All Features
MIT News
When you get a cut, blood starts to flow from the wound. But very quickly, complex biochemical processes spring into action, creating a scaffolding of molecules to block the hole, and then building up an impervious clot to staunch the flow.
That process relies on a set of molecules that constantly…
Johns Hopkins University
Harmony in the workplace is highly desirable, but what happens when some workers depend on biological brains, while others need computers to guide their behavior? With an eye toward enhanced safety and greater productivity, Johns Hopkins engineers have joined colleagues at four other universities…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
Recently I was asked by the sales manager of a company if I could reach his staff with a message he had been trying to “beat into their heads for months” (his words, not mine).
He wanted me to accomplish what he failed to do: inspire his sales people to spend more time pursuing smaller accounts.…
MIT News
Prizes have long been used to induce solutions to national challenges. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, prizes yielded vaccine inoculation, lifeboats, a method of calculating longitude at sea, new food-preservation techniques, and more. But by the late 19th century, prizes had largely been…
Umberto Tunesi
I first came across this notion of the invisibility of good leadership back in 1969. I had just started working in the laboratory of a chemical company based in Hamburg, and I was given the task of learning how to glue things together. To glue my mind together, too; I was 19 years old, on my own…
Grant Ramaley
Some European Commission notified bodies have been forcing a position that a medical device must conform to the latest technical standards to meet the European legal requirement for “state of the art.” As a result, some manufacturers have been pressed into paying tens of thousands of dollars to…
Kari Miller
Most people in industry are familiar with W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, James Harrington, and others whose ideas are usually grouped under the term total quality management (TQM). However, the practices they embrace aren’t just about TQM; they are about management best practices that embrace a…
ETM Manufacturing
ETM Manufacturing, a fast-growing sheet metal manufacturer, will join with customer, HTP Inc. and supplier, Ryerson, to test the effect of lean manufacturing strategies and practices on the extended supply chain. The company, which has used lean manufacturing principles to streamline its own…
Giuseppe Pagnoni
In early 2010, I decided to take a step forward in my personal development and prepared for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) exam. Considering the complexity of the exam and my limited spare time, this was really a challenge. But I worked hard and achieved the…
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wants to help turn manufacturing robots into dexterous, nimble-fingered machines—affordable mechanical helpers that can easily handle different types of objects and flexibly assist human workers at even small U.S. factories.
At a January 24…
FDA
Last December, Sunland Inc. entered into a court-ordered agreement imposing requirements that must be complied with if the company is to operate. This consent decree follows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) suspension of Sunland’s food facility registration in November 2012. The suspension…
Patrick Runkel
In this multi-part transcript from a hypothetical trial, we find Lionel Loosefit standing before a court and facing charges of gross statistical misconduct when performing a regression analysis. Day one featured testimony by the prosecutor; during day two, the evidence is put to the test during…
Patrick Runkel
In this three-part transcript from a hypothetical trial, we find Lionel Loosefit standing before a court and facing charges of gross statistical misconduct when performing a regression analysis. Day one features testimony by the prosecutor; during day two, the evidence is put to the test during…
Kyle Toppazzini
One of the most challenging issues I hear from people within the lean Six Sigma community is how to ensure that a lean Six Sigma project is sustainable. If your lean Six Sigma project is highly dependent on top leadership support to keep it going, there’s a risk of losing the focus and support when…
Bruce Hamilton
As we begin another new year, here’s a post about resolutions. In most organizations there are plans for something new in 2013—maybe a new product or market, or a new machine or facility. For those of us in the lean world, new also means re-new, i.e., getting better with what we already have.…
Eric Weisbrod
“If only I had known.” This phrase has been uttered countless times by nearly everyone. Additional information or a different vantage point could help us know when to buy or sell stock (“I should have bought that Google stock at the IPO”), what birthday presents to buy (“I wish I knew their son…
jeffdewar
To begin, let’s use the right words. Instead of just talking about “exceeding expectations” or “customer satisfaction,” try including these in your customer vernacular: Impress. Surprise. Delight. Enchant. Bewitch. And my favorite… dazzle.
For example, instead of asking the product packaging team…
Eric Heckman
It’s your first day at the Jedi Temple, working as a lightsaber manufacturer. Your first task on the job is to run a capability analysis on the length of lightsabers being produced. Your main concern is to see if the lightsabers fit within the required length specifications set forth by the Jedi…
MIT News
High stresses combined with a corrosive environment can cause critical components inside power plants and other systems to crack and fail, sometimes with little warning. MIT researchers now have new insights into how such “stress corrosion cracking” may be affected by nanoscale disruptions in the…
MIT News
Inexpensive labor has defined the last decade in manufacturing. The future may belong to technology.
When GE expanded manufacturing of home heaters and refrigerators at its facility in Kentucky last year, the reasons included big wage concessions the company had won from local workers and the…
Timothy F. Bednarz
Problems can arise throughout team development and management, but leaders must pay particular attention to the structure and focus of the team. There are many potential pitfalls associated with establishing a team’s mission and focus. These foundational problems can linger and hinder the team’s…
Alex Lucas
The current focus on improving production efficiency and part quality while meeting stringent production schedules is unrelenting. Measurement and inspection is one vital area that can benefit from advances in laser-scanning technology. Retrofitting coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) or…
Norman Bodek
Centuries ago, people learned their skills by apprenticing with a master artisan. They started young, doing all the drudgery and repetitive work—sweeping floors, keeping the fires burning. But they didn’t care. They knew that over time they would become highly skilled in a craft and would have a…
Stewart Anderson, Angelo Lyall
Every market has two sides, buyers and sellers. Markets are where the forces of supply and demand operate, and where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods and services, usually for money. If obtaining needed goods and services is the purpose of market activity, information is the glue that…
Donald J. Wheeler
Last month I described what makes the XmR chart work. This month I will describe some common failure modes for the XmR chart and show how they come from a failure to follow the two fundamental principles behind the XmR chart.
When administrative and managerial data are placed on an XmR chart, the…
