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Capability maturity model integration (CMMI) is a process improvement framework required by many U.S. government contracts. If you’ve been through a CMMI appraisal in aerospace or federal contracting, you know there’s a typical pattern. Things look great on paper. Then the appraisal date gets…
This article is inspired by the ideas of cybernetics, Martin Heidegger, and Nassim Taleb. I’m looking at what I think is the largest danger of large language models (LLMs).
LLMs are extraordinarily proficient in the domain of language, and that proficiency has quietly created a philosophical…
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 6.1 requires attention to actions to address risks and opportunities. There really is little practical difference between the two, as failure to exploit an opportunity constitutes a risk.
To put this in perspective, recall that poor quality is only the tip of the iceberg when…
Let’s be honest. Conformity assessment has become dangerously comfortable. It’s familiar, structured, and predictable. It gives organizations a reassuring feeling of control because it produces clean documentation, tidy checklists, and audit reports that look professional. It also creates an…
Integrating environmental, health, and safety (EHS) with quality management is no longer optional for manufacturers; it’s essential for achieving operational excellence, ensuring ISO compliance, and driving sustainable growth. Traditionally, EHS management and quality management systems (QMS)…
Most data in business and industry belong to the category known as observational data. These data are the voice of your processes because they are the result of ordinary operations rather than an experiment.
Because the purpose of analysis is insight, the question is how to analyze observational…
Organizations worldwide are navigating the transformative potential of generative AI (gen AI). But the key to unlocking its true value lies in human-centered implementation.
One of the most effective approaches to ensure success is to invite employees to participate in gen AI pilot programs. These…
In the world of quality and lean, waste is the enemy. We hunt for it in cycle times, inventory buffers, and defects. But occasionally we encounter a form of waste so massive and literal that we fail to see it as a resource.
A recent redevelopment project at Denver’s National Western Center (NWC)…
In an emergency, knowing exactly where a first responder is can mean the difference between life and death. When a firefighter in a burning building fails to check in, how does the commander know where to look for them?
Public safety agencies face daily challenges in finding first responders…
Many warehouses consider peak season (November and December) as a finish line. Once peak season is over, demand stabilizes, pressure eases, and management immediately shifts its focus to the next planning cycle.
However, the period after peak season isn’t the epilogue but rather a transition that…
We often imagine the lives of our paleolithic ancestors as an unrelenting struggle. But the very existence of cave art suggests that at least some of them could focus on making meaning beyond necessity. So what drove them? Was it sacred ritual, primitive science, or early performance art? It might…
Maintaining a skilled team from the bottom up is essential. But as skilled workers retire and take their knowledge with them, we rely more on a clear understanding of how digital and AI tools may be reshaping our approach to manufacturing quality, supply chains, and building a team. To provide some…
Maintaining a skilled team from the bottom up is essential. But as skilled workers retire and take their knowledge with them, we rely more on a clear understanding of how digital and AI tools may be reshaping our approach to manufacturing quality, supply chains, and building a team. To provide some…
Walk the aisles of any liquor store in the U.S., and brands named after people call for your notice—Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, Captain Morgan, and Jim Beam. Perhaps the most revered name among them is Jack Daniel. Established in 1875, Jack Daniel’s Whiskey comes from the oldest distillery in the…
Creating a superhuman artificial intelligence could lead to two worst-case scenarios, says Charles Jones, a professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business. In the first, the power to kill everyone—in, say, the form of an AI-engineered supervirus—could fall into the wrong hands. In…
Data are the backbone of our digital world. From healthcare to finance, and from government agencies to private businesses, organizations everywhere rely on vast amounts of data to function effectively.
It’s not just businesses that generate data. We all leave digital trails through our…
Thickness is one of the most frequently measured dimensions, and one that’s very easy to understand. So, you might think that someone would come up with a one-style-fits-all measurement approach that’s good for just about every kind of thickness application. But it just isn’t so.
There are many…
The Pantone Color of the Year 2026, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, is described as an airy, billowy white that opens space for creativity, quiet reflection, and calm. A white that is both warm and cool, its serene presence symbolizes the need for clarity in a noisy world.
As soon as the choice was…
In the medical field, 3D technology is fast becoming indispensable. Whether used for educating patients ahead of surgeries or teaching students how to do these operations, anatomy models, both 3D printed and digital, offer an ideal solution for visualization ahead of time.
One of the main…
When you go to a medical appointment, does the doctor look at you while you talk? Or are they busy typing everything you say into a computer? If it’s the latter, you may find that will change soon, thanks to artificial intelligence.
Some doctors’ offices are using AI services to transcribe your…
Generative artificial intelligence models have left such an indelible imprint on digital content creation that it’s getting harder to recall what the internet was like before it. You can call on these AI tools for clever projects, such as videos and photos, but their flair for the creative hasn’t…
In recent months, through several of my professional activities, a recurring and increasingly concerning pattern has emerged: The use of AI to generate client responses to accreditation assessment findings (nonconformities) as well as participant essays, exercises, and examination answers from…
The customer is not always right. We are all customers, and sometimes we’re dead wrong. Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of Stew Leonard’s grocery stores, enjoys saying, “The goal is to make the customer feel right.”
His sentiment means never dealing with a customer in a judgmental way, because you never…
As AI makes its way into every corner of work, quality management is no exception. That isn’t surprising: Quality teams are buried in documentation, training upkeep, investigations, and reporting, which are exactly the kinds of workflows AI can help streamline.
However, in regulated environments…
In some organizations, possibility feels like a luxury. Something you talk about at offsite sessions. Something you reference in mission statements. Something you save for after the real work is done.
But in visionary organizations, possibility is the work.
Visionary leaders understand that…