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QDL co-host Dirk Dusharme was on vacation for our Nov. 10, 2017, episode, but we ably covered for his absence with some thought-provoking stories and great guests. Let’s take a look:
“What Really Causes Workplace Stress” A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Southern…
Variation and defects. They are the bane of all manufacturing companies. They signal an absence of efficiency, a neglect of productivity, and a total disregard for cost effectiveness. Who is seen as the rescuing knight in shining armor? Sir Six Sigma!
Fundamentally, Six Sigma (always capitalized,…
The term “Weibull” in some ways has become a synonym for reliability. Weibull analysis = life data (or reliability) analysis. The Weibull distribution has the capability to describe a changing failure rate, which is lacking when using just mean time between failures (MTBF). Yet, is it suitable to…
Academics and corporate innovators both spend their workdays pursuing breakthroughs that may never materialize. Venturing into unknown territory carries fairly high potential rewards, but also a fairly high risk of failure.
When working on a research project, it can be difficult to decide when to…
Academics and corporate innovators both spend their workdays pursuing breakthroughs that may never materialize. Venturing into unknown territory carries fairly high potential rewards, but also a fairly high risk of failure.
When working on a research project, it can be difficult to decide when to…
Academics and corporate innovators both spend their workdays pursuing breakthroughs that may never materialize. Venturing into unknown territory carries fairly high potential rewards, but also a fairly high risk of failure.
When working on a research project, it can be difficult to decide when to…
Reflecting a greater focus on achieving organizational success through people, the first certification program for ISO 10018, “Quality management—Guidelines on people involvement and competence” is now available for organizations committed to quality people management. This standard was created in…
Some people are afraid that heavily armed artificially intelligent robots might take over the world, enslaving humanity—or perhaps exterminating us. These people, including tech-industry billionaire Elon Musk and eminent physicist Stephen Hawking, say artificial intelligence technology needs to be…
As the essayist E.B. White once wrote, “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” Some people are of course quick to acknowledge the good fortune they’ve enjoyed along their paths to the top. But White was surely correct that such people are in the minority. More…
Changing an organization’s structure seems to be the common knee-jerk response to internal issues. My prior company embarked on a reorganization to eliminate arbitrary site- and function-based structures so that we could align around corporatewide value creation processes.
During the…
The food labeling craze coupled with banner headlines about the dangers of gluten, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and hormones are leading to increasingly absurd results.
For example, you can now buy “premium” water that’s not only free of GMOs and gluten but certified kosher and organic…
Never-before-seen growth has turned the aviation, space, and defense industries into lucrative markets. Demand for increased efficiency, security, quality, and durability has taken off in recent years, resulting in high margins and operating profits. With exponential growth potential and a long-…
If I could summarize in one page the most important lessons I have learned in pharmaceutical quality assurance over the last 40 years, this is it.
When it comes to putting a procedure into written words, it doesn’t mean the words will be effective in getting people to follow the procedure.
The…
Kevin Murphy is the CEO of Driscoll’s. My guess is that if you were to look at the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and more in your refrigerator, you’d find the Driscoll’s logo adorning the package.
Murphy’s route to Driscoll’s was hardly direct. He was born in South Africa. After…
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was thinking over the weekend that for years we've positioned innovation incorrectly. Too often we position innovation as creating a new and valuable offering or solution, ready when customers demand new products and services. In other words, we've positioned innovation as something to do to…
Control charts take data about your process and plot it so you can distinguish between common-cause and special-cause variation. Knowing the difference is important because it permits you to address potential problems without over-controlling your process.
Control charts are fantastic for…
With the cutoff date of Sept. 15, 2018, looming for transitioning to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, there will be organizations chasing certificates. However, certificates can’t improve the system, guarantee better products, or render better service. The fundamental changes to the ISO standards…
During the Nov. 3, 2017, episode of QDL, we (figuratively) traveled the globe to bring you quality information. Let’s take a closer look:
“‘Made in Japan’ Falls from Grace Amid Scandals, Systematic Flaws in Manufacturing Industry” Kobe Steel is the latest Japanese manufacturer to admit to…
In theory, a production process is always predictable. In practice, however, predictable operation is an achievement that has to be sustained, which is easier said than done. Predictable operation means that the process is doing the best that it can currently do—that it is operating with maximum…
In theory, a production process is always predictable. In practice, however, predictable operation is an achievement that has to be sustained, which is easier said than done. Predictable operation means that the process is doing the best that it can currently do—that it is operating with maximum…
Manufacturing’s role is changing and evolving in ways that make the traditional methods of creating products and services outdated. As manufacturing enters a dynamic era, policymakers need new approaches and improved capabilities to save on costs while fulfilling the changing needs of consumers.…
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High-volume manufacturers need fast, nondestructive testing methods to help avoid material mix-ups and to meet customer quality requirements. Quality assurance (QA) inspectors are responsible for evaluating incoming raw materials by determining their elemental makeup and…
I have a friend. Let’s call him Ryan. I respect Ryan, and we talk about a lot of things: work, religion, technology, politics, bikes, the truck he’s always working on—you name it, and we both have an opinion, sometimes strong opinions. Our problem is, we don’t always speak the same language (well…
According to a Deloitte Consulting study, 88 percent of executives state that to build an “organization of the future,” they must transform their business practices. Transformation requires extensive change, which is difficult. Or is it?
In the Harvard Business Review article, “Stop Using the…
Several high schools throughout the country are now experimenting with eliminating recognition of students who have high GPAs. In fact, some schools have curtailed the labeling of a valedictorian or salutatorian. The rationale is that some students feel intimidated by other students who are…
