries without universal healthcare. It’s also about maximizing employee engagement and productivity, and even happiness.
Promoting health habits is…
Fred Schenkelberg
MTBF use and thinking is still rampant. It affects how our peers and colleagues approach solving problems, and there is a full range of problems that come from using the “mean time between failure” (MTBF) metric.
So, how do you spot the signs of MTBF thinking even when MTBF is not mentioned? Let’…
Richard Harpster
Richard Harpster's op-ed is in response to a recent Quality Digest article and webinar discussing the benefits of the draft AIAG-VDA FMEA Handbook. As he points out at the end of this article, the AIAG has provided a means to solicit comments, pro or con, on the handbook. We encourage interested…
Michael Lynn
Some journalists and other social commentators have in recent years called for the abolition of restaurant tipping, primarily because they argue that it hurts workers. Several restaurateurs have even replaced tipping at their restaurants with automatic service charges or inclusive pricing.…
Annet Aris
After an initial phase of euphoria about how the digital world improves our daily life with virtual assistants, among other gadgets and services, slowly but surely, we're coming firmly back to earth. Post-honeymoon, the breakneck speed of digital development has created an increasing number of…
Jack Barkenbus
Every day about 100 people die in car crashes on U.S. roads. That death toll is a major reason why both Congress and the Trump administration are backing automotive efforts to develop and deploy self-driving cars as quickly as possible.
However, officials’ eagerness far exceeds the degree to…
Stanislav Shekshnia, Veronika Zagieva, Alexey Ulanovsky
During the last decade, we studied CEOs of companies that thrive within some of the most challenging business environments on the planet. Though very different in many respects, these CEOs share leadership behaviors and attitudes that strongly parallel those of top athletes. We further theorize…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Our Jan. 12, 2018, episode of QDL looked at smart manufacturing, remanufacturing, pants-on-fire bosses, and five things your QMS needs.
“Impatient With Colleges, Employers Design Their Own Courses”
Microsoft, Amazon, and others are teaming up with third-party online courseware providers to…
Abdesalam Soudi
Recently, while on my way to the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, I made a quick “Pittsburgh left”—taking a left turn just as the light turns green—while facing a driverless car.
Instead of jolting forward or honking as some human drivers would be tempted to do, the car allowed me to go. In…
Jenna Gallegos, Jean Peccoud
Biology is becoming increasingly digitized. Researchers use computers to analyze DNA, operate lab equipment and store genetic information. But new capabilities also mean new risks, and biologists remain largely unaware of the potential vulnerabilities that come with digitizing biotechnology.
The…
Richard Harpster
The concept of risk-based thinking has been implicit in previous editions of ISO 9001 through requirements planning, review, and improvement. But ISO 9001:2015 requires companies to use risk-based thinking to manage their business.
If you want to implement an ISO 9001:2015-compliant quality…
Bhargav Mitra, Robert McCausland
Google might be in trouble for collecting the personal data of its users, but many companies have a growing incentive to rid their hands of the data that users entrust them with. This is because of growing costs of holding onto it.
A major cause is the rising number of cyber attacks where hackers…
Scott Berkun
On Tuesdays I write about the top-voted question on “Ask Berkun.” This week’s question came from J.R., who wrote: “What is a favorite theory that you wish more people understood?”
A favorite theory that I wish was more well-known is the Satir Change Model. It’s popular in some circles, but often…
William A. Levinson
ISO 9001:2015, Clause 6.1—“Actions to address risks and opportunities,” relates to Clause 4.1—“Understanding the organization and its context.” The external context includes the social environment, which in turn includes social networking, a potentially devastating vehicle for the delivery of “…
Peter J. Strauss
The recent spate of natural disasters that devastated parts of North America included a violent variety of events. There were three major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria—wildfires in California, an earthquake in Mexico, and tornadoes in Oklahoma.
One thing these calamities have in common: They…
