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Companies purchase lots of things. They purchase tangible goods, like raw materials and equipment, or intangible services, like calibration and transportation. And most companies have basic criteria that they use to qualify and select suppliers.
Many companies require their suppliers to obtain…
It’s not enough to collect the right data, ensure all your quality checks are done correctly and on time, and prioritize your quality improvement opportunities. You also need to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.
In “What’s Your Priority? Use SPC to Maximize Your Impact on Quality…
Taking time off for vacation seems to be a diminishing phenomenon among U.S. workers. Each year, Americans fail to use 662 million vacation days, and with those days $236 billion in economic opportunity is lost, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Aside from the economic impact, there are…
(peel 3d: Lévis, Québec, Canada) -- peel 3d has announced that it has launched an industry first: an affordable 3D scanner that offers the functionalities and performance level required by professionals.
“In today’s marketplace, many professionals—from designers to engineers to educational…
A culture of quality drives the policies, practices, and processes needed to accomplish an organization’s work. Building a culture of quality begins with embodying core values, guiding philosophies, behaviors, and attitudes that, combined, contribute to day-to-day operations. This culture builds…
In today’s economy, almost all manufacturing organizations are part of a supply chain, either as a buyer or a supplier themselves. Quite often they are both.
Outsourcing in traditional as well as new industries is growing rapidly. Consider that Boeing’s outsourcing evaluation grew from 400,000…
The FDA has a long history of supporting patient access to investigational new treatments. This includes working with drug and device companies through the clinical trial process that may lead to FDA approval of the treatment. We also offer expanded access programs that provide investigational…
We cover a wide range of topics on QDL most weeks, but our latest episode, from Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, provided a steady drumbeat of technological detail. Here’s what we chatted about:
“Energy Harvested from Evaporation Could Power Much of U.S., Says Study” Renewal sources of energy like solar…
Quality tools can serve many purposes in problem solving. They may be used to assist in decision making, selecting quality improvement projects, and in performing root cause analysis. They provide useful structure to brainstorming sessions, for communicating information, and for sharing ideas with…
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As businesses become increasingly dependent on an effective supplier network, more data must be shared with these suppliers to support business goals and delivery business value. This gives rise to the need for a more robust, next-generation approach to supplier assurance and…
“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded—here and there, now and then—are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny…
This photo shows the Milky Way (from the Latin via lactea), part of our galaxy as seen from Earth. It’s a barred spiral galaxy, essentially a flat disk of at least 100 billion stars. Our galaxy is just one of about 400 billion in the universe, only three of which can be seen by the naked eye.…
Global freight transport is a key component in the trade of goods and materials, but new demands on the transport network are creating fresh challenges for data. Transport companies are endeavoring to meet those new demands, but are they successful? Discover how an adaptive, intelligent supply…
Design thinking is an innovative problem-solving process rooted in a set of skills.
The approach has been around for decades, but it only started gaining traction outside of the design community after the 2008 Harvard Business Review article [subscription required] titled, “Design Thinking” by Tim…
In my last column, I reflected back on my career to date and issued a challenge. Based on the relatively lukewarm response, let’s see whether I can engage a few more of you to join me on my quixotic journey.
“Trying to manage your career or your organization in a world changing as rapidly as ours…
Until recently, most quality departments were unable to select their own quality management system (QMS) software.
Think about it. From hardware sizing to system requirements, database types to installation, only IT had the expertise to procure and maintain on-premise QMS software. At many…
The first in-car measurements of exposure to pollutants that cause oxidative stress during rush-hour commutes has turned up potentially alarming results. The levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside car cabins was found to be twice as high as previously believed.
Most traffic…
(Juran: Southington, CT) -- Juran is now enrolling for online lean Six Sigma training. The training varies from Yellow Belt, Green Belt, and Black Belt workshops. The workshops utilize Juran’s self-paced, online platform, and includes live online group webinar instruction sessions.
These…
How confident are you when it comes to design validation? Does this always involve clinical evaluation, or not? We’ve found that, like many other terms in medical device development, the two can end up getting confused. When do you use one or the other?
There tends to be a lack of clarity out…
Cybersecurity, at this point in the technological age, has become a household word. Every week, almost like clockwork, it seems there is a story in the news about a newly discovered hack or data breach, often made possible by poor cybersecurity practices. Many of these incidents are focused around…
Want to improve something? You’ve got to measure it first. If you’re motivated to improve product quality and reduce manufacturing costs, the first step in establishing a successful statistical process control (SPC) solution is getting some data. And if you want to make good decisions from those…
Our Oct. 13, 2017, episode of Quality Digest Live looked at edge computing for natural disasters, medical records, and zero defects.
“New Research May Improve Communications During Natural Disasters”
Could edge computing help communications during disasters?
“How Health Care Leaders Should…
When Philip Crosby announced zero defects as a philosophy during the 1970s, it was met with incredulity. There were already many articles written on the fallacy of such a strategy and the enormous costs of moving toward zero defects. Fast forward 40+ years, and zero defects has become a reality.…
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By any measure, a $50 million car collection is a whopper. When your collection includes fully restored muscle-car icons, ultra-rare vintage originals, one-off factory concept cars, and... oh yes, a 2017 Ford GT super-car—it is a spectacular whopper. At a car show, you would win…
Medical device companies use ISO 14971 to identify and manage user risks with their devices. However, we often find these same companies do not manage their project risks well.
What is project risk management?
The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute,…
