All Features
Peter Dizikes
Want to encourage innovation? A new study co-authored by an MIT professor finds that little-known state laws called “constituency statutes” have significant effects on the quantity and quality of innovative business actions.
The statutes, which allow companies to prioritize the interests of “…
Evan Hackel
I had a call from one of my clients, a franchise brand. I can’t mention the company’s name here, but you know them. They have branded walk-in locations in hundreds of cities and towns across America—probably near where you live.
The call explained that the company had a very specific problem it…
Paula Oddy
Sponsored Content
As an auditor of quality management systems, I can tell you from firsthand experience that most auditees dislike corrective actions. Corrections are tied to findings of nonconformance; understandably, people generally want to emerge from an audit without any significant findings…
Annette Franz
When I go to customer experience conferences, B2B companies are underrepresented, both in attendees and speakers. When clients look for benchmark data, B2B reports are few and far between.
These are just two examples of why I want to revisit a question I posed in a post I wrote two years ago: If…
Donald J. Wheeler
Here we look at a simple example to discover the commonalties of various data analysis techniques widely used in industry today. Careful consideration of the following may result in insights that were not part of your introductory class in statistics.
Our example uses the gate oxide thicknesses…
Diane Lee
Like many of you, I venture out on Saturday mornings to get groceries and gas. Until my college years, I never thought much about whether or not I paid the right amount at the pump, if the supermarket scale was correct, or if packaged foods actually contained the amount of product stated on the…
Mario Moussa, Derek Newberry, Madeline Boyer
Twisting your features into a mask of pain, you dig your heels into the soft grass. A rope tears into your palms. A clear, tiny voice speaks to you amid the many confused thoughts swirling in your head: “So-o-o-o... what am I learning from this experience?”
Well, if you’re like many who have done…
Joel Smith
For the majority of my career with Minitab, I’ve had the opportunity to speak somewhat regularly at conferences and other events. I thought some of my talks were pretty good, and some were not so good (based on ratings, audiences didn't always agree with my opinion at either extreme—but that's a…
Gilles Hilary
In 2013, the U.S. Air Force realized that more than 20 percent of the nuclear officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base had cheated on their certification exam. Many other officers knew about the problem but didn’t report it. The root cause for this dangerous behavior was a culture of fear that led…
Peter Marks
Part of the vision of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) is to strengthen the center as the preeminent regulatory organization for biologics. One way CBER is achieving this is through the work of the Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality (OCBQ) and the Office of Vaccines…
Exact Metrology
EVCO Plastics is an injection molding company that produces parts for myriad industries, including powered sports equipment, lawn and garden devices, agricultural and construction machinery, and medical and packaging machinery. Owing to the volume of work, coupled with the challenges of collecting…
Timothy Lozier
There’s been a shift in how companies view quality and compliance, and as a result, businesses are looking for a more comprehensive method for measuring operational efficiency. Risk management processes are proving to be an effective option for this. ISO 9001:2015 now promotes risk-based thinking…
Arun Hariharan
A horrific accident on Dec. 16, 2015, claimed the life of an airline service engineer: He was sucked into the live engine of an aircraft. The engineer had been standing on the ground supervising the aircraft being pushed in reverse from its parking bay.
“No one knew what happened,” said an Air…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
Two years removed from its all-time high, customer satisfaction with the retail trade sector fell for a second consecutive year, sliding 2.6 percent to an ACSI score of 74.8. Despite the decline for 2015, the overall score for retail stands almost exactly at its long-term average (74.6).
A closer…
Martin Roll
Sustainability is the new mantra for strategic differentiation. Becoming recognized as a “sustainable” organization can enhance brand equity, as well as unlock opportunities to create new markets and launch sub-brands, line extensions, and packaging innovations. But it requires organizations to…
Harry Hertz
Even before the landmark publication of In Search of Excellence in 1982, bosses realized that operational excellence gets accomplished through dedicated employees. Yet, to this day, many organizations stifle high performance through the annual performance evaluation process for each employee. This…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
As global competition stiffens, manufacturing sectors of all stripes are embracing emerging technologies in order to meet customer demands. In the realm of metal casting, Pennsylvania-based Effort Foundry is leading the charge by investing in new technology as part of a…
Dawn Bailey
Dorothy: Now which way do we go? Scarecrow: Pardon me, this way is a very nice way. Dorothy: Who said that? Toto barks at the scarecrow. Dorothy: Don’t be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don’t talk. Scarecrow: [points other way] It’s pleasant down that way, too. Dorothy: That’s funny. Wasn’t he pointing…
William A. Levinson
ISO 9001:2015 has created a new focus on risk with regard to context of the organization and the needs and expectations of interested parties.
The Army Techniques Publication ATP 5-19 Risk Management, by the United States Government, U.S. Army (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014)…
Mark Esser
The nefarious Major Uncertainty has kidnapped Monsieur Kilogram, putting the world’s measurements of mass in jeopardy. As the world spirals into “Mass Hysteria,” the remaining SI Superheroes, champions of the metric system, leap into action to save the day, and hopefully Monsieur Kilogram as well…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
A few months ago I attended a business networking event where everyone had a chance to talk about their business. I noted three people I wanted to talk with further. After the meeting, I made it my mission to connect with each of them. I saw one heading for the door, so I caught up with her before…
Scott Berkun
Many of our most popular stories of discovery are portrayed as accidents or matters of luck. We love these stories because they make creativity seem easy and fun. Nevertheless, they are misleading.
In a recent New York Times opinion piece titled “How to Cultivate The Art of Serendipity,” author…
Eston Martz
If you want to convince someone that at least a basic understanding of statistics is an essential life skill, bring up the case of Lucia de Berk. Hers is a story that’s too awful to be true—except that it’s completely true.
A flawed analysis irrevocably altered de Berk’s life and kept her behind…
Annette Franz
The perils of focusing on customer acquisition and sales over customer experience and retention can be summed up nicely with this: “As fast as you’re bringing customers in the front door, they’re running out the back door.” Some refer to it as the leaky bucket syndrome.
If only companies knew…
Bob Emiliani
Nearly 30 years after the start of the lean movement, there is widespread agreement that things have not gone according to plan. Of course, there have been some notable successes (particularly from those who worked with Shingijutsu), yet they are far fewer in number than anyone expected, given the…
