All Features
Curt Oswald, Donald L. Reynolds, John J. Casey
Do you want to know a secret? It’s one that lean experts often overlook because nobody told them about it. However, before revealing it, we need to answer a couple of questions first.
• What is 5S? • Why is 5S important to implement? • Why do so many U.S. companies fail in 5S implementation?
5S…
Bill Kalmar
Have you noticed the number of people with the flu, or flu symptoms, or an upper-respiratory infection? It is the time of year when America succumbs to the current illness bug, and millions of people will be coughing and sputtering and sneezing. The people who get flu shots may be immune from all…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
You’ve gassed her up, you’re behind the wheel, with your arm around your sweetheart in your Oldsmobile… —Tom Waits
If you were in the business of selling a popular dream—say, freedom, status, and mobility—and you began to notice your customers’ dreams shifting elusively, as dreams do, into…
Drew Locher
There are many well-documented lean successes in manufacturing applications. However, service organizations and administrative processes within manufacturing companies often struggle with applying these concepts. A big problem is that companies tend to focus strictly on lean “tools” and fail to…
Jack Dunigan
In part one of this column, we learned about Robert, who seemed to succeed at everything the business world could throw at him. His responsibilities became greater than one person could manage, yet he mostly worked alone, by choice, except for support from his clerical staff. There were several…
Eston Martz
Subcultures have languages all their own. Teen gangs, statisticians, gamers, music buffs, sports nuts, furries—all use terminology that baffles outsiders. The arcane language helps identify kindred spirits: Using the correct phrase proves you belong. The proper buzzwords can gain you admittance to…
Jack Dunigan
Robert’s second-floor offices are crowded with papers, files, memos, phone messages, charts, and project plans. On his belt hangs a smart phone. A secretary in a front office handles the business telephone, which rang a dozen times in the few minutes I sat with him.
He is a busy, busy man, and…
MIT News
The MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation has released a report, “U.S Reshoring: A Turning Point,” based on the results of its 2012 U.S. reshoring survey.
In total, 340 participants completed the survey, of which 198 were manufacturing-only companies. Out of those 198 companies, 156 were U.S.…
Matthew E. May
Recently I had a conversation with a friend who was upset about some directional shifts and a looming job shuffle within his company. As I listened to the lament, I recognized that the changes he described focused on the symptoms of the issue. All of his reactions and proposed courses of action…
Thomas R. Cutler
In an unforgiving and increasingly competitive marketplace, manufacturers struggle to squeeze 5 percent to 7 percent from operational cost reductions. Those who fail often don’t survive, and more than 1,000 North American plants closed last year because continued improvement to the bottom line…
Georgia Institute of Technology
(GTRI: Atlanta, GA) -- A research team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing an airborne testing capability for sensors, communications devices, and other airborne payloads. This aerial test bed, called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS), is based on an unmanned…
Gallup
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of a country’s economy. They generate jobs that are sorely needed worldwide. Gallup’s World Poll estimates that of 3 billion adults globally who report they want a good job—one that is 30+ hours per week and provides a consistent…
Brookhaven National Laboratory
A sophisticated X-ray technology is paving the way to uncover the secrets of a 380-year-old masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn, Old Man in Military Costume. Painted by the Dutch artist during 1630–1631, previous investigations spotted another portrait, an underpainting, that was only faintly…
Donald J. Wheeler
When your process outcomes are not what you expect them to be it is common to adjust the process. This is not always appropriate. To understand when adjustments are appropriate, and when they are inappropriate, we will need to learn how to distinguish between the noise contained within the data…
Mike Roberts
A considerable number of executives today still struggle to make quality a top priority. Based on a survey of more than 300 executives, barely 50 percent of companies in large and mature industries currently make quality a top priority. In fact, for some industries such as food and…
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting proposals to support significant research in the field of fundamental measurement or the determination of fundamental constants.
Although the fundamental constants such as the speed of light or electron mass are just that—…
Matthew Littlefield
Many organizations have implemented targeted quality management functionalities to address immediate issues. It’s common for these functionalities to be homegrown or bought as off-the-shelf software solutions. As a consequence, however, organizations are now facing the challenge of ensuring that…
Kimberly Egan
On Jan. 4, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the first step in its history to regulate produce farmers. The agency issued a 547-page proposed rule that spends a lot of time reducing everything humanity has learned about plants since agriculture emerged in the Fertile Crescent 10,…
Nikon Metrology Inc.
(NMI: Brighton, MI) -- Nikon Metrology Inc. (NMI) announces a software breakthrough with Metrologic Group that provides a complete set of new functionalities and applications for Laser Radar and other NMI products.
Metrologic has combined large-scale capabilities into its popular Metrolog software…
Jim Frost
This flu season has been worse than normal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show that the flu has struck early and hard. Influenza cases shot up during December rather than the more usual January or February, and 47 states report widespread influenza cases.
I get a flu…
Kyle Toppazzini
Have you heard the expression “flavor of the month” or the saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same?” I often hear employees use these expressions when faced with a large change initiative. Most executives are aware of these terms, too, although I’m not completely certain they…
Jeff Dewar
“Dad, I'll need a car soon,” came from the lips of my 15-year-old son. A straight-A student, on his way to attaining Eagle Scout rank, and dedicated to the cross-country team, he deserved a hearing. He had been working around the neighborhood doing yard work but had his eyes on the bigger target…
William A. Levinson
It is a basic principle that muda (waste) often hides in plain view, and it persists because people become used to living with it or working around it. Bricklaying, one of the world’s oldest trades, is a classic example.
Frank Gilbreth, a pioneer of motion study, developed a nonstooping scaffold…
Duke University
Duke University engineers have developed a novel “sensor” that is more efficient, versatile, and cheaper for potential use in such applications as security scanners and collision avoidance systems for aircraft, automobiles, or maritime vessels.
The researchers fabricated a unique material known…
Umberto Tunesi
Some of you will surely think the subject of this column is inconsistent with Quality Digest Daily’s line of interest. But, please, first allow me to remind you that sleep is hardly second to food, as far as human health is concerned. Without the proverbial “good night’s sleep,” we function badly…
