All Features
Stewart Anderson
Is the theory of constraints compatible with lean thinking and can the two approaches be used together? This article looks at some of the similarities and differences between the two approaches and suggests how they might be coupled to advantage.
The book, Lean Lexicon: A Graphical Glossary for…
(Creaform: Lévis, QC) -- Creaform, developer and manufacturer of the Handyscan 3D line up of hand-held, self-positioning, and portable laser scanners, is proud to present the UNIscan, the latest and most affordable addition to this family of revolutionary 3-D scanners.
The UNIscan offers the…
CSCMP
(CSCMP: Lombard, IL) -- The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) will present two Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management workshops this year. The two-day events are designed to help professionals explore the positive effect that a well-run supply chain can have on all aspects…
David C. Crosby
Z
ero defects (ZD) is probably the simplest, most effective quality management concept ever conceived. Zero defects always works and it can’t fail—only the leader can fail. Once a leader accepts ZD as his or her personal performance standard, error will no longer be tolerated and defects will…
Forrest Breyfogle—New Paradigms
Not surprisingly, there was controversy over Forrest Breyfogle's article, "Non-normal Data: To Transform or Not to Transform," written in response to Donald Wheeler’s article "Do You Have Leptokurtophobia?" Wheeler continued the debate with "Transforming the Data Can Be Fatal to Your Analysis."…
Laurel Thoennes @ QD
Simply put, customer relationship management (CRM) is the creating and maintaining of a mutually beneficial, transparent relationship between an organization and its customers—an added-value endeavor that enables the organization to learn and provide exactly what the customer wants.
The means…
Paul Scicchitano
Last week a big story was leaked to me.
I learned that the Obama Administration had been circulating a draft replacement to Executive Order 13423 that would require all U.S. government agencies in the massive federal bureaucracy to commit to a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions throughout…
MoreSteam.com
(MoreSteam.com: Columbus, OH) — MoreSteam.com, a global provider of online lean Six Sigma training and support technologies, announces the creation of the Honda Lean Network portal. Recognizing the need for a single online source of lean information for its group of 50+ member organizations, the…
Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association
(AASA: Research Triangle Park, NC) -- The Marketing Executives Council (MEC) of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) has just released “Independent Aftermarket Image: Quality Does Matter,” the second in its series of reports outlining the danger that low-quality, low-cost…
Gartner
(Gartner Inc.: Stamford, CT) -- The automotive industry is experiencing substantial change in response to the global recession, and there are four key focus areas that will have a lasting effect on the industry and force companies to establish new long-term value propositions, according to Gartner…
AICON 3D Systems
(AICON 3D Systems: Braunschweig, Germany) -- Not only do portable coordinate measuring machines (PCMM) outplay their stationary colleagues when it comes to flexibility, they also impress with their attractive price. AICON now has a special offer for companies with simple measurement tasks: the low…
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
(Hexagon Metrology, North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology Inc. has announced the immediate availability of the new Leitz PMM-G series of gantry coordinate measurement machines (CMM) at Gear Expo 2009 being held this week in Indianapolis, Indiana. With improved specifications and additional…
Bill Kalmar
Quality professionals pride themselves in being efficient and are always searching for ways to improve their approach to improving processes. One of the methods for doing so is to have modern, up to date communication systems. Most people in the profession probably have the customary Blackberry…
Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium DMSC
(Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium: Arlington, TX) -- By special request, another DMIS and I++DME Training Workshop has been scheduled for the week of Oct. 5–8. Reservations may be made now. This may be the last workshop until spring of next year. All registration fees must be paid before…
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions
(Carl Zeiss: Maple Grove, MN) -- Carl Zeiss IMT will be introducing the next generation of TiMS software, the ACCTeePro integrated software for surface finish, form, and geometry, at the 2009 Quality Expo held in Chicago on Sept. 22 –24. ACCTeePro, a product of Accretech, was developed with the…
Iowa State University
(ISU: Ames, IA) -- It’s not easy to make machines that convert wind to electricity. Just consider the turbine blades that spin in the wind: a single blade can be 40 to 50 meters long and 10,000 to 15,000 pounds. It has to be built within millimeters of specifications. It has to be built to…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
“Writing is not a job; it’s a hobby!” thundered my father when I told him my plans for college. “You need to get a profession: Medicine, law, engineering, or accounting.”
I cheerlessly acquiesced and enrolled in a pre-med program, but at the end of my first year, after struggling through…
BSI
(BSI: Reston, VA) -- BSI, a provider of regulatory and quality management reviews and product certification for medical devices, recently launched the CE-Dedicated FastTrack. This new CE marking program is designed to help medical device manufacturers get their products quickly and safely to…
WENZEL Group
(Xspect Solutions Inc.: Wixcom, MI) -- Wenzel Geartec will be introducing a unique new hybrid gear measuring machine at the Gear Expo (www.gearexpo.com/About-Gear-Expo.html) in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sept. 15–18, 2009.
“Wenzel has developed this machine to specifically meet the demand of the…
WCBF
(WCBF: Chicago) -- WCBF offers an exclusive invitation to join a complimentary Lean Six Sigma Webinar on Sept. 17 at 10 a.m., EDT, presented by Norman Bodek and Lee Campbell. The event comes to you from the forthcoming 4th Annual Global Lean, Six Sigma, and Business Improvement Summit, Oct. 13–16…
Veeco Instruments Inc.
(Veeco: Plainview, NY) -- Veeco Instruments Inc. announces its Optium ADS-800 Series Advanced Dicing System, delivering high-productivity dicing solutions for a broad range of demanding applications, including high-brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LED), solar cells, optics, and…
Chip Bell
Ray Bell was a math teacher, turned credit manager of a farm equipment company in my rural southern Georgia hometown. He was also my dad. I knew he kept a very detailed ledger book that had information on every customer he gave a loan. He could tell you how often a farmer came into the tractor…
Mark Gabriel
An 82-year-old, family-owned Wilkes County furniture manufacturer with 152 employees is getting financial aid to sharpen its competitive edge.
The North Carolina Division of Workforce Development approved Key City Furniture’s application for a $25,000 federal grant to fund lean manufacturing…
Paul Gay
Wireless communications have well and truly arrived in the industrial arena and considerable effort is now being put into integration and the writing of standards. In this article, the author considers the many benefits and a few drawbacks of this cost effective technology.
Wireless…
Keyence Corp.
(KEYENCE Corp.: Woodcliff Lake, NJ) -- The new KEYENCE VHX-600 Generation II Digital Microscope now features the world’s first 16-bit imaging resolution. This resolution increase makes subtle color differences visible, and optimizes areas that were previously too dark or bright. The brightness…
