All Features
Audrey Kim
Emails that drone on and on. Meetings that could have been Slack messages. Memos loaded with empty jargon. We’re all familiar with friction, or what Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao describe as “forces that make it harder, slower, more complicated, or downright impossible to get things done.”
In…
Peter Manin
Global trends and data-driven development in different industries dictate the need for permanent change and finding ways to be more effective for stakeholders and project participants. This is reflected in many types of business through new technologies, new collaboration processes, new org charts…
Donald J. Wheeler
Over the past two months we’ve considered the properties of lognormal and gamma probability models. Both of these families contain the normal distribution as a limit. To complete our survey of widely used probability models, this column will look at Weibull distributions, a family that doesn’t…
Shiela Mie Legaspi
As remote workers, we have more freedom than ever before. This means we must learn how to make personal accountability in virtual teams work for us. We must understand what drives our success, and use that knowledge to drive our own growth. Simple self-accountability techniques can empower you with…
Gleb Tsipursky
Have you seen the headlines about the new study in Nature that “conclusively proves” remote work harms innovation and creativity? That study matches previous anecdotes by leaders like Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest, when she claimed remote work made her employees more productive but less…
Jamie Fernandes-ETQ
Generative AI took the world by storm in 2023, from the classroom to the film studio, and the writer’s bench to the White House. Enterprises and creative industries worked to figure out how to leverage it in their operations, while classrooms and government entities struggled to govern its use.
In…
James Chan
In manufacturing industries, calculating overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) offers deep insights into the performance of production processes and enables data-driven improvements.
Determining OEE is a standard method for assessing the productivity of production lines compared to their…
Mark Rosenthal
Continuing on the theme of value stream mapping (and process mapping in general) from my article “Where is your value stream map?”, I outlined the typical scenario: The map is built by the continuous improvement team, and they are the ones primarily engaged in the conversations about how to close…
Erin Vogen
Utility companies play an essential role in our communities, supporting our well-being and quality of life. But providing always-on services that rely heavily on machinery, technology, and other assets can pose a challenge. In the dynamic and demanding world of utilities, mastering the art of asset…
Phanish Puranam, Asher Lawson, Miguel Sousa Lobo
Just two months after its launch in late 2022, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users. Along with other advanced language models, it quickly began encroaching on territory traditionally exempt from automation, such as tasks requiring creativity, intuition, and decision-making.
So, what…
Jones Loflin
By now you will have already broken one or more of your resolutions for the new year. You didn’t mean to; it was just so hard to keep that major commitment. While I do believe in setting worthwhile and measurable goals for a new year, I prefer identifying small changes I can sustain throughout the…
Scott A. Hindle, Douglas C. Fair
So far in this series our focus has remained on statistical process control (SPC) in manufacturing. We’ve alternated between more traditional uses of SPC that remain relevant in this digital era and discussing uses of SPC and its related techniques that are enabled by the marvels of modern…
James Chan
The term lean maintenance describes a methodology that focuses on eliminating waste and continually identifying opportunities for improvement. Over time, a lean approach to maintenance extends the useful life of assets, maximizes profitability, improves resource allocation, and enables more…
Alonso Diaz, Maria DiBari
Quality consistently ranks among organizations’ foremost competitive priorities; it’s a prerequisite for success in the global marketplace. Firms that want a competitive edge do it by delivering products that meet customer needs and function as intended.
Despite the long-standing emphasis on the…
Mike Figliuolo
By eliminating low-value work from your life, you can focus on more important things. Get rid of difficult customers and focus on driving your business instead.
To get your new year started right, I’d like to share with you what I’ve been taught by homemade bread, lawn mowers, and cheap customers…
Adam Grant
Nano Tools for Leaders—a collaboration between Wharton Executive Education and Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management—are fast, effective tools that you can learn and start using in less than 15 minutes, with the potential to significantly affect your success and the engagement and…
Harry Hertz
Let me introduce the five “Al” siblings: informational, aspirational, foundational, directional, and decisional. Also, meet their young cousin, survival.
In my years of learning about organizations and teaching graduate students about strategy and organizational analysis, I have seen several key…
Donald J. Wheeler
When do we need to fit a lognormal distribution to our skewed histograms? This article considers the basic properties of the lognormal family of distributions and reveals some interesting and time-saving characteristics that are useful when analyzing data.
The lognormal family of distributions…
Greg MacDonald
As we launch into Industry 4.0, the need for advanced automation and high-performance connectivity solutions intensifies, requiring protocols like Industrial Ethernet for maximum efficiency and productivity. Products like ix Industrial and Single Pair Ethernet are ideal new interconnects, offering…
Scott A. Hindle, Douglas C. Fair
You are assigned a new task to demonstrate that an existing process will have the capability to meet newer and tighter specifications. The change in specifications for critical-to-quality characteristic P is due to new regulatory requirements; hence, the specifications must be met. The task is…
Douglas C. Fair, Scott A. Hindle
Just a few decades ago, today’s personal technology was a science fiction pipe dream. Powerful computers (smart phones) that fit in our pockets; global positioning satellites for our traveling convenience; and homes where lights, security systems, and locks can be controlled remotely. It’s all just…
Jeff Roscher
In the ever-evolving landscape of manufacturing, operational efficiency is paramount. The seamless functioning of machinery not only ensures optimal production but also minimizes downtime and associated costs. However, for a certain manufacturing company that had been operating in a reactive…
James Barai
Environmental consciousness is a priority for both consumers and businesses, now more than ever. Sustainable business practices continue to gain popularity across various industries, including the nutrition and food industry. In this realm, scientific laboratories are a resource-intensive space as…
Erin Vogen
One large concern when maintaining a business’ facilities and assets is cost. Managing the costs of repairs, new parts, and personnel can present a challenge.
Although maintenance can be costly, it’s important to see it as an investment that prolongs equipment life span, enhances productivity, and…
Scott A. Hindle, Douglas C. Fair
Parts 1, 2, and 3 of our series on statistical process control (SPC) have shown how data can be thoughtfully used to enable learning and improvement—and consequently, better product quality and lower production costs. Another area of SPC to tap into is that of measurement methods. How do we ensure…