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(GE: Billerica, MA) -- The DM5E family is the latest generation of portable, ultrasonic, corrosion monitoring thickness gauges from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies. The DM5E series offers significant improvement in performance over previous corrosion thickness gauges in terms of thickness…
(ANSI: New York) -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the United States standards and conformity assessment system, began accepting applications for certification bodies seeking accreditation under the new Toy Industry Association (TIA) Toy Safety Certification…
(WCBF: Chicago) -- WCBF's fourth Global Lean, Six Sigma and Business Improvement Summit & Industry Awards will take place at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, in Orlando, on October 13–16.
The event represents the largest gathering of leading experts and senior executives across various…
(Pinpoint Laser Systems: Peabody, MA) -- Pinpoint Laser Systems has announced a new four-axis Microgage Receiver that provides full useful alignment information for evaluating and correcting machinery alignment problems. The new 4D Microgage Receiver measures two linear axes "X" and "Y" and their…
It’s no secret to anyone, anywhere, that we’re experiencing a global business challenge, especially in manufacturing.
One could argue that for too long, manufacturers in the United States have been complacent and indifferent to signs of market change, steadily losing market share to offshore…
(Complete Inspection Systems Inc.: Indialantic, FL) -- Complete Inspection Systems Inc has introduced their new 14 megapixel inspection station to incorporate into their range of automated inspection software for material inspection, product counting, product tracking, and anticounterfeiting. This…
How many times have you referred a restaurant to a friend? Think about why you made that referral. Was it the food or the service? Let’s say a restaurant that you refer charges $50 for dinner for two; if you refer four people, and they take your advice, you just made that restaurant $100. On the…
(Titan Tool Supply: Buffalo, NY) -- In support of the government's stimulus programs, Titan Tool Supply has announced a major price reduction in its popular FX-3 Stereo Microscope, reducing the list price from $850 to $529.
Incorporating high-quality, Japanese-made optics, the FX-3 features…
(GE: Fairfield, CT) – GE announced, as part of its healthymagination initiative to increase technology access and reduce costs, the launch of Stimulus Simplicity, a program offering doctors and hospitals an easier path to electronic medical records (EMR) adoption. This program, a joint offering of…
(NAHQ: Gleview, Illinois) -- To improve the safety of laboratory medicine, the National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed six preferred practices for measuring and reporting patient safety and communication in laboratory medicine. The preferred practices focus specifically on improving quality…
The term, poka-yoke (pronounced poh-kah-yoh-keh), may sound vaguely familiar and kind of fun, and even conjure up images of a dance at wedding receptions; however, poka-yoke is a quality tool that has prevented incalculable waste in the manufacturing industry for more than 40 years. Poka-yoke, a…
Geoff Bilau, senior writer for the International Association for Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Group, was awarded first place for his paper by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for describing the importants of quality standards and accreditation.
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t was…
This is the second report from the author, who is currently working in Afghanistan. Don’t miss his first article, “Ensuring Quality in a War Zone.”
--Editor
They told us the road was clear. They didn’t say it was safe; it was a dirt road that ran seven kilometers through the district of Shah…
With several generations of statistical process control (SPC) technology under our belts, it may be time to rethink how we apply SPC in the 21st century. Basic techniques have been practiced since the 1930s. Some companies will soon be able to say, “we’ve been practicing SPC for 100 years.”…
Do no harm. Do good. With these two basic concepts, socially responsible organizations (SRO) are able to achieve positive bottom-line results while supporting the environment and society.
“Organizations have to know where they’re potentially putting the public at risk,” says Roberto Saco,…
Charles Kettering, the famous inventor, once said: “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” This implies that a good portion of problem solving should be devoted to a thorough understanding of what’s going on before any corrective action steps are taken.
In many cases, too much time is…
(Innovmetric: Québec, Canada) -- The growing popularity of 3-D digitizers, such as laser scanners, white-light digitizers, portable CMMs, and laser trackers, has opened the door to a wide array of new applications in the manufacturing world. These new tools have helped thousands of companies to…
(Hexagon Metrology Inc.: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology Inc. recently announced special pricing on its combination laser scanning metrology package that combines a Brown & Sharpe Global Performance bridge CMM or ROMER INFINITE 2.0 7-axis portable arm with a ScanShark V4ix laser…
Q
uestion: What’s the difference between a satisfied customer and a devoted follower?
Answer: Seventy-five percent of satisfied customers abandon a company for its competitor. A devoted follower is a customer who takes your brand to heart. Authors Chip Bell and John Patterson give you the…
(Apriso Inc.: Long Beach, CA) --Manufacturers embracing lean as a corporate philosophy understand that business processes must be steadily improved to gain efficiency, improve quality, cut waste, and enhance your value stream. However, achieving visibility and control to evaluate, measure, and…
The 5S System is one of the most powerful activities of lean manufacturing. The 5S philosophy focuses on simplifying the work environment, reducing waste, and improving quality and safety.
It's the natural place to start your lean effort because lean is all about eliminating nonvalue-added…
(CMS: Issaquah, WA) -- The Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) announced today it is conducting an online industry survey for experts and novices working in the field of metrology. The CMS ( www.cmsc.org ) is currently working to establish a 3-D Coordinate Metrology Certification Program, and seeks…
Don’t miss the author’s follow-up to this article, “Going Low Profile in Afghanistan.”
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Profitable manufacturing requires efficiency, and this principle guides most (if not all) of our quality management systems (QMS). We’ve learned there’s little gain in correcting a production error…
Laser line scanning is ideal for non-contact measurement applications - including inspection, cloud- to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, and 3-D modeling. Laser line probes use a triangulation process to find the position of objects in space. A high performance laser diode…
(UL: Northbrook, Illinois) -- Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a provider of product safety testing and certification, recently launched its new Power Quality Study service offering. This new service, available to customers of data acceptance programs (DAP) and manufacturer test laboratories (MTLs…
