All Features
Matthew Barsalou
There are many reasons for performing a root cause analysis (RCA). These reasons include determining the cause of a failure in a product or a process as well for determining the root cause of the current level of performance when a product or process has been selected for improvement.
There are…
Kevin Meyer
A few months ago I told you how my wife and I had found a midcentury remodel project only a couple blocks away from where we currently live. We wanted to create a “lean home”—smaller with a simple layout, less storage space, and as few walls and doors as possible to optimize flow. The remodel has…
Lolly Daskal
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, I have observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when his performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to…
Donald J. Wheeler
In their recent article, “We Do Need Good Measurements,” Professors Stefan H. Steiner and R. Jock MacKay take exception to two of my Quality Digest articles, “Don’t We Need Good Measurements?” and “The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient.” While we all want good measurements, the trick is in…
Bruce Hamilton
For me, Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo are a bit like the Lennon and McCartney of waste elimination. Together they frame the technical and social sciences of what we call lean today.
Taiichi Ohno tells us there are seven wastes that account for 95 percent of the elapsed time between “paying and…
Olympus
Sponsored Content
Digital microscopes combine high-quality optical systems with the ease of use of a digital device for the efficient management of industrial quality control workflows.
Accurate inspection and measurement no longer depend on in-depth microscopy knowledge. Digital microscopes…
Ryan E. Day
I remember my first trip to Michigan in 2012. I was covering the Ford Motor Co.’s annual Trend Conference and had the opportunity to meet Alan Mulally, who gave a compelling presentation explaining the vision, strategy, and implementation of the One Ford plan. I was impressed more with the man…
Bill Kalmar
This is the time of year when students and parents eagerly await the final day of school and the impending graduation ceremony. It is a time of joy and apprehension as students celebrate their accomplishment and ponder their next societal or educational steps.
For high-school students, will it be…
NIST
How do jumbo-jet designers develop resilient materials for modern airframes, while still bringing in their projects on time and on budget? Before they prototype a new material, they depend heavily on computer simulations to indicate how it will perform—and scientists at the National Institute of…
John Flaig, Jack Ren
In a similar vein to Donald Wheeler’s excellent article on process capability confusion I would like to submit the following example of thinking that you are doing the math right and getting an answer that can get you into real trouble.
Consider the following capability assessment problem. The…
Jonathan O’Hare
The execution of an inspection plan is critical for ensuring the continuous production of quality products. The purpose of this article is to explain how software tools can be used to maximize utilization of the inspection system within the main control loop once the inspection plan has been…
AssurX
The FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) provided a glowing self-assessment in a recent report. The CDRH met its 2016 strategic objectives for several initiatives pertaining to medical device manufacturers.
The CDRH continues to put a premium on quality when it assesses a…
Mark Rosenthal
It was September 1901, in Dayton, Ohio, and Wilbur Wright was frustrated. The previous year, 1900, he had built and tested, with his brother Orville’s help, their first full-size glider. It was designed using the most up-to-date information about wing design available. His plan had been to “kite”…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
Founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints—cutting edge at the time—Zimmer Biomet is a medical device company commanding second place in the entire world’s overall orthopedic market share. The organization’s stated purpose is to “Restore mobility, alleviate pain, and improve the…
UC Davis
Three transportation revolutions are in sight, and together they could help reduce traffic, improve livability, eventually save trillions of dollars each year, and reduce urban transportation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 percent or more worldwide by 2050. That’s according to a report…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
In last week’s Quality Digest Live: LEGO, do spacesuits make your butt look fat, and when reality smacks you in the face.
“What to Do When Reality Smacks You in the Face”
Three self-leadership techniques to use when reality smacks you in the face.
“The LEGO Group reaches 100% renewable energy…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
My eye was caught recently by a gossipy article concerning NASA’s suit situation. Spacesuits, that is, not the standard-issue coat and trousers worn by many earthbound employees at the agency. It seems its Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a thumbs down following a spacesuit audit, warning…
Winnie Ip
You may have heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Well, it turns out that’s just a myth. Researchers found that, on average, it takes people more than two months before a new behavior becomes automatic. So what does that have to do with your office ergonomics process? A lot, especially…
John Bell
Do Less Better is the name of my book (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Do less better is also a culture and a strategy of organizations and their leaders. Do-less-better practitioners are fanatical about focus and simplification; herein lies the secret of their success. Yet, do less better isn’t…
Stefan H. Steiner, R. Jock MacKay
In his February 2017 Quality Digest column, “Don’t We Need Good Measurements?” Donald J. Wheeler recommends that a measurement system contributing up to 80 percent of the overall variation (on the variance scale) is good enough to detect persistent mean shifts when using a process behavior (…
Ellen Kominars
While Hank Matousek Sr. was perfectly content in his position as quality control manager at a bearing company during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he had no idea that his employer’s growing financial woes and a pending layoff would become his surprise catalysts to found Grind All Inc. Not…
Dawn Bailey
Create an innovation advantage for your organization by letting go of industrial-age principles, embracing imagination, and experimenting even if you might fail, said Polly LaBarre, co-founder and director of Management Lab (MLab) and co-founder of MIX (Management Innovation eXchange). LaBarre,…
Susan Fowler
The CEO rejected my proposal by explaining, “Susan, your problem is you keep creating nine-ton elephants for two-ton cages.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This man was putting the kibosh on a cutting-edge product based on his limited perspective and lack of imagination. What did he know…
Joel Smith
In parts one and two of “Gauging Gage,” we looked at the numbers of parts, operators, and replicates used in a gage repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study and how accurately we could estimate %Contribution based on the choice for each. In doing so, I hoped to provide you with valuable…
AssurX
A common pitfall in quality management system (QMS) process automation occurs with a poorly planned process automation strategy. Too often, the temptation is to automate all quality processes at once and streamline the entire eQMS process in one giant undertaking. However, real-world experience…
