All Features
William A. Levinson
I recently needed to have a hot water expansion tank installed in my house. The first plumber who came to mind is widely advertised on local radio. The company’s online reviews suggest that they do good work, but one added that they are expensive—and it’s probably because they have radio ads…
Bruce Hamilton
I took a walk-jog this morning, something I’ve been doing pretty regularly since early June. Some days are better than others, and today started out sluggish. But as I turned the corner of my street, my neighbor drove by, rolled down his window, and gave me a friendly wave.
Almost like getting a…
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Ateam of scientists across several U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has unraveled how light and a previously unknown form of certain nickel-based catalysts together unlock and preserve reactivity. This research, described in the journal Nature Communications, could potentially…
Nimax
Pharmaceutical serialization practices are on the rise and have progressively become a worldwide standard as a result of stringent regulations in various of markets, including the United States, European Union, China, and Argentina. Recent estimations found that by 2022 serialization practices had…
Ariana Tantillo
A new security screener that people can simply walk past may soon be coming to an airport near you. Last year, U.S. airports nationwide began adopting HEXWAVE, a commercialized system based on microwave imaging technology developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. HEXWAVE addresses a new Transportation…
Donald J. Wheeler
The engineer came into the statistician’s office and asked, “How can I compare a couple of averages? I have 50 values from each machine and want to compare the machines.”
The statistician answered, “That’s easy. We can use a two-sample t-test.”
“How would that work?” asked the engineer.
“We…
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and JuggerBot 3D, an industrial 3D-printer equipment manufacturer, have launched their second research and development collaboration through the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) Technical Collaboration Program.
The two…
Robyn Coward
In life sciences, every decision carries weight—and speed to market is an ever-present consideration. Scientific innovation is moving faster than ever, yet regulatory demands are growing more complex, and supply chain fragility has become the new normal. Within this volatile landscape, the role of…
Alexander Shipps
When ChatGPT or Gemini gives you what seems to be an expert response to your burning questions, you may not realize how much information they rely on to give that reply. Like other popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, these chatbots rely on backbone systems called foundation…
Etienne Nichols
Good supplier management is one of the most important methods of building a safe and effective medical device. A single device may be made up of dozens of parts and components coming from several different suppliers, and many medical device companies outsource the manufacturing of their device to a…
Automated Precision Inc.
CNC machine tool calibration is essential for machining precision and process reliability. Even a well-built CNC machine will gradually drift out of alignment due to everyday wear and environmental factors, leading to deviations in accuracy.
Without regular calibration, these small errors can…
Akhilesh Gulati
Complacency won’t show up on a control chart. But its damage is real. Can AI and systems thinking help us detect it and respond before trust is lost?
As customer expectations evolve, one question remains: Are customers still at the core of your company’s operations?
Back in 1999, a simple but…
Mike Figliuolo
This article is dedicated to all the paranoid businesspeople out there who are terrified of their competitors. You know, the people who run businesses centered around “consulting” who view any other “consulting” firm as a competitor. You can insert whatever industry you like in the quotes, and this…
Adam Zewe
Inspired by the Harry Potter stories and the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place, 7-year-old Sabrina Corsetti emphatically declared to her parents one afternoon that she was, in fact, a wizard.
“My dad turned to me and said that if I really wanted to be a wizard, then I should become a…
Alexander Gelfand
A lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business for more than two decades, Robert Siegel says, “I’ve taught almost 20% of the people who graduated from the GSB.” He has also served as an executive at Intel and General Electric, founded and led startups, and worked as a consultant and venture…
George Schuetz
There are endless variations in the dials used on mechanical dial indicators. In most cases, though, they can be broken down into two distinct styles: balanced and continuous. Let’s look at both.
With a balanced dial, the graduations around the dial represent the smallest value, or resolution, as…
Sabine Terrasi
The precise recording of passenger numbers is essential for transport companies—it helps optimize timetables, make better use of capacities, and organize local public transport more efficiently.
A modern solution for this is camera-based passenger-counting. Intelligent image processing systems…
Anouschka Jansen
Global supply chains are going through steady disruption and reevaluation—some of it planned, much of it reactive. While political tensions and trade disputes often grab headlines, other important factors are reshaping how companies manage their suppliers.
Rising tariffs, challenges in sourcing…
ISO
The digital revolution has transformed healthcare along with virtually every other industry. From telemedicine to digital health data, providers now have access to innovative solutions that have the potential to make healthcare more accessible and effective for all.
In some instances, this is done…
Mike Figliuolo
During the 14 years I’ve run my firm, I’ve heard a polite “No, thank you” more times than I can count. That’s fine. Rejection, especially when it’s quick, enables me and my team to spend our time on more fruitful conversations.
It’s the silence that kills me. I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve…
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Did you know that shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages (STOs) can consume up to 50% of a plant’s annual maintenance budget? That’s according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.
STOs are among the most complex and high-stakes events in industrial operations. They’re costly, especially when…
Zach Winn
Companies building next-generation products are often limited by the physical constraints of traditional materials. In aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial tooling, pushing those constraints introduces possible failure points into the system. Unfortunately, companies don’t have better options…
Patrick Willemson
The European Union has taken a leading role in shaping a variety of data and AI regulations. One of its most recent initiatives, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), extends this regulatory momentum into the manufacturing sector. Under this new regulation, manufacturers and…
George Thuo
These are new times for manufacturers. Global pandemics. Worldwide supply-chain disruptions. Steep price increases for parts and materials. Increasingly competitive global markets.
Manufacturers are can-do people, but doing becomes harder in today’s “do more with less” manufacturing environment.…
Bryan Christiansen
Facility teams are constantly balancing urgent repairs, preventive tasks, asset tracking, and compliance, all while ensuring smooth day-to-day operations. But when processes are manual, fragmented, or unclear, even simple tasks can spiral into delays, miscommunication, and wasted time.
The…