All Features
Jessica Gabel Cino
Forensic science has become a mainstay of many a TV drama, and it’s just as important in real-life criminal trials. Drawing on biology, chemistry, genetics, medicine, and psychology, forensic evidence helps answer questions in the legal system. Often, forensics provides the “smoking gun” that…
Jonathan Whistman
A part of every leader’s job is to provide the coaching necessary to each of the individuals on the team. The challenge is that sometimes we end up coaching about something that happened recently, or that most stands out, rather than on what would most affect the future results of the person. At…
John Killam
A U.S. Air National Guard veteran, a high school dropout, a person with a background in sales, and a family man who hadn’t been in a classroom for 20 years; four men on very different paths that ultimately led to one destination: the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (MassMEP)…
Donald J. Wheeler
What can be done when a test is destructive? How do we characterize measurement error? How can we determine if a test method is adequate for a given product or application? How can we check for bias?
All of the techniques for assessing the quality of a measurement system require us to make…
AssurX
If compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) Reliability Standards wasn’t complex enough, registered utilities must also factor in the regulatory nuances of the bulk power system’s (BPS) eight regional entities (RE), even as NERC emerges with new risk management…
Matthew Pasek
For most of human history, people have been terrified by lightning. Frightening bolts from above, lightning was considered a tool of the gods to smite mortals for their hubris (or their unfortunate penchant for seeking shelter from storms under trees). The discovery and implementation of Benjamin…
Mike Richman
Happy New Year one and all!
In case you missed it, our first 2017 episode of Quality Digest Live contained some great articles and discussion between myself and my co-host, Quality Digest editor in chief Dirk Dusharme. In the show, we covered:
“Drop in LED Prices Drives Manufacturers Away”
LED…
Mike Richman
Before I dive into this column, a quick programming note: You may have noticed some formatting changes in today’s issue of Quality Digest. Starting today, on each Thursday we will present a special edition of our newsletter, with a pair of particularly thought-provoking articles from our library…
Kevin Meyer
Often we become so focused on fixing problems and resolving issues that our entire sense of reality shifts. We begin to live in a bubble that encompasses the negative and blocks the positive. Because they demand our attention, the negative aspects of work and life consume a disproportionate amount…
Paul Naysmith
If you have ever used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs out of context, and especially as they relate to motivation in the workplace, I will track you down and tape you to a lamppost with a sign around your neck explaining your major error. Maslow’s theory dates back to ideas from the 1940s, and…
Dick Wooden
First of all, what does it mean to be orphaned by your customer relationship management (CRM) vendor? In short, it means that your CRM vendor sold you on a CRM product and for one reason or another forgot about you. Are you feeling left behind?
Of course, it’s no secret that choosing the right…
Jennifer Lynch
The process of alloy grade verification has advanced significantly with the development of portable and handheld devices that bring analytical capabilities traditionally found in the laboratory to anywhere rapid metals identification is needed. For years, handheld analysis technology has provided…
Gwendolyn Galsworth
The barracuda is an ambush fish, capable of speeds of 25 mph and feared by all but killer whales and sharks. If confronted by one of those enemies and there is no place to hide, the barracuda simply attacks. Whether hunting or escaping, the barracuda is a formidable predator.
I find myself…
Fred Schenkelberg
If you have been a reliability engineer for a week or more, or worked with a reliability engineer for a day or more, someone has asked about testing planning. The questions often include, “How many samples?” and, “How long will the test take?” No doubt you’ve heard the sample-size question.
What…
Pat Toth
They say opposites attract. Although my husband and I have many important things in common, we are complete opposites in one area. He’s a “risk taker,” and I’m... well, not so much. Rather than being labeled as “risk averse,” I prefer the term “caution giver.”
I’m a federal employee. I come from…
Penelope B. Prime
Chinese goods seem to be everywhere these days. Consider this: At the Olympics in Rio this summer, Chinese companies supplied the mascot dolls; much of the sports equipment; the security surveillance system; and the uniforms for the volunteers, technical personnel, and even the torch-bearers.
Do…
Annette Franz
This is part two of a two-part series on my discussion with Tangerine Bank CEO, Peter Aceto. I left off on part one of my conversation questioning why so many leaders still don’t get the importance of focusing on the customer and customer experience improvements. Here, I’ll share the rest of our…
Bill Kalmar
One of my favorite songs is from the movie, The Way We Were with music orchestrated by the incomparable Marvin Hamlisch. It is a poignant song that hearkens back to what a lot of us consider the “good ol’ days.”
Here is just a small verse from that classic, which was the No. 1 song for 1974:
Can…
Tannaz Mirchi
With airfares at their lowest point in seven years and airlines adding capacity, this year’s holiday air travel is slated to be 2.5 percent busier than last year. The system we use to coordinate all those flights, however, is decades old, and mostly depends on highly trained air traffic…
Greg Fox
It’s that time of year again. The time when eggs get nogged, pudding gets figgy, and it becomes socially acceptable to speak in rhyme. So on that note, and with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, I bring you this timely and heartfelt public service announcement. Enjoy.
’Twas the week before…
Dick Wooden
There are various phases to consider when focusing on a business strategy for customer relationship management (CRM). An initial phase is creating a vision of a better future with a customer-centric strategy fully implemented and supported by CRM technology.
This phase establishes a shared vision…
With more than 70,000 chemicals currently in common use—and 1,000 new chemicals coming into use every year—maintaining and managing their effective, appropriate, and responsible use is a challenging task. Cost, process, regulatory, and safety issues converge to make chemical management a critical…
Michael Causey
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hit hospitals and other healthcare delivery networks hard in the pocketbook with a wave of big fines zeroing in on security risk management issues between July and October. Is this the end of the fine tsunami? Don’t bet on it.
In the most recent…
Kyle Pheland, Belinda Jones
Change is inevitable in every organization. Planned or not, forces inside and outside the enterprise can sometimes encumber a workforce and lead to nonvalue-added processes. Growing spurts, major technology implementations, or even small supply-chain organizational projects can present more issues…
Davis Balestracci
Those of you familiar with W. Edwards Deming know that his Funnel Experiment ultimately shows that a process in control delivers the best results if left alone. Funnel Rule No. 4, also known as a “random walk”—i.e., making, doing, or building your next iteration based on the previous one—has been…
