All Features
Dennis Payton
With the explosive growth in imported goods to the United States, what is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doing toward maintaining a level of service inspection that ensures the best protection of the public health? One option is to partner with the countries exporting the supplies. Perhaps…
Paul Naysmith
As a quality professional, I am a huge admirer of what the Japanese, and in particular Toyota, have given the business world, and how they have influenced quality improvements like no other in history.
Although in recent years Toyota did have a “blip” in its immaculate history, according to…
Arun Hariharan
Most businesses, government, or even nonprofit organizations have business processes. Generally, processes are documented. Most organizations also have performance measurements. But step back for a moment and ask two fundamental but strategic questions: “What business processes do we need in the…
Rapidform Inc.
Cars scream around the track at speeds approaching 200 mph, yet a 500-mile NASCAR race can be decided by a few tenths of a second. To be a winner, NASCAR teams seek any advantage they can create. However, NASCAR has strict guidelines that specify nearly every aspect of the “stock” car. For BMI Corp…
Mike Richman
Any way you slice it, the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort is one big place. Total number of rooms? More than 2,000. Massive swimming pool? How about two of the biggest ones you’ve ever seen? Fine dining and refreshments? Take your choice of two terrific steakhouses (one American, one Japanese…
NIST
A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), George Mason University, and the University of Maryland has made nano-sized sensors that detect volatile organic compounds—harmful pollutants released from paints, cleaners, pesticides, and other products—that…
The QA Pharm
Just when you think that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has to stick to the script by quoting chapter and verse of current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs), it gets very progressive and offers straight talk about corporate commitment and leadership.
I have reported before that the FDA…
Bill Kalmar
By way of background, I am a senior citizen but not too technically challenged. I know how to operate my HD television and the DVR; I have a cell phone and understand how to use the speaker phone; OnStar is in my car along with a TomTom GPS. As a way to connect to the past, though, I do have a Sony…
Don Sayre
There is a new international standard published June 9, 2011, that might just warrant your attention. This standard’s purpose is help organizations follow a systematic approach to improving energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use, and consumption. It applies to variables that…
William A. Levinson
In “Why Companies Fail Quality Audits” (Manufacturing Engineering, May 1996), Robert M. Bakker cites control of documents as one of the three major sources of QS-9000—now ISO/TS 16949—nonconformances, and there is indeed plenty that can go wrong, even with an electronic system. Conflicting…
Quality Transformation With David Schwinn
As I was recently going through some old papers, I came across a letter that my good friend and fraternity brother, Ron Sparling, and I had sent to the general manager of a General Motors Corp. (GM) division where another close friend and fraternity brother had worked.
Our fraternity brother, Mark…
Donald Jasurda
Across the life cycle of delivering a product to market, engineers face many obstacles. They often find themselves spending a lot of time reworking or repairing parts that fail inspection but may fit and function properly when assembled; or, they might pass inspection but do not fit with other…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
“Who wants to be chairperson of the fundraising committee?” asked the company president.
The room became quiet, and as I glanced around the table, I saw a dozen perfect poker faces. No one wanted this responsibility. No one was going to commit.
“This is our most important committee,” the president…
Joelle K. Jay
What if there are things you are doing—or not doing—that are sabotaging your success? What if there are a few key things you’re missing that could help you get even better results? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by getting feedback.
Unfortunately, feedback is sometimes given a bad…
Angelo Lyall
Clarity is extremely valuable for building profitable strategies and conducting sustainable business. Without clarity many firms refrain from taking strategic steps in fear of the unknown, leaving them stagnant and eventually uncompetitive. Only by understanding the key concepts that underpin…
NIST
A metasurface or metafilm is a 2-D version of a metamaterial, popularized recently in technologies with seemingly unnatural properties, such as the illusion of invisibility. Metamaterials have special properties not found in nature, often because of a novel structure. NIST’s metasurface is a small…
ACLASS
Keith Greenaway, vice president of ACLASS, a brand of ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation
Board that provides accreditation, gave a brief talk titled “Focus on Inspections and Compliance” at the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act public meeting held on June 6, 2011. His prepared remarks follow:
The…
Steven Ouellette
Although we may use the define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) mnemonic to help guide us through our problem solving, that doesn’t really give us a lot of specific direction (as I bemoan in my Top 10 Stupid Six Sigma Tricks No. 4). Good experimental design technique is critical to being…
Michelle LaBrosse
I sat in a window seat on the plane with my nose stuck in my newly purchased book. It was one of those books that suck you right in, leaving you completely unaware of your surrounding, which is exactly what I needed to save me from what otherwise would have been a monotonous travel day, full of…
FARO
Ariel Corp. is an innovative manufacturer of gas compression equipment. Based in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Ariel has been at the forefront of modern compression technology with market-driven innovation. The company takes pride in its manufacturing processes and product designs. Quality is the foundation…
Robert Parsons
The aerospace standard, AS9100C—“Quality management systems—Requirements for aviation, space and defense organizations,” (aka AS9100:2009 Revision C) has been released for some time now, and the early results are in. For the most part, our customers, those of National Quality Assurance (NQA), that…
It seemed like a good idea at the time to Jon Shupenus, U.S. Army Forces Command’s process improvement specialist and lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Shupenus was attending a Department of Defense performance management seminar in 2010 when Kirk Nicholas, director of the Army’s continuous process…
Georgia Institute of Technology
When working with others in the office, most know it is better to approach a colleague who is relaxed and drinking a cup of coffee versus a frazzled co-worker buried under a pile of paperwork.
Unfortunately, e-mail doesn’t offer users the same social cues—until now.
Eric Gilbert, an assistant…
Bruce Hamilton
The following is a true story that occurred during a nine-month period.Paul had been with a machine shop for 32 years. At the time he held the position of a shift supervisor, and keeping the work schedules was his job. His manager, Bob, related this to me: “Paul is a hard worker who has held…
Jack Thornton
Just What Is Immersive Engineering, Anyway?
Immersive engineering is a digital technology, engineering practice, and methodology, all in one, for solving multifaceted engineering problems in the design, assembly, and maintenance of large, complicated structures (e.g., automobiles…
