All Features
Denise Robitaille
ISO 9001 makes multiple references to the need to understand customer requirements and to monitor the extent to which those requirements have been fulfilled. In fact, the scope of the standard clearly indicates that its focus is primarily on ensuring that an organization has the processes that…
Jon Miller
After every major natural disaster that disrupts global supply chains, there are voices that cry out “A-ha! I told you just-in-time inventory doesn’t work!” Recently the Icelandic volcano turned European skies airplane-free for a few days and news programs reported shortages of critical raw…
R. Eric Reidenbach Ph.D.
I just read an article that appeared on Quality Digest Daily, “The Quality Crisis in America,” by David C. Crosby. The gist of the article is that the nation is in the midst of a quality crisis that has been with us for a very long time. The problem, according to Crosby, “is that the ‘big boss’—…
Tripp Babbitt
Like there isn’t enough politics in the workplace! Command and control managers love to rank employees; there needs to be forced ranking by assessment of performance to be considered a good manager and have a well-run company.
Some rank to give bonuses or incentives, and others rank to RIF…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Hexagon Metrology Inc. announced its latest product today at Quality Expo South in Charlotte, North Carolina—the Leica Absolute Tracker AT401, the industry’s first wireless, battery powered laser tracker.
See It Live
The Smallest,
Ultra-Long Range Laser…
Jeff Liker
The most stunning accomplishment of Toyota during the last 50 years is its turnaround from making “junk” to virtually redefining quality in the auto industry. Toyota was influenced to the core by W. Edwards Deming and quality is evident everywhere in the company. The objective of the Toyota…
Environmental Quality Corner with Ken Appel
Having exhibited at INTERPHEX for many years, Veriteq, a provider of environmental monitoring and validation solutions, has made many connections with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The Veriteq team attending INTERPHEX 2010, on April 20–22, was struck by two trends in the…
Rick Johnson Ph.D.
Do you remember who your mentors were? Do you currently have a mentor? Is there anyone in your organization who you really respect, anyone you look up to, anyone whose actions and words have a real effect on how you live your life, perform your job, and think about your future? If you do, whether…
Bill Kalmar
Quality has many identities. There is quality in the manufacturing of automobiles, quality in food preparation, quality in education, quality in surgical procedures, quality in document preparation, and of course air quality, which is the underlying theme of my ranting this week.
On Saturday,…
NIST
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program (VACSP) Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center (the Center) is a federal government organization that supports multicenter clinical trials targeting current health issues for America’s veterans. Located in Albuquerque, New…
Nikon Metrology Inc.
A
few years ago a Missouri-based casting company, O’Fallon Casting, realized that its touch probe-based inspection system was stretched to the limit for most of its rapid prototyping work. O’Fallon Casting took a new approach by installing a cross scanner from Nikon Metrology plus PolyWorks…
Under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Great Lakes Region, Ghafari Associates LLC, a full-service architecture, engineering and consulting firm, was selected to design the restoration of the Chicago Federal Center (CFC…
Jon Miller
Facilitation is the art of guiding but not leading, bringing learning but not lecturing, engaging but not directing. Coming from the Latin facilitar, meaning, “to make easy,” the role of the facilitator is not to do for others, but to bring out the ability of a group to accomplish a goal. There are…
David Rizzo
With the dawn of the new decade, retailers throughout the world are realizing the profit potential of going beyond their main channel of distribution and making products available through additional channels outside of their core competency. Overcoming the challenge of merging these different…
David C. Crosby
I recently wrote an article for Quality Digest Daily titled, “Quality Crisis in America.” It produced quite a response. Most readers agreed that quality needed to improve, maybe even that there is a crisis, but it was a mixed bag about The Boss’ role and responsibility. Some thought I was bashing…
Keith Kokal
The collapse of the global economy has put a lot of manufacturing companies out of business. Even at this late stage of the recession, there are still auctions of recently closed plants conducted every day. There are many more manufacturers struggling to reduce their operating costs and improve…
Terry Kosdrosky
When the phrase “social network” comes to mind, people generally think about Facebook or Twitter. Volumes of academic studies have been written on this relatively new phenomenon.
But engineers who design such complex products as automobiles and airplanes have been operating within their own…
During the past six years, the Harrington Institute and its business partners have been involved in community improvement efforts that have produced significant results within the organizations involved. The thrust of the effort in the Orlando, Florida, community involved 25 projects and the…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
Seventeen years ago, I became the president of my community association. It was a lively organization with scores of activist members who were busy gentrifying an inner city neighborhood. One of my responsibilities was to deliver a monthly speech and conduct a formal meeting with a loud and…
Steve Moore
I
n 1991, I had the privilege of attending one of W. Edwards Deming’s four-day seminars and I still proudly display the certificate of completion in my office. One of the highlights of the seminar, of course, was Deming’s famous red bead experiment. I had read about the red bead experiment, but…
David C. Crosby
The quality business is all about producing a quality product, right? By that I mean a product that looks and performs just like it was promised. Well, based on the amount of poor quality items and service that I see the quality business is apparently not doing a very good job. I’d guess that…
Michelle LaBrosse
April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. What better way to honor Earth Day than to develop your own renewable energy project? As a project manager, you have the skills to reduce your energy costs and even become energy self-sufficient. All it takes is planning, and that’s something you’re…
Mark Kiemele Ph.D.
I
t is no secret that lean Six Sigma (LSS) and design for Six Sigma (DFSS) have arguably been the most effective initiatives for improving bottom line results and revenue growth since the advent of Frederick Taylor and management science. Billions of dollars in bottom-line impact have been…
With today’s limited internal resources, it’s tough to transform machine maintenance from reactionary to preventive, and ultimately proactive, despite the obvious upsides in higher overall equipment efficiency (OEE), better process control, and lower total cost. Outsourcing this requirement to a…
Where does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stand on good manufacturing practices (GMP), the set of regulations that govern manufacture and testing of medical devices and other medical products like pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and food? And what of the universal device identification…
