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Supply chains are having a moment. In March 2021, one of the world’s largest container ships got wedged in the Suez Canal, blocking 10 percent of global trade for a few days and launching a flotilla of memes. Currently, home builders are waiting for more lumber, while a shortage of computer chips…
As businesses increasingly adopt AI-driven decision making, experts agree that the most interesting questions are not about whether humans can beat machines or vice versa, but how the two forms of intelligence can most fruitfully collaborate—and how organizations can best facilitate those…
(ANCA: Wixom, MI) -- Traceability is a fast-emerging trend in the manufacturing industry. It is defined as the ability to retrieve the full history or location of an item or product by means of recorded identification. In the tool making industry, the requirement to trace an individual tool and the…
With the migration to remote and hybrid work during the last year, cyberattacks have increased at a rate of three to five times compared to pre-Covid. No big surprise that, for many businesses, virtual private newtworks (VPNs) have become standard operating procedure for security. But is VPN’s…
When it comes to ongoing certification of your quality management system (QMS), whether it’s certified to ISO 9001, ISO 13485, IATF 16949, or AS9100, how many times have you found yourself “preparing for an external audit?”
Picture the scene: You’ve got the dates set on the calendar months in…
(Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics: Jamestown, NY) -- Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics introduces the Torrent M Series automated ultrasonic aqueous cleaning systems for high-precision medical and pharmaceutical cleaning applications. The Torrent is a single chamber, front loading, rotary basket-style machine…
(Siemens Digital Industries Software: Plano, TX) -- Siemens Digital Industries Software has released the latest version of Parasolid software, its open geometric modeling technology employed by over 4 million users across the world. The scope of Parasolid Convergent Modeling technology continues to…
Supply chain management (SCM) has been defined as “the design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand, and measuring…
How many of us remember walking into a holiday gift shop when younger (and before a global pandemic put a stop to the H word), and eagerly searching for a fridge magnet, mug, or pencil inscribed with our name?
Personalization is a tactic brands and businesses have been using for years to hook us…
Effective equipment testing is essential for manufacturers of industrial equipment and end-users. Without testing, defects and damage can shorten the life span of equipment, cause unplanned downtime, and reduce the quality of finished goods.
This is especially true for businesses in sectors like…
With recent disruptions critically impacting the automotive supply chain and costing manufacturers millions in lost production and sales, it is clear that supply delivery issues now need the same level of attention as vehicle safety and quality. What is really at the root of ongoing delivery…
With recent disruptions critically impacting the automotive supply chain and costing manufacturers millions in lost production and sales, it is clear that supply delivery issues now need the same level of attention as vehicle safety and quality. What is really at the root of ongoing delivery…
(Mitutoyo America: Aurora, IL) -- Mitutoyo America Corporation has added new EJ counters and LG100 Series linear gages to its expansive sensor lineup of metrology products.
EJ counters and LG100 Series linear gages are designed to be used inline or in measurement cells, enabling real-time…
First published June 29, 2021, on MIT News.
MIT and Harvard University have announced a major transition for edX, the nonprofit organization they launched in 2012 to provide an open online platform for university courses: edX’s assets are to be acquired by the publicly traded education technology…
Manufacturers have seen the need to digitize operations for quite some time, but the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the issue to center stage. They’ve had to adapt to sudden, dramatic changes like more remote workers and social distancing across production lines. It didn’t take long to realize the…
PDCA—plan, do, check, act (or adjust)—is one of those acronymic concepts that regularly finds its way into lean discussions. Descended from Francis Bacon’s scientific method (hypothesis, experiment, confirmation), PDCA has become a ubiquitous catchword for business process improvement. From…
A recent study conducted by Forbes Insights, in partnership with ASQExcellence (ASQE) and ASQ, examines quality initiatives in the digital era, based on the views and experiences of 1,036 executives and quality professionals from enterprises worldwide.
Credit: Wright Studio/Shutterstock
“Insights…
This series is about getting you through a catastrophe. The first three articles (see “All articles in this series”) were about preparing and responding to the world around you when it’s consumed by calamity. As our world here was. In this article, we deal with how to handle all the information,…
This article is the fourth in a monthly series brought to you by the America Works initiative. As a part of the MEP National Network’s goal of supporting the growth of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, this series focuses on innovative approaches and uncovering the latest trends in…
Recently, I came across an interesting insight at Toyota’s website. I was taken aback by the first sentence of this paragraph: “Eventually, the value added by the line’s human operators disappears.”
The complete paragraph is shown below: “Eventually, the value added by the line’s human operators…
Adherence to lean principles is considered a precondition for success in modern manufacturing. In a resource-intensive environment, anything that improves efficiency and productivity is a godsend. Lean maintenance has become more prominent as manufacturers grapple with sustainability challenges,…
(Creaform: Lévis, Canada) -- Creaform, a worldwide leader in automated and portable 3D measurement solutions and engineering services, has announced the release of the latest version of its VXelements platform. Several new features as well as existing features’ enhancements were developed to…
This story was originally published by MIT News.
Whether it’s computer chips, smartphone components, or camera parts, the hardware in many products is constantly getting smaller. The trend is pushing companies to come up with new ways to make the parts that power our world.
Enter Boston Micro…
This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.
In 2020, the annual committee meeting of the journal we edit was a bit of a mess. It took place in March, just days before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, so some attendees canceled their travel even as others…
This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.
In 2020, the annual committee meeting of the journal we edit was a bit of a mess. It took place in March, just days before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, so some attendees canceled their travel even as others…