Mike Micklewright
It’s pretty obvious that in so many companies, based on their actions and behaviors, CEOs and other top managers just don’t get ISO 9001 and all the derivative standards. The following 10 signs...
Miriam Boudreaux
The ISO 9001 standard’s requirements with regard to suppliers are very short and concise but carry a lot of punch. These requirements can be very deceiving and in fact are often misinterpreted and...
Makino
Many U.S. manufacturers have struggled to grow in the face of global competition and economic uncertainty. These factors have challenged the industry, put pressure on prices, and forced many...
William R. Pape and Richard Ross
Resistance to the National Animal Identification Scheme (NAIS) has been strong. This six-year-old USDA policy initiative to reduce the catastrophic effects to the livestock and meat industry from...
Davis Balestracci
Remember my previous article on the quality pyramid where the very top element emphasizes the concept of “process?” One of the most powerful points to get across in any quality improvement effort is...
Chris Hardee
As moviegoers, we have all seen a wide range of animation—from early Disney features, such as “Snow White,” to Japanese anime, and Pixar’s “Toy Story,” to an assortment of recent blockbusters that...
Donald J. Wheeler
Following my article on Leptokurtophobics (Do You Have Leptokurtophobia?) it was almost inevitable that we should hear from one. We were fortunate to have someone as articulate as Forrest Breyfogle...
Fluke Corp.
I
n process manufacturing, temperature uniformity is essential. Technicians rely on monitoring of all kinds, from fixed mount sensors to hand-held thermal imagers to track the condition of product...
Lonnie Wilson
Five things to lean my company? In two days? That's pretty quick. Why so quickly?
I can think of two reasons. First, people expect things to be done better and faster each day; and it appears...
FARO
Rocky Mountain Hydro Electric Plant is a pumped storage facility located in the Appalachian mountains of Northwest Georgia, approximately 62 miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The facility is co-...
Mark Graban
A couple of Sundays ago, I read this New York Times article about Apple's "App Store" for the iPhone and iPod Touch (I've been a pretty happy iPhone user for the past three months after...
H. James Harrington
In Miguel de Cervantes' The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, Don Quixote dreams of being a brave knight who rides a great steed to fight for what is right. That dream turned into a vision...
Neil McLeod
If ever there was an industry in which time compression is the name of the game, it’s Formula 1 Grand Prix motor racing.
Scuderia Toro Rosso, owned by the Red Bull Co., is among the Formula 1...
Bill Kalmar
The band “Chicago” sang those words about "time" decades ago. The second line “Does anybody really care?” seems to sum up what is still in vogue today, especially in the workplace. Just as...
Developing and refining the advanced processes for its manufacturing and assembly operation is no small task for Irvine, California-based Coast Composites Inc. The company makes large, precise...
Thomas J. Duesterberg Ph.D.
In the worst economic climate since the 1930s, and at a time of intensified political change, manufacturers are experiencing difficulties in articulating a clear and strong message about the health...
Michelle Paret
Story update 8/27/2009: An error was spotted and corrected by author in paragraph starting with "The population mean for a six-sided die..."
Mark Twain famously quipped that there were three ways to...
Minitab LLC
Story update 8/27/2009: An error was spotted and corrected by author in paragraph starting with "The population mean for a six-sided die..."
Mark Twain famously quipped that there were three ways...
Denise Robitaille
The final draft of the revised ISO 9004 standard is out for ballot. This means that it will hopefully be available before the end of this year. It’s radically different from the last version. For...
Miriam Boudreaux
Even after many years of hearing the words ISO 9000 and seeing many organizations achieve registration to ISO 9001, there are still companies who are skeptical when it comes to going for ISO 9001...
