Measurement error is ubiquitous. As a result, over the past 250 years, different areas of science and engineering have come up with many different ways to deal with the problem. One approach to the problem of measurement error was developed during the 1960s within General Motors. Throughout the…

(J.D. Power and Associates: Westlake Village, CA) -- New-vehicle owners are increasingly citing fun-to-drive vehicles as a top reason to remain loyal to their brand, while shifting away from expected resale value as a loyalty reason, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates…

(J.D. Power and Associates: Westlake Village, CA) -- New-vehicle owners are increasingly citing fun-to-drive vehicles as a top reason to remain loyal to their brand, while shifting away from expected resale value as a loyalty reason, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates…

Back in 1959, crooner Perry Como greeted us with the holiday song, "There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays." It became a highly anticipated tradition over the years to hear him sing these words: “Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays, ‘Cause no matter how far away you roam, If…

Let’s face it: The business world is changing. Rapidly. While the object of the game is still to drive revenue, the methods have changed. Instead of a monolithic one-way interaction, business is now being conducted through constant and meaningful two-way conversations between organizations and…

The office of the future might not be an office at all. As virtual teams become more prevalent, we edge ever closer to a culture where “work” means logging in to your company’s online project management site from your home, or collaborating with people who work for different teams or functions at…

Most of us set new resolutions every New Year. Whether it is losing weight, exercising more (always the top resolutions), or finishing a degree, we all recognize that a new year and the chance of a fresh start is a powerful combination to motivate us to achieve those goals. So why not apply the…

Gratitude is something that is as great to give as it is to receive. There are many ways in which you can show your appreciation to your customers. Likewise there are many ways our customers do the same. These tips will help you focus on ways to restore the faith of customers who may have become…

We don’t often pause to consider electroplating, but the fact is, today’s world would be impossible without it. Cadmium, zinc, gold, silver, platinum, titanium, and chrome are some of the metals often used in the process. Despite its ubiquitous role in manufacturing, the process and technology for…

We are almost there… the close of another year. There are two ways to end the year. One way is to write off the rest of December because the year is just about shot, and then just start fresh in January. Another way is to focus on what is most important for you to accomplish in December so you hit…

Beginning Dec. 8 with “This Year in Quality, Part One,” and continuing Dec. 14 with part two, the editors of Quality Digest Daily took a look at its stories and news articles throughout 2010 and collected what we thought were the most remarkable in the world of quality. From precision measurement…

It’s that special season again: the season of crowded stores, whiny kids, irritable customers, and stressed-out employees. If you’re a business owner—in any industry but especially in retail—the holidays are a precarious time. When fuses are short and wallets are shrinking, customers expect great…

Christmas morning is an exciting time for millions of boys and girls who have been good all year. Heaped under a beautifully decorated tree will be an assortment of gifts—some electronic gizmos, a doll or two, some sports equipment, and maybe some clothes. Years ago when we were growing up, there…

For most of us, food safety is a topic that, at best, only lurks at the edges of our brains. It rarely becomes something we really think about until we open up our refrigerator and try to figure out what’s growing in the back corner of the bottom shelf, or until we hear stories about people being…

People often ask me how best to prepare for a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection when you know that you have problems. My first response is that they have already taken the first step: acknowledging that there are problems. Believe me; that is a huge first step. Just like Alcoholics…

A couple years ago, I was consulting in a large rolling mill to help reduce late deliveries to its customers. After walking the floor for the first time with an enthusiastic 20-something engineer (let’s call him Mark), I asked for help with observation at a particular point in the factory where…

There are times when we make decisions at work that are more personal in nature. To us, they may seem harmless because they are not intended to interfere with our day-to-day activities on the job. Although sometimes done with the best of intentions, these decisions can also hamper our efforts to…

B eginning last week with “This Year in Quality, Part One,” the editors of Quality Digest Daily took a look at its stories and news articles throughout 2010 and collected what we thought were the most remarkable in the world of quality. From precision measurement to 3-D scanning, from Six Sigma…

The other day on the radio I heard these lyrics from the song, “If You Only Knew,” by Shinedown, “It’s 4:03 and I can’t sleep… I toss and turn like the sea.” I thought, “Yeah, why is it always 4 a.m. that I wake up when I’m worried about something?” The singer of this top 10 pop rock song was…

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, which for decades has enjoyed a trusted reputation for soothing babies and overcoming head colds, is currently facing criminal investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit closed a…

Yes, it happened again. According to a recent Associated Press story, drinking glasses produced in China, featuring comic and superhero characters, have been discovered to contain extremely high levels of lead. Excessive amounts of cadmium were revealed in the glasses as well. This has been a…

Digital pen technology is an efficient data management solution that offers better operational visibility, enabling manufacturers to react quickly to the production process and respond to issues via immediate data access. Hyla Soft’s FactoryScribe is a lightweight web application built around…

(Nikon Metrology: Brighton, MI) -- Process Sciences Inc. (PSI), a process engineering resource center, runs X-ray inspections to trace connectivity issues in electronic circuitry that otherwise remain hidden to the eye. Using intuitive, real-time X-ray imaging, PSI collaborates with original…

For Starbucks, the world’s leading retailer, roaster, and brand of speciality coffee, 2008 was a tough year. Amid a struggling economy and increased competition from cheaper rivals, the company’s net income during the first three months of the year fell 28 percent compared to the same period in…

If you’re like most people, you probably plan out a good portion of your day-to-day activities. Even in our off time, we generally make plans to go on vacation, to the movies, and out to dinner; it’s not often that we simply “wing it.” So why would you do so at work? Like the late actor Dennis…