Content by Christopher Martin
Questioning QuotasWhen the number becomes more important than the original goal
Thu, 05/03/2018 - 12:03
A couple months back I stopped at a local fast-food place for a quick kid’s meal (not for me) after picking up one of my little ones from school. Inside, we were greeted by an employee in an otherwise empty dining area, and no line. As we approached…
Counting on FingersDon’t underestimate the simple tools and techniques
Thu, 02/01/2018 - 12:03
My youngest son entered first grade this year with great excitement. As a high-functioning autistic, his obsession from an early age has been numbers and letters. He memorizes license plates at a glance, can count to the millions (and break down…
The Story Behind the Red Ring of DeathThe hardware fault that should have brought down a Microsoft brand… but didn’t
Thu, 10/26/2017 - 12:03
Nearly two decades ago, rising from the ashes of the once-giant video game hardware manufacturer Sega, Microsoft debuted the Xbox and entered into the video game market with the intent of competing directly with Sony’s PlayStation brand. By 2006,…
Kindergarten KaizenIn the classroom we take our first steps toward continuous improvement
Thu, 09/14/2017 - 12:03
It’s said that the first five years of children’s lives are important to their future development and growth. Most of that is spent at home with parents and loved ones, before children are thrust into the first stage of their next 13 years of…
The Curious Case of the Fidget CubeHow a product almost went from a million-dollar success story to a footnote in under a year
Thu, 08/03/2017 - 12:03
On Aug. 30, 2016, a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign was launched for a small stress-relief, fiddler-friendly device called a Fidget Cube, created by Matthew and Mark McLachlan, collectively known as Antsy Labs. Within one day the project’s goal…
The Traveling Ohno CircleWherever you go, draw a circle
Thu, 06/22/2017 - 12:03
Many of us are familiar with the concept of the Ohno Circle, innovated by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota during the 1940s. While familiarity with the technique and the goals it sets to accomplish is one thing, how many of us have actually participated? The…
Desks on WheelsThis company abandoned hierarchy to become the most profitable per employee in the United States
Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:03
In 1996, former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington formed Washington-based video-game development studio Valve Corp. Two years later, they released a PC game called Half-Life to universal critical acclaim; it was a watershed moment…
Forgetting to RememberWhen reminders become white noise
Thu, 03/23/2017 - 12:03
‘How could I forget to do that?” I asked myself this question last week over and over, wondering how an important task was able to fly right over my head until I was reminded about it the next day, after it was too late. I mean, I use Post-it…
Muda at the MarketSo many sale tags, so little time
Thu, 02/09/2017 - 12:03
Recently, during one of my many adventures across the internet, I stumbled across a photo that struck me. It depicts an aisle of a U.S. drugstore, where nearly every single product facing has a tag on it announcing a price and a limited-time…
Jazz Bands, Lightning, and Coordinate Metrology CertificationCMSC 2012 celebrated the quality community as well as progress in metrology training and certification
Mon, 08/20/2012 - 11:25
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…