Content by Akhilesh Gulati
Optimizing Production EfficiencyHow TAKT time and TRIZ solved a manufacturing bottleneck
Wed, 01/29/2025 - 00:03
Paul was sitting in his office staring at production numbers from the past quarter. Despite having a great team, strong customer demand, and state-of-the-art equipment, the factory’s performance wasn’t meeting expectations. There was a bottleneck in…
‘Fire, Ready, Aim!’Hidden risks of rushed decisions in operations and quality management
Wed, 01/22/2025 - 00:02
In the world of operations and quality management, the pressure to act quickly can feel overwhelming. Senior executives are constantly racing against time to meet customer demands, solve problems, and keep shareholders satisfied. In the rush to…
Solving a Supply Chain PuzzleOccam’s razor and TRIZ keep it simple
Wed, 12/18/2024 - 12:03
It was another busy morning at the monthly operations meeting. Lindsay, the operations manager at TechElectronics, a growing manufacturer of consumer electronics, called the meeting to order. As usual, they started with the routine updates—inventory…
Standardizing InnovationCreativity is just one part of it
Wed, 12/04/2024 - 12:03
In the ever-changing world of quality management, the intersection of innovation and standardization offers both exciting opportunities and tough challenges. Maria, a dedicated and certified quality professional, struggled with the concept of “…
The Power of the ‘Back of the Napkin’ for Innovation and QualityMany powerful ideas have humble beginnings
Mon, 10/28/2024 - 12:03
A few days after returning from a speaking engagement at the Innovate for Excellence Summit in Chicago last September, I spoke to Susan, an old classmate. We chatted for a while, and naturally the conversation drifted toward innovation—something we’…
Enhancing Quality Management With AIOvercoming fears of the unknown
Wed, 08/14/2024 - 12:03
Maria took a moment to reflect on how much had changed in just over a year since she first explored ChatGPT with her informal innovation group. Back then it was more of a novelty, a fun challenge to see whether artificial intelligence could answer…
Thinking FridayAn end-of-the-week innovation and improvement opportunity
Thu, 01/18/2024 - 12:02
The first day of the conference was over, and most of us congregated for happy hour, relaxing, networking, and furthering our connections. We reminisced about the day, commenting about the good, the bad, and the ugly: events at work, travel,…
Revolutionizing Quality Engineering with ChatGPTThose who learn how to use these tools will have an advantage over those who don’t
Tue, 06/20/2023 - 12:03
Maria stretched her arms, taking in a deep breath as she savored the lingering flavor of dark, rich black coffee. She waited for the system to log in and connect to her biweekly meeting with her informal innovation group, a bunch of semiretired…
Do You Think Inside the Box, Outside the Box, or at the Edge of the Box?To solve thorny problems, you can’t have either a purely internal or external view
Thu, 03/23/2023 - 12:03
Efrain entered his office on a bright, sunny morning, a smile on his face. He poured a cup of coffee and took his seat behind his desk. From his vantage point, he could see his staff walking in and settling down to the day’s work. His executive…
Data-Driven Decision MakingAnd the role of intuition
Thu, 10/08/2015 - 11:14
The big data revolution is requiring a seismic shift inside organizations, both in the way we build relationships and the way we make decisions. Each is now driven by data rather than intuition. In general, decision making is accomplished via a…