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Alan’s Apothegms with Alan L. Austin
I never proposed to my wife. No bended knee, romantic dinner, or moonlit stroll on the beach. Although we’d known each other for quite awhile, we hadn’t been dating very long. We weren’t even in the same state at the time.
As we spoke on the phone, she expressed some uncertainty about explaining…
Katie Gignac
There you are. It’s Monday morning. You’ve arrived early, ready to start your week. Coffee is brewing in the staff kitchen. You’re caught up on your emails. Things are looking good. That is, until Bob, your client’s auditor, calls at 9 a.m. to tell you he’s coming for an audit on Wednesday.
If you…
Bill Kalmar
After 30 years with a bank and 10 years as director of a state quality award program, I retired from the work force in 2003 and have never looked back. As I approach being a septuagenarian next year in March, I look back on my work history with fondness, satisfaction, accomplishment, excitement,…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
Customer satisfaction at the national level is exactly where it stood at the start of 2012, and as far back as two years ago, according to a report released by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). During the second quarter of 2012, aggregate customer satisfaction stayed flat at 75.9 on…
General Electric GE
G
E Transportation has unveiled the prototype for its next Evolution Series locomotive, which will decrease constituent emissions by more than 70 percent and save railroad customers more than $1.5 billion in infrastructure and operational costs.
GE expects that the locomotive will be the first in…
Patrick Runkel
In this episode, Sheriff Andy Taylor uses cars and parking spaces to explain process capability to Deputy Barney Fife.
Sheriff Taylor: What's wrong, Barney? Barney: Someone spilled alphabet soup all over my capability output! Wait till I catch the practical joker who did this! They'll be sorry!!…
Blake McGowan
Which is better, a standing workstation or a seated workstation? This is a common question, yet there is no simple answer. Sitting vs. standing while working has been the focus of several recent media reports due to published data suggesting that prolonged standing burns more calories than sitting…
Umberto Tunesi
I wrote what follows with ISO 9001 and its derivatives in mind because these are the standards I’m most familiar with. Yet even before writing, I realized, at least from my experience, that the following points can be shared by most management system consultancy projects. Especially when the…
Kyle Toppazzini
A s you may be aware, causality is critical in strategy execution. Without causality, it is nearly impossible to measure the impact of various strategic initiatives of a company’s overall goals; therefore, it would be difficult to tell if you were headed in the right direction, a situation similar…
Bruce Hamilton
I went canoeing last week with my 13-year-old son, Ben, on the boundary lakes between Minnesota and Ontario. Away from phones, radios, and any other means to communicate with the outside world, we focused on the strenuous, but relaxing, journey across lakes and portages.
We’d prepared earlier in…
William A. Levinson
ISO 14001 originated in the 1990s, and ISO 50001 is even newer. The basic and easily understandable concepts behind them have, however, been around for more than 100 years.
Harrington Emerson’s paper, “Efficiency as a Basis for Operation and Wages” (The Engineering Magazine, 1909) uses examples…
MIT News
Anyone who has tried to build a piece of furniture from scratch knows the frustration of painstakingly cutting pieces of wood, only to discover that they won't fit together because the cutting was not quite accurate enough.
That's exactly what happened to Alec Rivers, a Ph.D. student in MIT’s…
Dawn Keller
I’m a quality engineer, so it probably goes without saying that I like gathering and analyzing data. Minitab and I spend a significant amount of time together. Some might say our relationship is unhealthy—perhaps even codependent.
But Minitab and I have been together for almost 20 years. That’s a…
Michelle LaBrosse
Passionate Pauline is driving down the boulevard in the early morning, whistling to the tune “Oh Happy Day” with a big smile on her face, ready to take on the day with a vengeance and excited to tackle any challenges that may come her way. In the next lane over, Sullen Sue is sulking, and somehow…
Alan Nicol
The most important pieces of information we must manage are product requirements, yet it seems to be something that lacks a standard practice or much discussion of best practice. Improve how your organization maintains requirements records.
In my experience, the most important element of successful…
Taylor Hobson
Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville are using the Talysurf CCI Lite optical 3D profiler from AMETEK Taylor Hobson to measure next-generation photovoltaic cells made from lower-cost materials that offer substantially improved energy conversion efficiencies.
The Optoelectronics…
Matthew E. May
Which comes first, success or happiness? Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard and perform well, we’ll be more successful. And if we are successful, then we’ll be happy.
But according to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage: The 7 Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel…
Christopher Martin
Last year, the Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC) left a lasting impression from the onset, with the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix being rocked by a huge thunderstorm the night before the conference kicked off, all amid hot and humid weather. Not to be outdone, CMSC 2012 took to New…
Tammy Serensits
Now that the 2012 Olympics have concluded, the sight of all those muscular athletes has me thinking about my own physical fitness. I’m pretty active for 30-something. I try to hit the gym or pool daily, and I’ve been working through the Beachbody P90X and INSANITY workout programs for the past…
Kyle Toppazzini
Whenever I write about continuous improvement and lean Six Sigma, without fail I get a comment about Toyota and its quality issues. So I decided to investigate this matter further, present the facts, and let the data be the voice of reason. I do expect the proverbial “Yabut and Costello” comments—i…
Alan’s Apothegms with Alan L. Austin
When I was a little boy we flew to Hawaii to visit my sister. I remember the excitement of getting on the plane and sitting by the window. I didn’t want to miss anything on this, my first flight. We took off from San Francisco International and climbed into the clouds. Once we were through into the…
Andrew Sobel
Most doctors firmly believe that certain types of regular screening tests and checkups are essential and help save lives. And most of us, no matter how much we despise devoting an hour or more to getting poked and prodded, dutifully go for an annual checkup each year. Annual checkups can play a…
Miriam Boudreaux
Your ISO management rep is leaving the company, and you have yet to reassign the post. If you’re wondering whether there are any formalities that must be followed, don’t worry. There’s no need to hit the panic button. With some simple planning, you can ensure your management systems remain in shape…
Bill Kalmar
When I talk about quality, I’m usually referring to how good a product is or how good the service is, especially when I’m talking about my favorite diner or cafe. But I’ll bet you never thought about how the good food and service you get at your favorite eatery can help you make friends.
You’re…
Timothy F. Bednarz
A leader’s primary function is to help employees develop a strong belief in the company’s mission and the importance of their individual jobs. His secondary function is to ensure optimal results from delegated assignments and tasks. Excellent results can spring from motivation that actually helps…
