All Features
Back in 2004, I was saddled with a two-hour commute to work almost every day. Fortunately, I had something with me to make the experience more bearable: my new third-generation iPod. Many of you probably remember your first iPod experience, how great it was to carry your entire music library in…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
In the most basic terms of engine exhaust theory, more flow equates to more performance. The aim is to improve the efficiency of your vehicle’s engine, boost performance, and save money on fuel. Auto-jet Muffler Corp. has implemented that “improved flow = improved performance”…
Barry Plunkett
For top executives to add value to their organizations, those in the C suite must learn how to recruit, train, nurture, maintain, and retain exceptional employees who understand customers. If an organization wants to not just survive, but also succeed, it must anticipate its customers’ needs and…
Patrick Runkel
What does the eyesight of a homeless person have in common with complications from dental anesthesia? Or with reducing side-effects from cancer? Or monitoring artificial hip implants?
These are all subjects of recently published studies that use statistical analyses in Minitab to improve…
Cuong Nguyen
When I go home after work, my wife and I are typically focused on the present moment, and especially on our young son. As new parents, we benefit from many innovative products and services—from improved car seats and creative toys to safer cribs and video baby monitors. One of the first products…
Davis Balestracci
In my last column I explained how many situations have an inherent response surface, which is the “truth.” However, any experimental result represents this true response, which is unfortunately obscured by the process’s common-cause variation. Regardless of whether you are at a low state of…
ISO
(ISO: Geneva) -- Improving energy performance and reducing energy costs is one of the most important tasks that organizations throughout the world have to achieve. ISO 50001 on energy management can help organizations with this exercise.
Since its publication five years ago, ISO 50001 has gained…
Jason Furness
Here’s a “tales from the real world” extract from our book, Manufacturing Money (Amazon Digital, 2015). It offers an example of the “five focusing steps” to improvement, with a particular focus on step one, identify the constraint; and step two, maximize the constraints output.
This was a time…
Annette Franz
Ihave written and talked about journey mapping so much this year, even suggesting back in January that we make it the year of the journey map. I think customer experience professionals have made great progress toward this goal so far in 2016! I hear so many people talking about mapping, and many…
Annelise Orleck
Pico Rivera is a dusty working-class Latino suburb of Los Angeles. After the school district, Walmart is the city’s largest employer and the source of 10 percent of its tax revenue. More than 500 families in the town depend on income from the store. The town is also the epicenter of activism by…
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- SME, for more than 80 years a leader in promoting advanced manufacturing and developing the workforce, announced its Additive Manufacturing Community Awards at the 26th annual RAPID Conference & Exposition in Orlando.
SME Additive Manufacturing Industry Achievement…
Gilles Hilary
President Obama has been injured in a terrorist attack on the White House. A tweet released by the Associated Press (AP) attests to this. It carries the company’s “verified” stamp of authenticity. The S&P 500 just lost more than $130 billion. Well, not quite.
The AP’s tweet was the byproduct…
Tonianne DeMaria
No doubt you’ve seen evidence of its ascendance: The cottage industry that’s become a multibillion dollar “motivational industrial complex” of sorts. Its rallying cry, “If you think it, you can achieve it!” is plastered just about everywhere these days. From gilt-framed posters of eagles soaring…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: Washington, DC) -- As big data continue to inspire innovative changes in industry and enhance the way organizations and stakeholders work together, standardization supportive of this field remains a top priority in 2016.
Last year, efforts to support standardization related to big data…
EPSON America
(Epson: Atlanta) -- Epson America Inc., providers of the Moverio augmented reality smart eyewear platform, has announced a partnership with Atheer, creators of Augmented Interactive Reality (AiR) software suite, to deliver remote expert collaboration, rapid task flow deployment, and on-the-go task…
The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence
(Shingo Institute: Logan, Utah) -- The Shingo Institute, part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has awarded Ben Hartman with the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award for his book, The Lean Farm: How to Minimize Waste, Increase Efficiency, and…
Glebar
(Glebar: Ramsey, NJ) -- Glebar has developed a centerless grinding process on its GT 610 CNC for automotive manufacturers that expedites the development process of fuel injector nozzle valves, leading to reduced tooling costs, lower inventory levels and quicker integration of new technology for…
Harish Jose
In this article I want to look at the concept of equifinality in relation to the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. In systems theory, equifinality is defined as reaching the same end, no matter what the starting point was. This is applicable only in an open system, one that interacts with its…
Ruth P. Stevens
As the initial wild enthusiasm for customer relationship management (CRM) begins to plateau, and companies become increasingly skeptical of inflated claims for success, it’s time to take a hard look at how CRM projects should be measured. What is “successful” CRM, anyway? How will you know it when…
Thomas More Smith
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor outlined changes to the existing overtime exemptions. Is this a win for workers? And a loss for employers? In truth, the real effect on both groups and the economy is much more nuanced.
As you are probably aware, some employees are exempt from being paid…
Delcam
(Delcam: Birmingham, UK) -- Delcam, an Autodesk company since 2014, continues to improve the software to help companies that need to increase productivity and reduce lead times. This often involves a re-imagined approach towards innovation and the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) with…
James Olthoff
I’m a physicist, and as anyone who watches the popular TV series The Big Bang Theory knows, it’s a commonly held conception that there is a strong connection between being a scientist and being enthralled with all things science fiction, fantasy, and superheroes. Anyone who walks into my office at…
Bruce Hamilton
Twice in the last month I’ve heard the phrase “traditional lean” used in public presentations. In neither case did the presenter explain the expression, but one displayed a slide with a Venn diagram showing the overlap between lean and Six Sigma.
I suppose this means that he defined traditional…
The QA Pharm
Aquality management review of data with responsible company leadership is a current good manufacturing practices requirement. Quality management review procedures vary, but there seems to be a struggle with presenting data from across the quality management system in a meaningful and consistent…
Barbara A. Cleary, Steve Daum
Quality alone will not ensure a successful future, as the classic story of the buggy-whip manufacturer demonstrates. His products were outstanding—better than any others—but when the market changed to automobiles, he found himself out of business.
Markets do indeed change, apparently at an…
