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(PQ Systems: Dayton, OH) -- PQ Systems has positioned itself as a quality improvement champion with a rebranding that reflects its vision to help organizations optimize quality. PQ Systems provides peace of mind through complete services and solutions to simplify customers’ approach to quality.…
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During this past Friday’s episode of Quality Digest Live, our weekly web TV show, QD editor in chief Dirk Dusharme and I covered stories about the gig economy and the skills gap and workforce shortages within manufacturing, especially as it relates to metrology, which is the science of measurement…
Anticipating challenges is always a daunting task for continuous improvement professionals. Unforeseen inefficiencies in process or defects in product development can throw timelines and associated costs into disarray. How to commit to realistic forecasts and timelines when resources are limited,…
It happens to all of us, and often at the most inopportune times. We know that we have work to do—a job to complete, a new project to launch, some loose ends to tie up—but we just feel stuck in place. As if everything that we try doesn’t work. We take two steps forward and one or more steps b ack.…
Inspection is a mandatory but nonvalue-adding activity, and our objective is to do as little as possible, provided that we continue to fulfill the customer’s requirements. The zero acceptance number (c = 0) sampling plan requires far less inspection than the corresponding ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (formerly…
ISO 45001 is the much-anticipated, first ISO-based international occupational health and safety (OH&S) standard. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has tried twice and failed in the past to create an international OH&S management system standard. Although there are a…
Project management is a misunderstood profession that has often been equated with herding cats. Much of this confusion comes from the fact that project management isn’t a single discipline, but rather the practice of bringing a set of disciplines together to achieve a common goal.
One of the big…
(MIT News: Cambridge, MA) -- Today, most web browsers have private-browsing modes, in which they temporarily desist from recording the user’s browsing history.
But data accessed during private browsing sessions can still end up tucked away in a computer’s memory, where a sufficiently motivated…
(Marposs: Auburn Hills, MI) -- Marposs Corp. has announced the availability of its new Brankamp CMS-02 stand-alone system for collision monitoring and crash damage mitigation in machine tools.
The system employs a ceramic strain sensor to detect irregularities in the production process by…
Analytics have now permeated into all levels of any company’s organizational hierarchy, creating exciting new opportunities but also some interesting challenges.
Not all businesses are equipped with data scientists and analytics experts to help them navigate what can seem to be a flood of…
Dramatic cost savings. Lead time and inventory reductions. Improved transactional processes. Although lean has its roots in manufacturing, nearly every industry and type of organization around the world can benefit from it. A little while back, we reviewed the “Five Critical Lean Tools” that are a…
If you’ve been thinking about software as a service (SaaS) for your quality management system (QMS) and trying to justify the “why,” here’s a quick case supporting SaaS. Although not for everyone, it certainly makes more sense than it used to. There will always be the detractors who are not…
(Vision Engineering Inc.: New Milford, CT) -- Vision Engineering announces the EVO Cam ll, a digital microscope designed with new features to improve image quality and enhance user productivity.
Major enhancements include the system’s ability to offer up to 300x optical magnification, 12x…
In our March 30, 2018, episode of QDL, we discuss the gig economy, metrology training, and psychobabble (you know who I mean).
“Are You (and Your Company) Ready for the Gig Economy?”
More and more employees are joining the gig economy. What does that mean for your company?
“Taking on the…
Last month we looked at what the empirical rule tells us about the data in a histogram. This month we will consider if there are any commonalities between different probability models that will allow us to make categorical statements without having to know the exact form of the probability model.…
As I’m sure many of you know, the ISO 13485 standard for medical devices was updated in 2016, which means the time to transition your quality management system (QMS) is now. Most auditing organizations have either cut off ISO 13485:2003 recertifications or will be doing so very soon.
I was…
It was painful to watch. The client I was providing coaching to was trying to lead a cross-functional meeting. She wasn’t having much success, and her experience isn’t that unusual. In similar situations, most companies struggle with “my function first” mentality from teammates. And it wrecks…
The rutted road to Quality Digest’s office is a pretty good example of highway health across the country. Running to the city’s shuttered airport, it’s riddled with potholes and cracks that flourish along a timeline of repair and despair. Some are filled, some are returning to the empty state;…
Archaeology reveals that humans started wearing clothes some 170,000 years ago, very close to the second-to-last ice age. Even now, though, most modern humans wear clothes that are only barely different from those earliest garments. But that’s about to change as flexible electronics are…
The rise of the independent worker is arguably the biggest change to hit the global labor market in decades. Well more than 30 percent of the United States workforce reportedly lack “real jobs” working full-time for a conventional company, and that figure, some say, may top 40 percent by 2020. If…
(Nikon Metrology: Brighton, MI) -- Roush Yates Engines and Nikon Metrology announced a multi-year partnership program, demonstrating Roush Yates Engines’ commitment to partnering with the best-in-class companies. With more than 100 years of experience, Nikon provides world-class precision equipment…
(Perceptron: Plymouth, MI) -- Perceptron, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRCP), a leading global provider of 3D automated metrology solutions and coordinate measuring machines, today announced new in-line robot guidance solutions orders with a prominent automotive OEM for two of their new vehicle programs.
The…
(API: Newport News, VA) -- Automated Precision–Services Division (API Services), a company specializing in three-dimensional measurements and high-value metrology solutions, announces that it has been awarded accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994, awarded by the American…
(BuildIT: Montreal, QC) -- BuildIT Software & Solutions is pleased to announce the release of BuildIT Metrology 2018, a major update to the company’s 3D metrology software. BuildIT 2018 adds many new features and improvements, including the ability to both plan projections and operate a laser…
