All News
This weekend my 3-year-old son and I were playing with his marble run set, and he said to me, “The marbles start together, but they don’t finish together!”
It dawned on me that the phenomenon he was observing seems so obvious in the context of a marble run, and yet many practitioners fail to see…
The manufacturing workforce—so critical to manufacturing innovation—is the basic, yet decisive, building block for successfully implementing next-generation strategies. If manufacturers are to engineer innovation in their businesses, workforce-development investments must evolve from a one-off…
Although factory labor rules are notoriously hard to enforce, a new study shows how some inspectors are able to uphold workplace standards.
The recent factory collapse in Bangladesh has renewed attention to the global issue of workplace standards. In many countries, similar problems have arisen…
Regular readers know I’m not a big fan of Jack Welch, to put it mildly. My opinion is shared by many in the lean world, at least those who recognize that the second, oft-forgotten, pillar of lean is “respect for people”—a concept diametrically opposed to Welch's “leadership” methods.
Unfortunately…
Editor’s note: This is the third in a five-part series exploring issues that affect management’s ability to detect the warning signals of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) compliance problems in the pharmaceutical industry.
In part one of this series, we considered the management…
According to the quarterly ExpertRECALL Index, 48 percent of all medical device recalls reported during the second quarter of 2013 had both U.S. and international components. In addition, the number of device recalls increased 30 percent from the last quarter, resulting in the highest number of…
In only eight years, Razor USA LLC has grown from an upstart company with a single product (the original Razor kick scooter) to an established earner with a lineup of more than 30 human- and electric-powered toys. The company’s successful diversification can be seen in its revenues. Sales in 2001…
The Internet was abuzz recently about the revelation that according to a high-school class experiment, Oreo Double Stuf cookies are, in fact, not double stuffed but only 1.86 percent stuffed. The original blog post by the math teacher was actually made on March 3, 2013, but not discovered as “news…
(Ford Motor Co.: Dearborn, MI) -- The new F-Series trucks are the latest vehicles to benefit from Ford Motor Co.’s new dirt-detection technology to ensure optimal paint and surface quality. The system uses high-resolution cameras and reflected light to digitally identify surface imperfections finer…
Stone Age men, so the story goes, got the wheel inspiration by observing trees rolling downhill. So they sliced trees and fit the rounds they got to their sleds, to move them faster and with less effort. In so doing, they also invented carts while expediting transportation.
But friction’s thermal…
Scholars have long been interested in tracking “knowledge spillovers,” the way technical and intellectual advances spread among communities of researchers and innovators. A significant body of work has shown that distance matters when it comes to the dissemination of knowledge. Advances are more…
MIT chemical engineers have discovered that arrays of billions of nanoscale sensors have unique properties that could help pharmaceutical companies produce drugs—especially those based on antibodies—more safely and efficiently.
Using these sensors, the researchers were able to characterize…
Editor’s note: This continues Jack Dunigan’s series about unsung heroes in the workplace, and the 16 traits they all share.
What is the purpose in employing associates? They are brought on board to extend your reach, multiply your effectiveness, and divide your work. Then you train and teach, but…
Editor’s note: This continues Jack Dunigan’s series about unsung heroes in the workplace, and the 16 traits they all share.
A few years ago it was my privilege to officiate at the memorial service of an old friend. The family did not want a traditional structured ceremony. They asked that time be…
Three-dimensional (3D) scanners used at crime scenes for forensic investigations aren’t just the stuff of prime time television. Investigators and crime laboratories do use 3D laser scanning measurement systems to measure and model critical aspects of crime scenes. But during the ensuing legal…
There are many reasons why organizations decide to register or certify themselves to the various standards and specifications in industry; all are important, but not all are vital. Standards registration in support of sales, marketing, and PR efforts certainly helps companies grow, for example.…
For the Coordinate Metrology Society, CMSC 2013 will be recognized as a landmark year in its quest to provide state-of-the-art information and best practices to the metrology industry. Twenty-seven technical presentations were delivered at this conference, and I could not be more impressed with the…
It’s wildfire season out West. Time to be in awe of the destructive power of nature.
According to the USDA Forest Service active fire maps, more than 300 fires are burning across 1.5 million acres—including 35 large, uncontained blazes.
Shifting winds, humidity, and terrain can quickly alter a…
Editor’s note: This article continues the series exploring structured innovation using the TRIZ methodology, a problem-solving, analysis, and forecasting tool derived from studying patterns of invention found in global patent data.
The members of the executive council had been focusing on TRIZ for…
(1factory: San Jose, CA) -- 1factory, Inc. has launch an online supplier quality management platform that enables buyers to implement quality controls, access inspection and process capability (Cp, Cpk) data, and collaborate with suppliers to improve manufacturing processes across the supply chain…
I’m not one to rely solely on statistics to tell the entire story. There are usually intangibles—the human element, seemingly unrelated activity—that fill in the blanks.
We’re seeing a seemingly endless stream of upbeat manufacturing stories lately, that either extol the latest bump in U.S.…
(Hexagon: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology has officially unveiled HexagonMetrologyU, the first e-learning portal designed to engage and support the metrology industry. The interactive platform debuts more than 30 online courses covering metrology fundamentals, basic and intermediate…
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology want to put your signature up in lights—tiny lights, that is. Using thousands of nanometer-scale wires, the researchers have developed a sensor device that converts mechanical pressure—from a signature or a fingerprint—directly into light signals…
How many of you have been through a lean Six Sigma (LSS) project or business transformation and there was no internal conflict between employees or among managers? My guess is very few. In any LSS project, company transformation, or change initiative there are going to be instances of love and war…
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- FARO Technologies Inc., the world’s most trusted source for 3D measurement technology, was the proud sponsor of Chevrolet’s Corvette Racing Team, campaigned by Pratt & Miller Engineering, that raced in the 90th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 23–24, 2013, in Le…
