All News
Almost all of us have experienced the frustration of searching for a document we created in the past. Whether it is a spreadsheet of last quarter’s sales figures, a mission-critical report on 2007’s quality control improvements, or a list of contact names, we are so consumed with creating our…
(Kistler: Novi, MI) -- Kistler, a global supplier of precision sensors, systems, and instrumentation for the dynamic measurement of pressure, force, torque, and acceleration, has designed a single-wire cable technology, which offers a number of design and performance advantages over traditional…
(Meggitt Sensing Systems: San Juan Capistrano, CA) -- Meggitt Sensing Systems, designer and manufacturer of sensing and monitoring systems that measure physical parameters in extreme environments, has introduced the Endevco model 2226C, a compact and lightweight adhesive-mounted piezoelectric…
(Nikon: Brighton, MI) -- More than 100 metrology and manufacturing professionals gathered to visit the new Nikon Metrology Inc. Technology Center, located at the company’s headquarters for the Americas in Brighton, Michigan. The purpose of the event was to introduce one of the most advanced…
(Siemens: Plano, TX) -- Siemens PLM Software, a global provider of product life-cycle management (PLM) software and services, has launched a supplier parts catalog web portal, the Solid Edge PARTcommunity, which provides access to a massive number of components, assemblies, and certified product…
It’s a pattern that no doubt repeats itself daily in hundreds of millions of offices around the world: People sit down, turn on their computers, set their mobile phones on their desks, and begin to work. What if a hacker could use that phone to track what the person was typing on the keyboard…
(SAE: Warrendale, PA) -- Tough times require searching for things that we can change and making them better. But so often problems are solved with Band-aids and not root-cause solutions. This approach is getting too expensive and at best only helps companies tread water. To combat these issues…
Making a lasting change is usually easier said than done. Most of us spend more time talking about that next exercise program we plan to start than we do actually going through with it. Businesses have just as much difficulty as individuals in going through with change. Too often, companies are…
(Concurrent Technologies: Johnstown, PA) -- In an effort to save costs in ship construction and maintenance, the Navy Metalworking Center (NMC) is conducting a Navy ManTech project that is developing a prototype system for inspecting tapers of main propulsion shafts for submarines and aircraft…
(Jossey-Bass/Wiley: San Francisco) -- Based on leadership expert Mike Figliuolo’s popular “Leadership Maxims” training course, One Piece of Paper (Jossey-Bass, 2011) teaches decisive, effective leadership by taking a holistic approach to defining one’s personal leadership philosophy. Through a…
(U.S. Dept. of Commerce: Washington) -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank have announced a partnership to encourage the creation of domestic manufacturing jobs and opportunities for U.S. suppliers through transportation investments.
The Department…
(CMM Dynamics: Apollo, PA) -- CMM Dynamics Inc., a leader in the precision fixture design and manufacturing industry, has designed and patented a precision universal fixture, the Vision Slide, which will reform the methodologies of fixture setup allocation on vision systems. The Vision Slide…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and ASTM International have signed an agreement to increase their cooperation in developing international standards for additive manufacturing—which refers to the process of joining materials to manufactured objects,…
When a nasty strain of E. coli flooded hospitals in Germany this summer, it struck its victims with life-threatening complications far more often than most strains—and the search for an explanation began.
During a feverish weekend after the rogue bacterium’s genome was sequenced, scientists…
(NZTE: Christchurch, New Zealand) -- A new report by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise suggests that New Zealand can provide a valuable model for health policy makers and IT professionals seeking to reduce costs and increase the quality of health care in the United States and other nations. By…
Most good manufacturing practices (GMP) training that I encounter is not necessarily bad, just irrelevant. In fact, the same could be said for most training departments. They jealously guard their turf and deliver mediocre, perfunctory training. Names get checked off the list, and the training…
(Siemens: New York) -- Increases in productivity attributed to digital and lean manufacturing are driving changes in manufacturing processes and requiring additional training for workers. Siemens is seeking to fill about 1,000 open positions, but there are challenges in finding candidates with…
The ability to see through walls is no longer the stuff of science fiction, thanks to new radar technology developed at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory.
Much as humans and other animals see via waves of visible light that bounce off objects and then strike our eyes’ retinas, radar “sees” by sending…
Maybe the best book to come across my desk this year is Melissa Pregill’s Become One (Rojo Press, 2010). It’s all about becoming a consultant, or “independent,” as she likes to say. It’s a slim little volume, just right to leaf through during a break, so I did. Maybe that was a mistake, since I…
(Teledyne DALSA: Waterloo, Ontario) -- Teledyne DALSA, a Teledyne Technologies company and global leader in machine vision technology, has launched its new BOA Pro smart camera. The BOA Pro combines the robustness of its integrated BOA smart camera with the flexibility of the company’s Sherlock…
(Lumetrics: Rochester, NY) -- Lumetrics, a leading manufacturer of measurement technology, began shipment of its latest innovation, the LumetriScan 360, a fully automated, noncontact thickness measurement system for the medical industry.
The LumetriScan 360 can be used on long-length medical…
(TriNano: Eindhoven, the Netherlands) -- TriNano is a new nano/micro coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for measuring objects with submillimeter features in 3-D and with nanometer uncertainty. Current micro-CMMs comply with the Abbe principle in 2-D or even in 3-D, which is a preferred method to…
In 2003, Subir Chowdhury realized his company needed to change and tailor its tools and services to fit each of its client’s circumstances. His colleagues and employees developed the management approach called LEO—for listen, enrich, and optimize—which has been transforming people and…
It happens all the time: lost opportunities, missed handoffs, rework, delayed product launches, and frustrated employees and customers. The likely culprit: poorly managed processes. Even mature organizations struggle with inconsistent or incorrectly applied process management techniques. Only…
(CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Asking tough questions about the current state of project management, The 12 Pillars of Project Excellence: A Lean Approach to Improving Project Results, by Adil F. Dalal (CRC Press, 2011), provides techniques to achieve excellence in project leadership that can…
