All Features
NIST
Many consumers across the United States are increasingly aware of the decreasing quantity for many of the products that they regularly purchase and consume. This concept is know as product downsizing or shrinkflation, a term used to describe how a consumer product is sold at the same price, but its…
Mike Figliuolo
My platoon was out in the field on training exercises. We had been out there for about two weeks, so we all smelled kind of “ripe” at that point. One of the more senior officers in my battalion came to my unit’s area to see how things were going. This “gentleman” personified the term—he was an “…
Gabriel Popkin
They’re called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of thousands of compounds that contain a chemical bond between fluorine and carbon. That bond has proved to be one of the most stable and unbreakable known to chemistry—a fact baked into the common nickname “forever chemicals,”…
James Chan
Preventive maintenance (PM) is an approach to asset and facilities management that relies heavily on planning, coordination, and collaboration. These features are essential to performing preventive maintenance activities such as routine inspections, preemptive equipment maintenance, and parts…
Luk Van Wassenhove, Akhil Bhardwaj, Henk Akkermans
Disasters can act as brutal audits of organizations to which even venerable institutions like Boeing are subject. In the wake of two fatal crashes, as well as a midflight door blowout, Boeing has shaken up its C-suite and pledged to prioritize safety over profit.
Will these measures solve its…
Kristen Goodell
Women make up nearly half of the working population in the United States. But they are underrepresented in the manufacturing industry. According to Women in the Workplace, women constitute approximately one-third of the manufacturing workforce and only 24% of manufacturing C-suite positions.…
Mike Figliuolo
As leaders, we like being decisive and making quick decisions. We know our businesses well and are willing to act. Doing so without true contrarian input can be dangerous, though.
You can make better decisions simply by identifying and relying on your own personal Mr. Spock. Yes, I’ve been…
Q.Big 3D
Additive manufacturing of oversized plastic components offers enormous advantages for mold-free small- and medium-size production runs. The key to this is Q.BIG 3D’s VFGF (variable fused granulate fabrication) process.
Reiser Simulation and Training, in Berg near Starnberg, Germany, commissioned…
James Chan
Preventive maintenance (PM) is a proactive maintenance strategy built on calendar-based maintenance tasks, regular inspection, and preemptive repair of physical assets. Physical assets may refer to equipment, production machinery, and operational facilities. Preventive maintenance tasks are…
Katie Gilbert
Researchers at Stanford Graduate School of Business have pushed past the limitations of A/B testing into another area of experimentation focused on “multi-armed bandits.” Mohsen Bayati, a professor of operations, information, and technology who has been exploring these problems for the past 15…
Anthony Vianna
Over the past decade, technological improvements have seen 3D laser scanning become an increasingly important alternative to tactile measurement in an expanding range of measurement applications.
The success of laser scanning owes as much to under-the-hood technologies that improve the usability…
Pierre-Nicolas Disser, Megan Wallin-Kerth
QIMA, previously called AsiaInspection, is known for not only making inspection and certifications easier, but also increasing accessibility via a convenient digital platform and strong focus on compliance. Both SMEs and e-commerce businesses have benefited from this increase in affordability and…
Rob Moorey
Equipment failures in healthcare can have serious consequences, including delays in diagnosis or treatment, scheduling disruptions, and patient safety risks. Health systems should empower clinical engineering teams with technology that helps identify potential failures. This will allow health…
Scott A. Hindle
Walter A. Shewhart is lauded as the Father of Statistical Process Control (SPC) and is perhaps best remembered for the SPC control chart. The first record of Shewhart’s control chart is found in a Bell Telephone Laboratories internal memo from May 16, 1924, making today the 100th anniversary of…
ISO
From small family-run companies to tech giants, the business world is changing at an unrelenting pace. Amid a constantly evolving economic landscape and sometimes dizzying technological advances, one thing remains constant: the need to maintain the highest level of quality that endures over time.…
Mark Graban
I’ve seen a rash of articles about major league baseball pitchers who are now out for the season because they’ve hurt their elbow and need “Tommy John” surgery. This includes some big names, such as 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians.
My favorite player, Shohei…
Seunghak Lee
Global electric vehicle (EV) sales have been growing steadily and are expected to reach more than 17 million vehicles in 2028. The rapid shift toward EVs means that new inspection solutions are needed to ensure the quality of critical components. For electric cars, these components include the…
Michael Sharp
American manufacturing is associated with high-quality standards that are meant to ensure both the reliability and longevity of the products produced. Manufacturers across all industries are looking for technological solutions and enhancements to continue to meet these high-bar standards and to…
Elizabeth Norwood
In manufacturing, selecting the right cleaning fluids is a critical determinant of product quality, reliability, and environmental impact. As industries increasingly prioritize sustainability, the transition to environmentally friendly cleaning fluids is imperative. This article delves into…
Johan Sjöberg
Synthetic refrigerants, such as hydrofluorocarbons, are currently being phased out by the European Union.
According to the revised F-gas Regulation recently signed into EU law, all new self-contained refrigeration equipment, with the exception of chillers, installed from January 2025 on must use…
Henry A. Zumbrun
We’ve been asked by customers how many decimal places are enough. It’s either because they want to maximize the resolution of their purchase or they expect far more resolution from the equipment than is reasonable.
We’ve seen a lot, even a meter being set to read 100,000.001. That’s 100 million…
Simon Côté
Integrating 3D scanning technology into quality control processes can be challenging. It requires balancing the need for cost-effective, scalable solutions with long-term effectiveness.
We’ve compiled a list of our best tips to help you choose a 3D measurement technology that meets your current…
Gleb Tsipursky
In the evolving landscape of work, the push for federal employees to return to office spaces has sparked a complex dialogue about productivity, workplace culture, and the very nature of work itself. The forced shift back to office environments under the Biden administration—under pressure from…
Jennifer King
As the modern work environment continues its march toward remote settings, managers are increasingly turning to agile metrics to keep their teams trackable and transparent. But what’s all the fuss about? Why are these tools not just beneficial but essential?
Measurement for remote teams
By…
William A. Levinson
The famous football coach Vince Lombardi purportedly said, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” (According to Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, in a 1962 interview Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.”)
In light of numerous corporate disasters related to…
