All Features
(Schreiner ProTech: Blauvelt, NY) -- Schreiner ProTech, a Germany-based global leader in developing and manufacturing innovative functional labels with value-added benefits for the automotive and engineering-based industries, has developed a color laser film version of its paint masked label…
Karla Jo Helms
Covid-19 has changed America’s workforce in a fundamental and most likely permanent way, and not adopting the “new normal” can be the difference between success and failure.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of American workers surveyed have said that given a choice, they would…
Chip Bell
One of my favorite Halloween memories was decorating the annual giant pumpkin with my son when he was young. As a toddler, he was primarily an observer as he watched me sculpt the face of the pumpkin with a scrimp knife. However, his commitment to the pumpkin-carving process ramped up dramatically…
Mark Greevan
China’s dominance in manufacturing has made it the factory for the world. The subsequent economic growth enriched an ever-expanding middle class, and the country’s retail industry has quickly adapted to supply a growing appetite for consumption.
Some of these developments in the way people spend…
Quality Digest
(Thomson Industries: Wood Dale, IL) -- Thomson Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of linear motion control solutions, is pleased to announce that its Electrak LL electric actuator has won the Bronze Award in the 2021 Industrial Design, Engineering & Automation (IDEA)! Awards Contest. The…
Bruce Hamilton
In 1996, the TSSC (Toyota Production System Support Center) began working with my company to create one-by-one production capability in our product assembly. Previous to TSSC’s assistance, we’d moved the furniture and machines into cells, creating the appearance of flow production, but we lacked…
Tim Mouw
Color accounts for 60 percent of acceptance or rejection in consumer products. Maintaining accurate and consistent color is critical. If a color starts to drift, this leads to rework, wasted materials, and added costs.
To avoid color drift over time, consider the following.
1. Are you using…
(Exact Metrology: Cincinnati) -- Exact Metrology: A Division of In-Place Machining Company and a comprehensive 3D metrology service provider and hardware sales company, recently reverse engineered an impact driver body.
Reverse engineering involves digitally deconstructing products to extract…
Corey Brown
Even with advancements in technology and automation, the frontline workforce remains essential to modern manufacturing operations. In fact, 72 percent of factory work is still performed by people.
This means that operators, technicians, and line managers are all your biggest operational risks.…
Bastin Gerald
It’s a great feeling for business leaders when they find a framework they know can change the way their company formulates and executes their goals. The feeling of possibility that comes with finding the right goal-setting framework acts as motivation to achieve more, more efficiently. Many leaders…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) is seeking applicants for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners for the 2022 award cycle.
The Examiner Application is now available online and will be open until 6 p.m. Eastern on January 10,…
Aron Solomon
The past few weeks I advised several entrepreneurs who are trying to bring a product or service to market. Each is struggling with whether the minimum viable product (MVP) they’re launching is too minimum and would therefore be nonviable. The notion of the MVP has always had its pros and cons, but…
Ian Williamson
Finding good employees has always been a challenge, but these days it’s harder than ever. And it’s unlikely to improve anytime soon.
The so-called quit rate—the share of workers who voluntarily leave their jobs—hit a new record of 3 percent in September 2021, according to the latest data available…
Quality Digest
(AW-Lake: Oak Creek, WI) -- AW-Lake Company introduces a Water Inline (WIN) Ultrasonic Flow Meter for highly accurate and reliable flow measurement of cooling water, condensing water, and water/glycol solutions. Designed for process cooling applications including industrial cooling circuits, the…
Quality Digest
(Patti Engineering: Auburn Hills, MI) -- Patti Engineering Inc., a leader in control systems integration, announces it has passed an intensive audit to successfully renew the company’s Control Systems Integrators Association (CSIA) Certification for a seventh consecutive time as required every…
(Configit: Copehhagen) -- Configit, the global leader in configuration life-cycle management (CLM), has introduced enhanced versions of its Configit Ace and Configit Quote solutions to make CLM integration easier, faster, and more efficient for manufacturers worldwide.
One of the biggest barriers…
David Gillum, Kathleen Vogel, Rebecca Moritz
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains a mystery. One theory is that the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was transmitted from animals to humans—a fairly common occurrence. Another is that it came from a laboratory accident—a more infrequent circumstance.
Around the world, scientists conduct many kinds…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
The other day I heartily congratulated a friend on her job promotion. She replied, “What if they made a mistake? What if I’m not really qualified, and it’s the Peter Principle in effect—that I’ve risen to the level of my incompetence?”
“You’re totally qualified,” I responded, “They wouldn’t have…
Nate Burke
With the rise of online shopping continuing to increase, thanks to the convenience and comfort of shopping from home, it's important for e-commerce businesses to look to their returns policy to ensure they’re not only catering to the tech-savvy, modern consumer, but also the environmentally…
(ThermHex: Chicago) -- Leading industry players ThermHex and Fraunhofer will open their doors for experts in the field of composite sandwich materials to discuss and explore the latest developments and applications in the construction and use of sandwich materials. Europe’s composite sandwich-…
Quality Digest
(Sandvik Coromant: Sandviken, Sweden) -- Leader in metal cutting, Sandvik Coromant, has launched CoroCut QI, a range of internal and face grooving inserts designed for smaller diameters. Optimized to enable a lighter cutting action and reduced cutting forces, CoroCut QI ensures high process…
Quality Digest
(Thomson Industries: Wood Dale, IL) -- Thomson Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of linear motion control solutions, has added a real-time special machining configuration capability to its online shaft selector tool. The new functionality enables customers to reduce the time spent in…
(Brunson Instrument Co.: Kansas City, MO) -- Brunson Instrument Co., a leading producer of large-scale, industrial metrology equipment for aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, and other high-precision measurement applications, announces the selection of Chris Klope as president.
In his new…
Angus Robertson, Ahmet Abaci, Beth Somplatsky-Martori
Often, there’s a razor-thin margin between success and failure. Not long ago, Gillette—which dominated the $3.5 billion market for razors and accessories for longer than a century—was challenged by a little upstart called Dollar Shave Club, which had just starred in its first commercial for a…
Rachel Gordon
First published Nov. 5, 2021, on MIT CSAIL News.
At just 1 year old, a baby is more dexterous than a robot. Sure, machines can do more than just pick up and put down objects, but we’re not quite there as far as replicating a natural pull toward exploratory or sophisticated dexterous manipulation…