All Features
Bob Emiliani
Have the leading figures in the lean community walked the “Respect for People” talk? Not in my view.
Most of these leaders have only recently begun to understand and embrace the “Respect for People” principle. Although there are many dimensions to the “Respect for People” principle within lean,…
Teledyne DALSA
(Teledyne DALSA: Waterloo, Canada) -- Teledyne DALSA, designer and manufacturer of digital imaging and semiconductor technology has introduced its high-resolution, 8k line-scan camera to its Linea series of low-cost, high-value cameras. Linea cameras address the mainstream market for machine…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
Not every idea threatens change to the status quo, but those that do are met with a fairly predictable response: attention, which can diverge into derision or fascination; resistance; and sometimes, acceptance. I just finished reading a book that’s bound to trigger all three, with plenty of…
Wiley
(Wiley: Hoboken, NJ) -- Change is a constant, and leaders must do more than keep up—they must innovate and accelerate to succeed. Yet people are often unnerved by change.
As a leader during a time of transformation, you may stand before teams that are indifferent, or even hostile, and need to…
Michael Rapaport
If you work in the automotive industry, you should already be familiar with ISO 26262, the international standard for the safety of electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems in series-production automobiles. Otherwise you’re likely asking, what is ISO 26262? As a basic introduction to the…
Lean Math With Mark Hamel
The term “days inventory on hand,” aka “days of supply,” along with “inventory turns,” is a measure of inventory investment.
Although turns may be one of the most basic measures of an organization’s “leanness,” days inventory on hand perhaps helps lean practitioners better visualize the magnitude…
Annette Franz
If you’re new to designing and implementing a voice of the customer (VoC) program, you’re probably scratching your head and wondering where to begin. There are a lot of components to consider as you dive in, from executive buy-in to organizational alignment to governance and more.
In this column…
Mark Rosenthal
AToyota kata is not a list of stuff to do. To help people understand this, I often ask, “What obstacles do you think are preventing you from reaching the target?” I also like to insert the word “now” in there sometimes for emphasis. The intent (as I interpret it) is for the improver or learner to…
The Sensor Connection
(The Sensor Connection: Troy, MI) -- The Sensor Connection, a division of Harold G. Schaevitz Industries, has expanded its line of measurement and control instrumentation with the addition of the model TCA-MS-K-8-A4. This amplifier module converts the low-output voltage signal from eight-channel,…
Paul Sloane
I give workshops on creative leadership for major organizations around the world. I always ask delegates, “What is impeding innovation in your business?” The answers often involve cultural issues such as aversion to risk, complacency, or lack of motivation to experiment.
When I gave a workshop in…
NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a laser-based imaging system that creates high-definition 3D maps of surfaces from as far away as 10.5 meters. The method may be useful in diverse fields, including precision machining and assembly, as well…
Jim Benson
If you’re already using Personal Kanban or another kanban system, you are likely at least thinking about limiting your work in progress (WIP). You’re probably finding that challenging.
We know that the more work we take on, the more our brains’ resources are taxed. That tax limits our ability to…
AMETEK
(AMETEK: Philadelphia, PA) -- To understand how hip implants perform in vivo, Exponent, an engineering and consulting firm, along with the Implant Research Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia, are working together to utilize the unique capabilities of the Talyrond 585 metrology instrument…
Paul Naysmith
I have four clocks hanging on my office wall, each one individually set for a strange and different time zone somewhere on this planet. I need to know these various times, as I am sure to engage with someone somewhere else at some point during the day.
From clock to clock, each second ticks…
Shimadzu
(Shimadzu: Columbia, MD) -- Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has released the DSES-1000 long-travel contact extensometer, an easy-to-use and precise tool for measuring displacement in rubber and other soft materials with considerable elongation. With 1000 mm maximum movement distance, the DSES-1000…
Bruno Scibilia
Using statistical techniques to optimize manufacturing processes is quite common now, but using the same approach on social topics is still an innovative approach. For example, if our objective is to improve student academic performances, should we increase teachers’ wages, or would it be better…
Jacqueline Graham
A critical aspect of managing processes is the ability to measure well. Confidence in the integrity of collected data is imperative to ensure that appropriate decisions are made about acceptable product and process changes. It is possible that products declared “out of specification” may be the…
Mark R. Hamel
A multinational manufacturer was implementing a lean management system in a phased manner within one of its facilities. The target facility operated four comprehensive value streams. The lean management system implementation for the pilot value stream was incremental; its elements included daily,…
SAE International
(SAE International: Warrendale, PA) -- For decades, the SAE Convergence Conference has brought together technology leaders from across the globe to address the impact of electronics systems and the issues critical to mobility electronics implementation. This year features a compelling lineup…
Barry Plunkett
Leadership at healthcare organizations is being tested like never before. The move away from a fee-for-service model to a patient-outcome-based model means management has to get clinical-care teams collaborating in a whole new way.
Your leadership style and the culture you help create within your…
Matthew Barsalou
W. Edwards Deming was a frequent critic of quotas. One of his famous 14 points presented in Out of the Crisis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1982) is “Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.” There is little room to misinterpret this point, but…
Bill Kalmar
We live in a world where virtually nothing is private anymore. There are Internet search engines that allow people to determine our addresses, our home and cell phone numbers, our marital statuses, our employment records, our credit ratings, and the types of cars we drive. Recently, there was an…
Renishaw
(Renishaw: Hoffman Estates, IL) -- Renishaw has launched a new website for anyone wanting to know more about Raman spectroscopy and its applications. The new site includes updated content, improved navigation, and more images, making key information clearer and more accessible.
The content has…
Davis Balestracci
There has been an explosion in new technology for acquiring, storing, and processing data. The “big data” movement (and its resulting sub-industry, data mining) is becoming more prevalent and having major effects on how quality professionals and statisticians do their jobs.
Big data are a…
Jesse Lyn Stoner
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone thanked you at the end of the meeting and told you how glad they were to have been there? How likely is that to happen?
A recent study found that for the second year in a row, workers reported meetings as “the biggest distraction and waste of time presented by the…
