All Features
Watermark Learning
(Watermark Learning: Minneapolis, MN) -- Watermark Learning, a global provider of business analysis, project management, and business process management training, has partnered with masVenta Business GmbH, a leading German-based training, consulting, and software services organization, to offer…
Donald J. Wheeler
Last month I described what makes the XmR chart work. This month I will describe some common failure modes for the XmR chart and show how they come from a failure to follow the two fundamental principles behind the XmR chart.
When administrative and managerial data are placed on an XmR chart, the…
Akhilesh Gulati
Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series exploring the TRIZ methodolgy, a problem-solving, analysis, and forecasting tool derived from studying patterns of invention found in global patent data. TRIZ identifies 40 principles, of which segmentation is one.
Faced with increasing…
Alan’s Apothegms with Alan L. Austin
I love the holiday season, and the ending of 2012 and beginning of 2013 has been no exception. I love the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation from a miserable old miser into a positive influence in the lives of his employees, his family, and the community.
The story is especially…
Bruce Hamilton
Our machine shop was assisted by Toyota Supplier Support Center (now called Toyota Production System Support Center) in 1996 to reduce setups on our CNC lathes. TSSC had already helped us in a downstream final assembly department, and now we were endeavoring to provide just-in-time delivery to that…
COORD3
(COORD3: Wixom, MI) -- COORD3 Metrology LLC, headquartered in Wixom, Michigan, is introducing the new European-manufactured Universal CMMs to the North American market.
“Since taking the company into private ownership three years ago, we have focused on rebuilding our international distribution…
IBM
Many organizations adopt agile software delivery because it reduces cost and risk, improves quality, and helps speed innovations to market with continuous delivery capabilities. Companies use agile methods to deliver simple web applications, enterprise multiplatform applications, and embedded…
Mike Richman
Before I begin this column, I want to offer a heads-up to those who believe that Quality Digest Daily should only cover standards, test and measurement equipment, performance excellence methodologies, and the like. This will not be a piece related to any of those topics, unless you believe, as I do…
Kyle Toppazzini
Allow me to introduce you to FUSE, a value-based lean Six Sigma model that enables organizations to maximize enterprise performance with the least friction. FUSE embodies three core Chinese concepts of trust (shin), relationships (gunaxi), and knowledge (zhi), or more specifically, reflective…
Thomas R. Cutler
Berner Food and Beverage is a leading private-label and store-brand supplier of food and beverage products such as processed cheese, snack dips, latte, and meal replacement beverages. From merchandising solutions to a full spectrum of value-added services, Berner’s clients experience the same high…
Tripp Babbitt
The recent NFL brouhaha over pay for performance (Saints style) has seen a lot of media coverage. An ESPN fan poll finds coaches more to blame (by a large margin) than the players. In the business world, this is the equivalent of workers “accepting” practices put in by management—as if they had a…
Alan’s Apothegms with Alan L. Austin
Forgive me, but what does it even mean to “take it to the next level?” What is the next level, and is it “better” than the current level? How do we know? Is it higher or lower than where I currently stand? I guess higher is better if I’m on a sinking ship, but if I’m in a building whose upper…
John Ferreira
The need for low-cost temperature logging devices in the cold-chain industry has led to the development of silicon-based instruments that do not need calibration. Traditional temperature monitoring devices (using thermistors or thermocouples) must be calibrated during final production and assembly…
Michelle LaBrosse
Everyone reading this is a capable, smart, and skilled project manager, proud of managing the key stakeholders in each project with professionalism and finesse. Do you bring this same care to managing the stakeholders in your personal life? Can you imagine how much smoother things would be if you…
Global Monitoring
(Global Monitoring: Springfield, PA) -- Equipment condition monitoring is an essential element of predictive maintenance programs. Rather than randomly maintain equipment whether it needs it or not, predictive maintenance (PdM) implements statistical analysis and real-time equipment monitoring to…
(Viseo: Paris) -- Codendi is a collaborative project management platform based on Web 2.0 architecture and allows one to manage projects, requirements, tasks, tests, and documents.
The platform is entirely configurable and self-adapts to numerous types of projects: software development, human…
Matthew E. May
In 1996, James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones popularized the term “lean thinking.” It was their expression for what they observed studying Toyota’s manufacturing operations: an absence of waste. Today, lean concepts have moved beyond the factory floor to become an organizing set of principles and…
Davis Balestracci
The 24th Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Annual Forum took place on Dec. 9–12, 2012. It is probably the leading health care improvement event in the world. I have presented there for 20 consecutive years and watched it evolve from barely 1,000 attendees to well over 5,000. What’s changed…
Jim Frost
In my last article, “Understanding and Using Discrete Distribution,” we looked at different discrete distributions and how you can use them. This time, I’ll show you how to determine whether your data follow a specific discrete distribution. (Read here to see how to identify the distribution of…
University at Buffalo
Management efforts to reduce cynicism and enhance employee empowerment can have a large effect on employee engagement, according to a study from the University at Buffalo School of Management.
The study, recently published in Organization Science, investigated officer attitudes and organizational…
Mettler-Toledo
(Mettler-Toledo: Columbus, OH) -- Weighing large tanks, vessels, and silos presents safety challenges, and weigh modules can be difficult to install, which takes unnecessary time and adds costs. Mettler-Toledo has introduced a new 100 Ton PinMount weigh module that offers manufacturers an…
Paul Naysmith
This is a true exposé from Santa’s mega-factory at the North Pole. The information, apparently smuggled out in a series of notes rolled into scrolls and tucked deep inside elf shoes, was found floating in the open stretches of water known as the North Pole Passage. You may not be aware that elf…
Matthew E. May
All I want for Christmas is a meaningful measurement. I’m tired of “technical specifications” that have no real-world application. I’m fatigued by acronyms and jargon that I can only imagine have evil engineers and masochistic technical writers in dark rooms giggling with glee (mwah-ha-ha-ha style…
Minitab LLC
If you’re in line for a coffee at the local Starbucks, analysis conducted by graduate students at Rutgers University suggests that the probability of waiting more than five minutes for your tall, hot, three-pump, sugar-free vanilla, one-pump mocha, half-soy, half-nonfat latte with whip is very high…
Davis Balestracci
Previously I discussed three common cause strategies (links below) that help to expose all existing, underlying special causes of variation. They also provide necessary insight into how the current process came to be and allow construction of a baseline for assessing the effects of an intervention…
