All Features
Siddharth Dhomkar, Jacob Henshaw
With the amount of data storage required for our daily lives growing, and available technology becoming saturated, we’re in desparate need of a new method of data storage.
The standard magnetic hard disk drive (HDD)—like what’s probably in your laptop computer—has reached its limit, holding a…
Michelle LaBrosse
When you’re knee-deep in the logistical details of managing a project team, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture: your organization’s vision.
Here at Cheetah Learning, we use established and proven strategies to help us achieve our vision through our mission in each course we offer.…
Craig Schlenoff
Whether they’re behind the scenes assembling products or helping you parallel-park your car, robots are already playing a big role in our day-to-day lives, and their presence will only become more pervasive in the coming decades. But they aren’t good at everything—yet. For instance, robots in…
Welding is said to be more art than science. In part, this is a nod to the vital, skilled work that welders perform. It’s also recognition of the fact that the physics of the process is really, really difficult to understand.
I joined a NIST project on laser welding about two years ago. Before…
Evan Miller
Sponsored Content
Like many manufacturers, boat maker Smoker Craft has enormous amounts of data. The challenge, according to Quality Assurance Manager Dave Frey, was that all the data were on paper. All these bits and pieces of paper filled dozens of filing cabinets. Many man-hours were devoted to…
Donald J. Wheeler
Who can be against apple pie, motherhood, or good measurements? This is why everyone stands up and salutes when we are told to maintain our measurement systems in good calibration. But what is good calibration? By what method will we achieve it? And how will we know when we have it?
One day I…
Sponsored Content
Manufacturers often hold suppliers to a rigid quality process that dictates tight controls on all raw materials. Nonconforming material can potentially halt the production line, wasting time and money. Unfortunately, material mix-ups are a reality in critical manufacturing…
Mika Javanainen
Are your back office systems talking to your front office systems? Back office systems manage manufacturing functions as well as administrative functions such as quality management, accounts payable, and contract management. Examples of front office systems include customer relationship management…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
(ACSI: Colorado Springs, CO) -- Customer satisfaction with banks is up, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Its recent report covers the finance and insurance sector, which includes retail banks, credit unions, health insurance, property and casualty insurance, life…
Mike Richman
In the quality profession today, the term “guru” tends to be thrown around with reckless abandon, more often than not self-referentially by the “guru” him- or herself. Don’t get me wrong; there are many outstanding people now working in our field, with interesting and perhaps even revolutionary…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Small-business owners may think that they are too small to be victims of cyber-hackers, but Pat Toth knows otherwise. Toth leads outreach efforts to small businesses on cybersecurity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and understands the…
Kevin Meyer
“Excellent firms don’t believe in excellence—only in constant improvement and constant change.”—Tom Peters
The plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle is the core component of continuous improvement programs. You may have heard it called the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle—and they are very similar—but I…
AssurX
Life sciences companies around the world should make sure their corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plans are in good shape before a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspector comes calling. Looking at a deep pool of letters issued this year domestically and internationally, it’s clear the…
John Maxwell
During the past few weeks I’ve written a lot about personal growth. That’s because it’s so important to me—I believe personal growth is a crucial part in anyone’s journey toward success and significance. But here I want to talk about an area of personal growth that we sometimes forget: helping…
Jim Benson
I’ve been watching myself. Asking myself why do I do certain things? Why do I lose track of time?
I’ve combined a few regimens that have calmed me down, increased my effectiveness, and made me feel healthier. I’ve created for myself things that some blithely call “habits.” But we all have habits…
(Control Micro Systems: Orlando, FL) -– Control Micro Systems (CMS) has developed turnkey laser marking and cutting systems for industry-leading clients in the medical sectors.
Manufacturers of endoscopic guidewire devices frequently are required to mark brand and model information as well as…
Gwendolyn Galsworth
Often enough, you have heard me say that 50 percent of our brain function is dedicated to finding and then interpreting visual data. This is not whimsy. This is not speculation. This is fact. The eye rules. Though we utilize our other senses quite naturally (sound, taste, smell, touch), visuality…
The new revision of AS9100D is now out, and clause 10.2—“Nonconformity and corrective action” will require us to “evaluate the need for action based on human factors to ensure nonconformities do not recur.” In addition, clause 7.1.4 of both ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D require us to consider human…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
Although more than 140 years old, Colonna’s Shipyard Inc. has not stood still with respect to modernization. Colonna’s has made the capital investments necessary to improve efficiency and productivity—and those investments are paying off.
During the late 1990s, Steel America (SA…
Harrington Group International
(HGI: Orlando, FL) -- Harrington Group International (HGI), in partnership with Darwin Ecosystem (an IBM Watson partner) and the University of Central Florida’s International Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research (ICAMR), has started the Global Foundations of Quality Survey and research…
Robert Napoletano
ASQ has recently offered a new certification, Certified Supplier Quality Professional, specifically for those quality professionals dealing with suppliers. Who are these professionals? Most often the “who” depends on the size of the company.
Sometimes, in a smaller company, it’s the quality…
The “leave” vote prevailing in the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum was big news. It was fascinating to watch events unfold from this side of the pond, particularly since what happens here will be affected by what happens there from this point forward.
Most of the people I follow on Twitter…
Mike Figliuolo
It’s called “work” for a reason. Most days we’re able to “work” through it and find enjoyment in what we do, but occasionally we’re faced with a grind that saps our strength and threatens to derail us. Fortunately, there are simple techniques for working through that grind.
I love writing the…
Donald J. Wheeler
Opinion
There was an election in Xanadu recently. One of the issues that was repeatedly brought up was the possibility of election fraud. So out west in the town of Hawtch-Hawtch, the people got some “Hawtch-Hawtch bee watchers” to go out and watch the polls.
The Hawtch-Hawtch poll watchers…
Mike Richman
My colleague and buddy, Christopher Martin, is an unsung hero here at Quality Digest. Few of our readers know him, but all our advertisers do, because he’s the guy who keeps them happy.
In addition to being a great salesperson, Christopher handles ad materials, tracking, reportage, traffic…
