All Features
Bill Kalmar
Now that Super Bowl Sunday and all the hoopla associated with it has come to a conclusion, we sports fan can look forward to the opening of baseball training camps and of course March Madness, the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament. For many of us, though,…
Harry Hertz
According to a recent PBS report based on information from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States’ healtcare expenditures are 2.5 times greater than that of the most developed nations around the world. Depending on which report you read, our healthcare…
IntraStage
The first production Model T auto in 1908 ushered in a new era of transportation by shrinking dramatically the time it took for people to move from place to place. Like the Model T, communication technologies such as email, mobile phones, and the Internet are dramatically shrinking the time for…
Keith McDavit
I recently received several bids for a small concrete project on the side of my house. The lowest bid was $1,400. Relying on the finest traditions of economy and scientific thought I had learned in college and as a quality professional, I decided to do the job myself. I figured it could be done…
Daniel Brown
“A 3D scanner collects distance information about surfaces within its field of view,” says civil engineer Mostafa Abdel-Bary Ebrahim. “The ‘picture’ produced by a 3D scanner describes the distance to a surface at each point in the picture. This allows the three-dimensional position of each point…
Belinda Jones
Two major acquisitions were announced in early January 2013, and it is not surprising that both companies were software developers and long-time players in the industrial measurement sector.
3D Systems announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Geomagic Inc. This acquisition is…
Bill Kalmar
Have you noticed the number of people with the flu, or flu symptoms, or an upper-respiratory infection? It is the time of year when America succumbs to the current illness bug, and millions of people will be coughing and sputtering and sneezing. The people who get flu shots may be immune from all…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
You’ve gassed her up, you’re behind the wheel, with your arm around your sweetheart in your Oldsmobile… —Tom Waits
If you were in the business of selling a popular dream—say, freedom, status, and mobility—and you began to notice your customers’ dreams shifting elusively, as dreams do, into…
Drew Locher
There are many well-documented lean successes in manufacturing applications. However, service organizations and administrative processes within manufacturing companies often struggle with applying these concepts. A big problem is that companies tend to focus strictly on lean “tools” and fail to…
Jack Dunigan
In part one of this column, we learned about Robert, who seemed to succeed at everything the business world could throw at him. His responsibilities became greater than one person could manage, yet he mostly worked alone, by choice, except for support from his clerical staff. There were several…
Eston Martz
Subcultures have languages all their own. Teen gangs, statisticians, gamers, music buffs, sports nuts, furries—all use terminology that baffles outsiders. The arcane language helps identify kindred spirits: Using the correct phrase proves you belong. The proper buzzwords can gain you admittance to…
Jack Dunigan
Robert’s second-floor offices are crowded with papers, files, memos, phone messages, charts, and project plans. On his belt hangs a smart phone. A secretary in a front office handles the business telephone, which rang a dozen times in the few minutes I sat with him.
He is a busy, busy man, and…
Thomas R. Cutler
In an unforgiving and increasingly competitive marketplace, manufacturers struggle to squeeze 5 percent to 7 percent from operational cost reductions. Those who fail often don’t survive, and more than 1,000 North American plants closed last year because continued improvement to the bottom line…
Gallup
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of a country’s economy. They generate jobs that are sorely needed worldwide. Gallup’s World Poll estimates that of 3 billion adults globally who report they want a good job—one that is 30+ hours per week and provides a consistent…
Brookhaven National Laboratory
A sophisticated X-ray technology is paving the way to uncover the secrets of a 380-year-old masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn, Old Man in Military Costume. Painted by the Dutch artist during 1630–1631, previous investigations spotted another portrait, an underpainting, that was only faintly…
Donald J. Wheeler
When your process outcomes are not what you expect them to be it is common to adjust the process. This is not always appropriate. To understand when adjustments are appropriate, and when they are inappropriate, we will need to learn how to distinguish between the noise contained within the data…
Mike Roberts
A considerable number of executives today still struggle to make quality a top priority. Based on a survey of more than 300 executives, barely 50 percent of companies in large and mature industries currently make quality a top priority. In fact, for some industries such as food and…
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting proposals to support significant research in the field of fundamental measurement or the determination of fundamental constants.
Although the fundamental constants such as the speed of light or electron mass are just that—…
Matthew Littlefield
Many organizations have implemented targeted quality management functionalities to address immediate issues. It’s common for these functionalities to be homegrown or bought as off-the-shelf software solutions. As a consequence, however, organizations are now facing the challenge of ensuring that…
Kimberly Egan
On Jan. 4, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the first step in its history to regulate produce farmers. The agency issued a 547-page proposed rule that spends a lot of time reducing everything humanity has learned about plants since agriculture emerged in the Fertile Crescent 10,…
Jim Frost
This flu season has been worse than normal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show that the flu has struck early and hard. Influenza cases shot up during December rather than the more usual January or February, and 47 states report widespread influenza cases.
I get a flu…
Kyle Toppazzini
Have you heard the expression “flavor of the month” or the saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same?” I often hear employees use these expressions when faced with a large change initiative. Most executives are aware of these terms, too, although I’m not completely certain they…
jeffdewar
“Dad, I'll need a car soon,” came from the lips of my 15-year-old son. A straight-A student, on his way to attaining Eagle Scout rank, and dedicated to the cross-country team, he deserved a hearing. He had been working around the neighborhood doing yard work but had his eyes on the bigger target…
William A. Levinson
It is a basic principle that muda (waste) often hides in plain view, and it persists because people become used to living with it or working around it. Bricklaying, one of the world’s oldest trades, is a classic example.
Frank Gilbreth, a pioneer of motion study, developed a nonstooping scaffold…
Duke University
Duke University engineers have developed a novel “sensor” that is more efficient, versatile, and cheaper for potential use in such applications as security scanners and collision avoidance systems for aircraft, automobiles, or maritime vessels.
The researchers fabricated a unique material known…
