All Features
Kevin Rudy
This past week, History premiered a new show called the United Stats of America. No, that’s not a typo. It’s a show hosted by twin brothers who are both stand-up comedians and obsessed with statistics.
Since I’m also obsessed with statistics (I’m still working on the stand-up comedy part), I…
Knowledge at Wharton
If loyalty is defined as being faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution or product, then there seems to be a certain amount of infidelity in the workplace these days.
Consider some recent studies: MetLife’s 10th annual survey of employee benefits, trends and attitudes released in March 2012…
ECi Software Solutions
(ECi: Fort Worth, TX) -- ECi Software Solutions, a leader in industry-specific information technology solutions, has launched an online resource for its manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, M1. The site can be accessed here. In addition to providing information on ERP products…
MicroRidge Systems Inc.
(MicroRidge: Sunriver, OR) -- MicroRidge Systems will highlight its reliable, flexible and easy-to-use MobileCollect wireless measurement technology at the 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) being held Sept. 10–15, 2012 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. MicroRidge can be found in…
Industrial Magnetics
(Industrial Magnetics: Boyne City, MI) -- Industrial Magnetics Inc. (IMI) is now offering a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip as a standard on several types of its magnetic separators designed for the bulk processing industries.
The RFID device, manufactured by InfoChip, aides maintenance…
TÜV Rheinland of North America
(TÜV Rheinland: Boxborough, MA) -- TÜV Rheinland is hosting a series of no cost international approvals webinars addressing some of the key questions about global compliance programs: planning, readiness, and common pitfalls.
Professionals involved in legal placement of products in global markets…
Wiley
(Wiley: Hoboken, NJ) -- There are myriad quality and reliability tools available to corporations worldwide, but the one that shows up consistently in company after company is failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA). Effective FMEAs by Carl Carlson (Wiley, 2012) takes the best practices from…
Quality Digest
There once was a man loved to measure, Meters and pounds he did treasure, But his passion in life Alas ended in strife, When the poor lad tried meas'ring his wife.
Quality Digest
Polynesian navigation device showing directions of winds, waves, and islands. Traditionally understood and used by only a chosen few, these charts were made known to the western world circa 1890s by German naval officer, Captain Winkler.
Bruce McDuffee
Humidity is a tough measurement. It’s very hard to get a repeatable measurement with low uncertainty. This post discusses seven best practices that will help you make a more accurate, repeatable, and reliable humidity measurement. The recommendations are primarily based on the NPL document, “A…
Paul Naysmith
Sales professionals, according to some circles at least, aren’t all that different from us quality professionals. I once believed they were two-faced liars, because they’d sell their mother to get that precious sales commission. However, as a systems thinker, I like to get my facts straight before…
The following puns come from the Measurement Nightmares Project for 2011 at the Harbor Lights Middle School in Bandon, Oregon. There are plenty more humorous items on that web page.
2,000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds 10 cards = 1 decacards 1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 fig newton 1,000…
Mike Richman
This has been a fun week for us at Quality Digest, as we’ve had a chance to support World Metrology Week and one of our long-standing partners, the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS). As many of you know, the CMS is the organization behind the annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC…
(ZS Associates: Evanston, IL) -- While incentives can be an effective motivator in health care, a new study from global consulting firm ZS Associates suggests that more than 75 percent of incentives are so small or poorly communicated that they go unnoticed by providers. As a result, more than $20…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- On May 9, 2012, the U.S. federal government issued a solicitation for proposals from teams led by nonprofit organizations or universities to establish an Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which would serve as a pilot—or proof-of-concept prototype—for President…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: New York) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) has submitted a proposal to ISO for a new ISO standard on guidelines for consumer contact centers. As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)…
Productivity Press
(Productivity Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Lean Six Sigma (LSS), design for Six Sigma (DFSS), and value engineering (VE) have a proven track record of success for solving problems and improving efficiency. Depending on the situation, integrating these approaches can provide results that exceed the…
Renishaw
(Renishaw: Hoffman Estates, IL) -- Renishaw’s new laser additive-metal manufacturing process is capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3-D CAD data using a high-powered fiber laser. Parts are built layer by layer, in thicknesses ranging from 20 to 100 microns, using a range of…
Thomas R. Cutler, Rich McGrath
Editor’s note: This is the second article of a multipart series about the role of quality in education and its effect on workforce development. In part one of the series, the role of accountability was detailed and profiled.
The well-established quality control mechanisms and processes used in…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
I bought a lottery ticket. I hope to win. That would be so cool, wouldn’t it?
Do I think I’ll win? No. I fully understand the odds are against me. Then why did I buy one? I bought it because I’ve been thinking about hope and whether or not it is a powerful motivator.
I recall my friend Brian, who…
Quality Digest
Wild Heerbrugg (now Leica Geosystems) produced the Theodolite T4, which was developed by Dipl. Ing. Berchtold in the 1940's. The T4 was mainly used, up until the 1970s, to establish astronomical latitude and longitude of geodetic points by observing the stars. Photo courtesy of Hexagon Metrology/…
Quality Digest
MAGLEV Inc. used 3-D scanning technology to capture the Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) fossil skeleton depicted in this poster. Working in the Dinosaur Hall at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, a team of metrology experts scanned every inch and surface of the world’s most famous…
The cold, stark landscape of Antarctica is home to penguins, ice, high winds, and two antennae owned by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the independent federal agency that supports and funds all fields of fundamental science and engineering in the United States. The severe conditions of the…
Cognex Corp.
(Cognex: Natick, MA) -- Cognex Corp., a global supplier of machine vision systems, invites participants to join 31-year veteran and Cognex co-founder Bill Silver for an online presentation explaining a completely new foundation for image-based barcode readers. “A New Foundation for 1-D Barcode…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersbug, MD) -- Scientists, industry leaders, and public officials came together this week for a dialogue on innovation at The Atlantic’s “From Inspiration to Innovation Summit,” held at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Under Secretary of Commerce for…
