All Features
Invistics
(Invistics: Norcross, GA) -- Invistics, a leader in lean manufacturing analytics software solutions for high-mix manufacturers, has added the Lot Sizer module to its on-demand MachSix software suite. The module leverages Invistics’ patented algorithms to automatically calculate optimal production…
ASTM International
(ASTM: West Conshocken, PA) -- A new ASTM International standard will answer industry’s need for determining fatigue properties of open-hole composite laminates.
ASTMD7615/D7615M—“Practice for open-hole fatigue response of polymer matrix composite laminates,” was developed by Subcommittee D30.…
Verify
(Verify: Irvine, CA) -- Verify Inc., a global provider of supplier quality, supply-chain management, and technical support services, has expanded its capability to provide American Welding Society-Certified Welding Inspector (AWS-CWI) support on critical supplier audit initiatives. Utilizing on…
Knowledge at Wharton
In a recent article in The New York Times, Bryan Burrough, an author, former Wall Street Journal reporter, and now a correspondent for Vanity Fair, takes business writers to task for producing books that are of generally low quality. He gives many reasons for this: Some of the books are too…
William A. Levinson
Dr. Gary Brandeland’s article, “The Day Joy Died,” which appeared in the Oct. 20, 2006, edition of Modern Medicine, underscores the primitive nature of quality thinking—and more specifically, safety thinking—in hospitals. Although I’m not going to give formal engineering advice about medical…
Mettler-Toledo
(Mettler-Toledo: Greifensee, Switzerland) -- Determining the size of particles is becoming increasingly important. If the particle distribution changes during the manufacturing process, then the quality of the finished product will also change. A simple and quick means of determining the size…
ARTEL
(Artel: Westbrook, ME) -- At this year’s American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo scheduled for July 24–28 in Atlanta, Georgia, Artel, a global leader in liquid-handling quality assurance, will unveil the Artel Learning Center, featuring webinars…
Bill Kalmar
Sseems the Diet Police are once again running rampant in our nation. It has been said that close to 30 percent of Michigan residents are overweight, and thus there is a movement afoot to curtail our eating habits, not only in that state but also nationally. Believe it or not, there is some…
Wiley
(Wiley: Hoboken, NJ) -- Typically, tasks in management and consulting include project management, running workshops, and strategic work—all complex activities that require a multitude of skills and competencies. This standard work, which is also well accepted amongst consultants, gives you access…
UC Berkeley NewsCenter
(UC Berkeley: Berkeley, CA) -- On Sunday, July 17, the moon acquired two new companions in less than a month. That’s when the second and third of two probes built by the University of California, Berkeley, and part of NASA’s five-satellite Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during…
Honeywell
(Honeywell: Morristown, NJ) -- Honeywell has launched the Voyager 1250g, a single-line laser scanner, for handheld, scan-intensive environments. It has a multi-interface design that provides a “plug and play” experience, and an easy-to-assemble stand for hands-free scanning.
The Voyager 1250g…
Minitab LLC
C
otton. Given that it’s the most widely used fiber in clothing, you’re probably wearing some right now. We love cotton’s comfortable properties and soft feel. But as everyone who’s ironed a cotton shirt or pants knows, these same properties can make cotton-based fabric particularly prone to…
CRC Press
(CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Now in its fourth edition, Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom-Line Results, by Robert J. Latino, Kenneth C. Latino, and Mark A. Latino (CRC Press, 2011), this bestselling resource continues to explore why things don’t work out as…
Davis Balestracci
After reading Joe De Feo’s July 8, 2011, Quality Digest Daily article, “A Positive Prognosis: Transforming Health Care in America,” I took another look at the wonderful book, Escape Fire (Jossey-Bass, 2003), a compendium of Dr. Donald Berwick’s inspiring plenary speeches at the Institute for…
American National Standards Institute ANSI
(ANSI: New York) -- The U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day (WSD) Planning Committee would like to remind interested stakeholders to enter the 2011 WSD Paper Competition. Entries for the competition, sponsored by the Standards Engineering Society (SES), are due on Aug. 12, 2011.
The theme…
TeleTracking Technologies
(TeleTracking Technologies: Pittsburgh) -- Renowned quality expert A. Blanton Godfrey, Ph.D., board chairman of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and one of the creators of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, will be the featured speaker when TeleTracking Technologies…
Mark R. Hamel
Lean is largely about satisfying customer requirements. That’s nearly impossible if the lean practitioner doesn’t understand demand. In fact, misunderstand average daily demand, and the impact can be significant, including inaccurate takt times, improper demand segmentation, poorly sized kanban,…
ISO
(ISO: Geneva) -- In “10 Good Things for SMEs,” a new ISO brochure, managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 10 countries from around the world explain how ISO standards contribute to their success.
The managers, eight of whom are senior executives or owners, are from a…
Paul Naysmith
If W. Edwards Deming could see what you are doing, he’d punch you in the face. OK, not really. He may have been brutally honest in his lectures but I don’t think he ever punched anyone. However, he would have plenty to say about how often one business copies (I believe the term today is “benchmarks…
Cognex Corp.
Since 1975, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that all prescription tablets or capsules have a unique identification in terms of size, shape, color, and imprint. Drug makers use the imprints both to identify the chemical substance and dosage and for promotional purposes.…
Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc.
(Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc.: Wakefield, RI) -- With U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse providing a video address on manufacturing’s key role in boosting the U.S. economy, the 2011 International Forum on Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) held June 13–15 in Warwick, Rhode Island, quickly…
ASQ
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- The American Society for Quality (ASQ), the leading community of people passionate about quality, advances in professional development, credentials, knowledge and information services, membership community, and advocacy on behalf of its more than 80,000 members worldwide.…
Wiley
(Wiley: Hoboken, NJ) -- The role of the project manager continues to become more diverse and demanding, placing strong project management skills in high demand. The in-depth introductory guide, Project Management Jump Start 3rd Edition, by Kim Heldman (Wiley, 2011), offers aspiring project managers…
Active Sensing Inc.
(Active Sensing: Castle Rock, CO) -- Active Sensing Inc. (ASI), provider of affordable product management solutions for manufacturing companies worldwide, has released PDXpert product life-cycle management (PLM) software v. 6.6, which offers enhanced capabilities for importing, updating, and…
MIT News
Conventional wisdom among managers holds that employees helping each other can only be good for a company. Accordingly, firms spend money, time, and effort to promote what’s known as “knowledge transfer.” Policies range from the popular (e.g., lavish company retreats) to the maligned (switching…
