All Features
Adam Zewe
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) could fly deep into the heart of a raging wildfire, avoiding sudden flare-ups and dodging falling tree branches to gather critical information for rescuers. But in this dangerous situation, the UAV could easily be damaged or destroyed by falling debris.
The UAV—and…
Quality Digest
(Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has released PC-DMIS 2026.2, introducing PC-DMIS Specialized Geometries, a new application that brings complex geometry inspection into a single workflow. Gear inspection modules are available…
David Maricich
Adaptability is crucial for success in many industries. This is especially true in marketing, where customer expectations can shift, platforms introduce new features, and competitors change their positioning.
As a leader, you must learn to thrive amid chaos and embrace experimentation and…
Quality Digest
(Sandvik Coromant: Sandviken, Sweden) -- Manufacturers are under pressure to reduce production costs while maintaining component quality and process reliability for a diverse mix of materials and applications. To help simplify drilling operations, Sandvik Coromant has expanded its CoroDrill Dura…
Morten Larsen
Most environmental monitoring programs I see are run in a clean, cold, empty plant. Sanitation finishes at 4 a.m., the swabs go down at 5, the results come back negative, and the report gets filed. The program is compliant. It’s also, in the way that matters, telling you almost nothing.
A…
Quality Digest
(Intelex Technologies ULC: Dallas) -- Intelex Technologies ULC, a global leader in cloud-based environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) management software, has unveiled Insight AI, a new capability that transforms raw EHS data into predictive, actionable intelligence. The announcement was…
Quality Digest
(Manufacturing Entropy: Lafayette, IN) -- Production meetings end with action items nobody owns. The meeting ends, everyone nods, and the board still looks green. A week later the same issue is back, because the action item never had an owner. That is value leaving the plant while the numbers look…
Leif Nyström
For improvement work to be successful, an organization needs a clear structure with defined roles and responsibilities. If it invests in an improvement organization for the long term, it can ensure lasting results. Here, we explore what an organization aimed at effective improvement might look like…
Mike Huey
John owned a distribution company, and he was the entire sales department. Every major deal ran through him. Every key relationship lived in his phone. He was missing his daughter’s dance recitals. His wife said he was never home. The business was growing, but John had become its ceiling.
If you…
Quality Digest
(TRIGO: Nanterre, France) -- TRIGO is deploying practical AI solutions to help manufacturers and transportation OEMs anticipate supplier risks, accelerate continuous improvement, and strengthen supply base quality.
Already in operation, these solutions have reduced supplier assessment times by…
Quality Digest
(Relay: Raleigh, NC) -- Relay, the system of action for physical operations, has released “The Factory Floor’s Missing Data Layer,” a new report on how critical operational information moves across factory floors. The perception research found that 86% of respondents say sensors and machine data…
Zach Winn
The world needs more homes. The world also has too much plastic. Perhaps the only thing those two problems have in common is that they’re hard to solve.
Atlas Building Composites, a spinout of MIT, is on a mission to address both problems with a single solution. The company has developed an AI-…
Quality Digest
(GelSight: Waltham, MA) -- GelSight, a pioneer in surface analysis technology, announced that its Modulus surface measurement system has been named to Time magazine’s list of the Best Inventions of 2026. The honor follows Modulus’ selection in Fast Company magazine’s 2026 Next Big Things in Tech…
Bruce Hamilton
According to Shigeo Shingo, a subtle but important distinction exists between problem-solving and continuous improvement.
I grew up in manufacturing with the idea that problem solving was standardization kaizen: a means to return flagging process performance to an established standard. For example…
Mike Figliuolo
Difficult decisions don’t end once you’ve made them. The biggest challenges come with execution risk. Does your decision get carried out the way you wanted it to? The key to successful execution is good change management.
If you want to make a successful executive decision, communicate the…
Quality Digest
(Teledyne FLIR: Wilsonville, OR) -- Teledyne FLIR has launched the A8481, a new compact HD MWIR science camera designed for researchers and engineers who need significantly more thermal detail without changing the workflows, optics, software, and infrastructure they already use.
Built around a…
Ken Maren
Metrology, the scientific study of measurement, has never been faster or more precise. Yet many quality problems that land on a CMM table were decided weeks earlier, when someone measured against a drawing that was no longer the approved one.
Closing that gap isn’t a measurement problem. It’s a…
Quality Digest
(Verivexa: U.K.) -- Verivexa, a cloud-based provider of ISO management system tool kits and guided compliance workspaces, is now available for organizations implementing and maintaining an ISO/IEC 27001 information security management system.
The platform connects implementation planning with risk…
Quality Digest
(Octave: Madison, AL) -- Octave Intelligence, a global leader in software for the world’s mission-critical facilities and infrastructure, has announced the latest release of Reliance NXG Cloud Platform, delivering innovations that extend its vision of a connected, intelligent quality management…
George Schuetz
Contact surface-finish measurement and confocal optical surface-finish measurement are two different methods of measuring the roughness or irregularity of a surface.
Contact surface-finish measurement uses a diamond-tipped probe that moves across the part. There are two basic varieties: skid-type…
Gabriel Popkin
When we hear that the metric system is based on seven base units, or seven fundamental constants, it gives the impression that there’s something obviously unique and special that sets these seven quantities apart.
But when we delve deeper, it turns out that there’s nothing special about the number…
Quality Digest
(Minitab: State College, PA) -- Minitab LLC, a global leader in data analytics, predictive modeling, and process improvement solutions, has announced Minitab Insights, a global initiative that will publish original research, industry insights, and expert perspectives based on global surveys of…
Quality Digest
(Starrett-Bytewise: Columbus, GA) -- Starrett-Bytewise introduces the Profile360 Blue Real-Time In-Line Laser Measurement System for continuous 2D profile inspection, the fifth generation in its Profile360 Line.
Profile360 Blue features an innovative, streamlined design with new software and…
Lily Fang
Who makes the better call: a manager with a wide-ranging career or a narrow one; a doctor who trusts their instincts, or one who sticks to clinical guidelines; a human recruiter, or an algorithm that assesses job candidates?
In this roundup of INSEAD research, we look at how people and machines…
Quality Digest
(ONERugged: Shenzhen, China) -- ONERugged, a leading provider of rugged computing solutions, has expanded its Vehicle PC (VPC) portfolio with rugged vehicle-mount computers for agricultural and mining industries worldwide.
As global agriculture shifts from conventional mechanization toward…