Last week, a drive-by a 99¢ Store (see photo) reminded me of my first real job in an industrial marketing department. During the 1970s, one function of this department was to set prices, a task simplified in the early going by the market’s acceptance of whatever surcharges we added each year.

In some years prices were increased twice. My job was to gather cost data on each product family, and multiply costs times our expected profit to determine a new price. The basic formula was: Price = Cost + Profit

During a recent holiday debriefing with a friend, I learned that a colleague of hers was feeling guilty because she and her husband were unable to afford an iPad for their daughter. Nodding and sipping tea, I was vaguely sympathizing while trying on the idea of buying a macaroon from the bakery where we sat. It was the tail end of the report that barged into my brain and preempted all pastry speculation: “Her daughter is two years old,” said my friend.

It was a dark and stormy evening as the graveyard shift started at Frankenstein’s Precision Parts. Tonight was the night: All of the parts for the Reanimation order were ready for inspection. The contracted inspector was due at midnight.

Now I don’t mean to brag, but I make a mean filet mignon... usually. The preparation always involves a good soaking in my secret marinade recipe (McCormick’s and red wine) then grilling on the BBQ turned up to its “ludicrous” setting. So why the occasional extra char in the char-broil?

From the minute I arrived on site, I knew that this would be a Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference unlike any other. First of all, it was in Phoenix… in July. So, the 100-plus-degree temperature wasn’t unexpected; the humidity, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise.

Since 2009, there has been a recovery in the white-light scanner market, and the manufacturing industry and metrology vendors acknowledge this. However, research indicates that there is still uncertainty among end-user spending.

White-light scanner end-users are increasingly becoming aware and knowledgeable about white-light systems and their capabilities.

Last month I wrote an article entitled “Being Comfortable in a World of Never-Ending Change.” Editor in Chief Dirk Dusharme and I also covered this story on the April 29th edition of Quality Digest Live (QDL).

Welcome to Quality Digest Daily 2.0! This new format represents a significant re-imaging of our flagship brand (the industry’s only daily newsletter), which we first launched nearly two years ago. I hope you notice that we’ve added more video content to the newsletter as well as greater editorial interactivity. There are new departments as well, so take your time and explore the new Quality Digest Daily (QDD) at length.

“What makes a personal kanban any better than a to-do list?” asked Julie, crossing out a completed task on her “ta da!” list with exaggerated strokes.

“With personal kanban you visualize your work, it becomes tangible, you get kinesthetic feedback, it’s flexible, contextual,  and it promotes completion and clarity,” said Kara. “To-do lists don’t.”

Forty or 50 years ago, when you sat down in front of, or picked up, a dimensional measurement tool, you immediately recognized that a certain amount of knowledge and skill was required to use it. The measurement operation was almost always completely manual, and even reading and interpreting the readings was an acquired skill. In addition, it was largely understood that precise measurements needed to be taken in a controlled environment on a stable surface. A skilled measurement specialist was half engineer, half craftsman (or half Houdini).