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In 2012, CMP Advanced Mechanical Solutions, a leader in the design and manufacture of sheet metal enclosures, mechanical assemblies, and machined systems, burst onto the Industry 4.0 scene with its avant-garde use of the visual work instruction software VKS. This software allowed the company to…
One of the highlights on our calendar each year is the first Friday in October, which is Manufacturing Day here in the United States. This event offers us the perfect opportunity to celebrate the centrality of manufacturing as a driver of the economy, innovation, automation, education, and lots…
Propelled by 30 years of audit experience, Craig Cochran channels his vast knowledge to author quality publications and teach others the fundamentals of auditing excellence. In his current role as project manager with Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Georgia Tech, Cochran spends his…
Data science and machine learning have surged in prominence during the past few years, and digital transformation seems to be on everyone’s agenda. Have you ever wondered why? Even though quality engineering has long been a data-driven pursuit, we now have the potential to get even deeper insights…
Karen is skinny. For almost 15 years, one of my personal goals was to join her in running three times a week. That never happened because I was skinny, too. I was able to eat as much as I wanted without gaining weight. And then, I turned 50. My clothes were not loose on me anymore, and guessing my…
How do we get it done? What’s our next move? Now that we know what we want and why we’re here, where do we begin? You’ve likely heard variations of these questions in your organization—particularly if you’re at any level of planning how to achieve favorable outcomes.
It’s one thing to know why you…
In my previous article, I discussed the merits and cautions of the “acceptance number” equal zero (c=0) sampling plans contained within AS9138. A simple formula was provided to determine appropriate sample size, and it was illustrated that twice the inspection does not provide twice the consumer…
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST*) is a nonregulatory federal agency of the Department of Commerce and is the national metrology institute of the United States. NIST’s role in the development of voluntary consensus standards (VCS) is rooted in many policy decisions and…
During the past five to 10 years, the United States has seen more industry and academic institutions embrace apprenticeship programs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2013 to 2017, the number of those participating in apprenticeship programs grew from 375,000 to almost 534,000, an…
The Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) continues its support and coverage of advancements in the precision dimensional metrology industry, as it has done for more than three decades. One of our key strengths has been the professional women in our membership ranks. They have been and continue to be…
The Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) has launched a new digital library of original technical papers delivered by metrology experts over the past 12 years at its annual conference—the Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC). The library is an online archival of more than 100 technical…
The PrecisionPath Consortium (PPC) for Large-Scale Manufacturing has completed and released their Technology Road Map for Large-Scale Manufacturing. The consortium is a collaboration of commercial-industry partners, the Coordinate Metrology Society, and the UNC Charlotte working to determine and…
Omnex began working in the automotive industry by assisting Ford powertrain suppliers in 1986. The U.S. automotive industry’s Big Three used GM’s Targets for Excellence, Ford’s Q 101, and Chrysler’s SQA standards to qualify its supply bases. The automotive industry was making deep reductions in its…
LNS Research published its research, “Driving Operational Performance With Digital Innovation: Connecting Risk, Quality, and Safety for Superior Results” to address fundamental challenges quality and safety leaders face today.
If quality and safety are separate functions in your organization (…
I am a quality manager by profession. Thus, I think about quality a lot. How would one define “quality?” A simple view of quality is “conformance to requirements.” This simplistic view of quality lacks the complexity that it should have. It assumes that everything is static, the customer will…
Aerospace standard AS9138—“Quality management systems statistical product acceptance requirements” was issued this year (2018), a few years after its accompanying guidance materials in section 3.7 of the International Aerospace Quality Group’s (IAQG) Supply Chain Management Handbook. The new…
In this all-manufacturing episode, we look at the STEM pipeline into manufacturing, supplier development, how to make sense of manufacturing data and, no, manufacturing is not dead.
“Strengthening the STEM Workforce Pipeline Through Outreach”
NIST does more than just research and come up with…
Parts One and Two of this series illustrated four problems with using a model-building approach when data snooping. This column will present an alternative approach for data snooping that is of proven utility. This approach is completely empirical and works with all types of data.
The model-…
The fourth industrial revolution is upon us. Collecting real-time production data is becoming more common as enterprise-wide software develops into a tool that enables transformative gains in productivity. Although not common, there are “lights-out” factories, such as the fully automated FANUC…
Is innovation critical for your business survival and success? Are you dissatisfied with your ability to bring new products and services to market? Surveys show that most business leaders would answer both questions with a yes.
If you want to make your organization more agile and innovative, where…
During the early 1990s, I was president of the Twin Cities Deming Forum. I had a wonderful board whose members were full of great ideas. One member, Doug Augustine, was a 71-year-old retired Lutheran minister and our respected, self-appointed provocateur. He never missed an opportunity to…
Historically, quality in a process was something that was done at the end of the line. You inspected your widget once it was made, and if it had flaws, you fixed it or threw it out.
As in many modern manufacturing environments, quality in software has become a process you do from start to finish.…
I recently sat down with Doug Fair, the chief operating officer of InfinityQS, for a discussion about the uses (and sometimes, the misuses) of industrial statistical analysis. Ours was a lengthy conversation, so we’re splitting the account into two parts. In this installment, we cover data gluttony…
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career outreach programs play a pivotal role in shaping the capabilities and makeup of the future workforce. Generally speaking, “STEM outreach” involves organizing events, both in and out of school, where we can encourage and inspire young people to…
Team leaders often focus on product details. Founders obsess over fonts. Sales managers fixate on tough-to-wrangle customers and shop owners on the minutia of shelf displays. Yet, all too often, virtually no attention is given to the fundamental driver of business success: team dynamics.
Behind…