All Features
Gleb Tsipursky
One of the biggest challenges for companies in transitioning to remote work is their handling of layoffs. Having helped 21 companies transition to hybrid and remote work, I can attest that planning for the whole worker’s life cycle, from onboarding to offboarding, is critical as part of effective…
Bo Ingves
Rising costs from inflation and increased focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions make product loss management more important than ever in dairy plants. One major reason these losses occur is because timings or other process parameters are set incorrectly, causing a lot of valuable dairy product…
NIST
Detailed virtual copies of physical objects, called digital twins, are opening doors for better products across automotive, healthcare, aerospace, and other industries. According to a new study, cybersecurity may also fit neatly into the digital twin portfolio.
As more robots and other…
Henry Zumbrun
Small-force measurement is crucial for many applications, such as testing materials, monitoring biomedical devices, and studying the behavior of cells and molecules. In this article, we’ll explore the challenges of measuring small forces and the solutions that are available to address them.
There…
Ethan Lee
‘Imposter Syndrome” is a term coined in the late 1970s from research carried out by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Their research showed that many high-achieving women believed they were not intelligent enough and were being over-evaluated by others. Imposter Syndrome has therefore come to…
Todd Hawkins
Most companies face the challenge of managing the documentation they generate—those that are developed to control their business and processes (e.g., standard operating procedures—SOPs) and the associated records as evidence of compliance with those procedures. This may go a step further if the…
Katie Rapp
A major focus of the current administration is revitalizing American manufacturing as new technologies are changing the way things are made. Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) director Pravina Raghavan recently appeared on Government Matters TV, where she discussed how MEP National Network…
Ray Hein
The manufacturing industry is at a make-or-break point. An underqualified workforce coupled with a disruptive pandemic has made it difficult for companies to attract top talent. Manufacturers are having trouble filling open roles with employees who possess necessary skills to carry out the desired…
Bryan Christiansen
When it comes to maintaining the critical infrastructure and machinery of your facility, choosing the right maintenance contractor can make all the difference. It's essential to find a contractor who not only has the knowledge and skills to keep a maintenance program running smoothly, but also the…
Gleb Tsipursky
‘I would bet 10 percent or more of our remote staff, especially programmers, are working two remote jobs! We need to stop this before it escalates and get everyone back to the office.”
Thus spoke the chair of the board of a Fortune 1000 tech company when I met with the board to help them figure…
Erika James
Crises are leadership litmus tests—make-or-break challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic—that are often unique and random, appearing out of nowhere with no clear road map. Many of those who prevail understand that crises are inevitable and seek to learn the lessons of experience. They then…
Adam Zewe
Imagine using an online banking app to deposit money into your account. Like all information sent over the internet, those communications could be corrupted by noise that inserts errors into the data.
To overcome this problem, senders encode data before they are transmitted, and then a receiver…
Rupa Mahanti
Data are an enterprise asset, and data governance (DG) is about establishing policies, processes, rules, standards, and controls around data to improve the quality of data and ensure data security and privacy.1
However, organizations struggle to implement data governance and, as a result, face a…
Grace Stinson
Women have always been and continue to be a fundamental cog in the constantly grinding wheels of capitalism. But Bloomberg’s recent report on gender equality in the workplace shows there are still major gaps between the status of men and women in modern-day workforces.
Although half of the entry-…
Donald J. Wheeler, Al Pfadt
In memory of Al Phadt, Ph.D.
This article is a reprint of a paper Al and I presented several years ago. It illustrates how the interpretation and visual display of data in their context can facilitate discovery. Al’s integrated approach is a classic example not only for clinical practitioners but…
Etienne Nichols
On Dec. 9, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new draft guidance, “Content of Human Factors Information in Medical Device Marketing Submissions,” that provides recommendations for the inclusion of human-factors information in marketing submissions.
The drafted guidance is…
ISO
The world of work connects employers, workers, governments, and regulators, but it has fundamentally changed since 2019. The upheaval caused by the pandemic, energy crisis, war, and the green transition have exposed and exacerbated fractures in the workplace, most often related to job status and…
Aaron Krol
As plastic pollution continues to mount, with growing risks to ecosystems and wildlife, manufacturers are beginning to make ambitious commitments to keep new plastics out of the environment. A growing number have signed onto the U.S. Plastics Pact, which pledges to make all plastic packaging…
Kate Zabriskie
‘They’re hit or miss: Sometimes the service is marvelous. Other times it’s simply meh. I’m afraid to recommend the place because I can’t trust them to deliver.”
“Maybe I’m just boring, but I don’t like surprises. They’re great one day and disappointing the next. I don’t need to be delighted. I…
Bryan Christiansen
According to “The 2022 State of Employee Safety Report,” 79 percent of employees say they’re concerned about their health and safety at work. Workplace safety policies along with various technologies can be effective tools for preventing injuries and increasing employee productivity. Overlooking or…
Trupti Dhere
The healthcare industry is known for rapidly adopting advanced technologies that offer improved treatment for various diseases. Consequently, digital twin technology in healthcare has gained popularity during the past few years, owing to the range of advantages it offers.
Digital twin technology…
Meredith Persily, Mark A. Clark
Having good relationships with colleagues is key to building a rewarding and effective work experience. Employees who are engaged with their co-workers, such as reporting “a best friend at work” in Gallup’s well-regarded survey, are more likely to be productive, stay with their organization, and…
Michael Platt
It’s a perfect storm. Just as senior leaders have become overwhelmed with demands and crises too numerous and powerful for any one person, a new study from Korn Ferry and Harvard finds that the majority of teams—so vital to business success—are ineffective. Efforts to improve them, centering on “…
Greg Kihlström
Customer loyalty and lifetime value are highly prized in today’s competitive environment. Smart businesses know that a major point of competitive advantage (or failure) can be the type of customer experience they provide.
The need to balance what customers want with what the business needs to…
Angie Basiouny
Managers who want to keep employees from quitting should consider reordering work tasks, according to a new paper co-authored by Wharton management professor Maurice Schweitzer.
In the largest field study of its kind, Schweitzer and his colleagues found that people are far more likely to quit when…
