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In any field, there are a handful of common mistakes. Continuous improvement is no different. Some of these errors come as a result of ignorance about the proper way of doing things. Some are the result of habit. And a handful come as a function of taking the path of least resistance.
Regardless…
(Q1 Productions: Chicago) -- Across the medical device industry, from corporations preparing to launch a first product, to those with thousands of products being manufactured across disparate global sites, executives are constantly working to update, maintain and evolve quality systems to ensure…
Medical device manufacturers would be well-advised to address any risk with potential home-use products during their design phase, according to an August 2014 guidance from the FDA.
As the agency notes, “Failure to adequately consider potentially hazardous situations during the design of home-use…
'Pssst! Hey kid, ya wanna be a metrologist?"..."Uh, what's a metrologist?"... "Ya get paid to measure stuff."..."Sounds kinda boring." So it goes at colleges and universities all across the United States.
The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—collectively known as STEM—…
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking an organization to support its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awardees by providing technical and business expertise and resources to promote commercialization of the technologies developed through the SBIR program.…
Albert Einstein once said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”
On September 4 in 1957, amid great fanfare, Ford Motor Co. introduced the Edsel line of automobiles to the American public. It immediately stalled.…
Anyone, in any business, wants to have a culture of quality, and everyone, in a sense, does. But is that quality good or bad? Even more to the point, especially for top managers trying to inculcate excellence within the organization, how do you know the difference? How have leading quality-centric…
(ETEL: Schaumburg, IL) -- ETEL has announced that the XYZT Planar Platform is now available in North America through HEIDENHAIN Corporation. The XYZT Planar Platform is a proven, reliable stage with more than 100 units currently in the field worldwide. This system provides excellent dynamic…
In the age of big data, visualization tools are vital. With a single glance at a graphic display, a human can recognize patterns that a computer might fail to find even after hours of analysis.
But what if there are aberrations in the patterns? Or what if there’s just a suggestion of a visual…
Last evening my wife, Carole, and I attended a celebratory dinner for the family of one of my former students. Luca, my student, originally from Italy, brought his wife, Olivia, and his young daughter, Kendra.
Olivia, originally from Uganda, is a family physician working primarily with…
The International Labour Organization estimates that more than 2 million deaths every year can be attributed to work activities. This single statistic clearly indicates the pressing need for occupational health and safety regulations, and the importance of a single standard to help organizations…
In the words of my friend and colleague Larry Loucka, “Graphs are math.”
Graphs often serve as effective visual process performance tools. Typically, these types of graphs fall into the metric category. As reflected in the supporting concepts of the fourth dimension of the Shingo Prize model,…
(Carl Zeiss Microscopy: Thornwood, NY) -- Carl Zeiss Microscopy, a leading provider of microscopy products for life sciences and materials research, highlights the benefits of its new server-based image databasing software, ZEN browser. The ZEN browser technology aids users in storage, filing and…
Can something as simple as a toilet support LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)? We take this basic sanitation device for granted, and while it makes the obvious wastes disappear very cleanly, another form of waste hides in plain view.
LEED already promotes the use of greywater,…
The Middle East has collapsed into a state of chaos, conflict, and suffering that was unimaginable and unforeseen just four years ago. Hardly any experts or institutions predicted the wars and revolutions that have engulfed the region, and those same experts who missed the coming catastrophe…
Managing operational efficiency in a manufacturing setting requires detailed knowledge of how each cell works to produce a finished good. All the individual processes must connect to materialize a finished product in the most efficient and cost-effective way, all the while maintaining employee…
In a recent column, I shared insights from the 2013 Baldrige Award recipients’ leaders as they fielded questions related to their journeys to excellence. There was so much thoughtful reflection that it couldn’t fit into just one column.
More answers to questions follow:
How did you convey to…
The use of optical 3D shape measurement devices are rapidly gaining importance, allowing the reconstruction of real 3D objects efficiently. The 3D shape and texture can be obtained from stereo images acquired with a freely moving camera. This approach measures the image displacement from the…
Finance professional Joe Fabiani never imagined his love of exotic cars would develop into a full-time career. It began when he searched for an improved exhaust for his Porsche 993 but was at a loss to find one that conformed to the specifications he had in mind. Frustration with OEM stock…
(Metronor: Oslo, Norway) Metronor—a leading supplier of industrial and military geometry measurement systems—has won the first multi-system contract for its new line of precision guidance systems for surgical procedures.
Developed from mature Metronor core technology, the new product line offers…
(DimEye Corp.: Houston) -- Global subsea equipment solutions specialist, Ashtead Technology has secured a global agreement with US photogrammetry and software firm, DimEye, for the provision of subsea 3D modeling services to the offshore oil and gas industry.
The collaboration will see Ashtead…
(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology announced a new generation of external laser scanner for use with the new ROMER Absolute Arm. The Hexagon Probe Laser 20.8 (HP-L-20.8) replaces the successful CMS108 laser scanner, offering improved performance even on complex surfaces…
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- FARO Technologies, Inc., known for its 3D measurement, imaging, and realization technology, has acquired The CAD Zone, Inc., a software provider in the law enforcement, accident, and crime-scene reconstruction market. CAD Zone’s point cloud software application will be…
(InnovMetric: Québec, QC) -- “The best part of the new InnovMetric website is how it exemplifies our philosophy and follows the evolution of the company,” states a beaming Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric Software, “the hard work has paid off by creating a much more user-friendly and…
(ACQUIP: Miami Beach, FL) -- ACQUIP Rotating Equipment Solutions, the industry leader for laser alignment launched the new adjustable magnetic base mount kit that enables any measurement arm or laser tracker to be mounted on plates, parts and any other curved surface, which makes it the ideal tool…
