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I remember my first trip to Michigan in 2012. I was covering the Ford Motor Co.’s annual Trend Conference and had the opportunity to meet Alan Mulally, who gave a compelling presentation explaining the vision, strategy, and implementation of the One Ford plan. I was impressed more with the man…
This is the time of year when students and parents eagerly await the final day of school and the impending graduation ceremony. It is a time of joy and apprehension as students celebrate their accomplishment and ponder their next societal or educational steps.
For high-school students, will it be…
How do jumbo-jet designers develop resilient materials for modern airframes, while still bringing in their projects on time and on budget? Before they prototype a new material, they depend heavily on computer simulations to indicate how it will perform—and scientists at the National Institute of…
In a similar vein to Donald Wheeler’s excellent article on process capability confusion I would like to submit the following example of thinking that you are doing the math right and getting an answer that can get you into real trouble.
Consider the following capability assessment problem. The…
In a similar vein to Donald Wheeler’s excellent article on process capability confusion I would like to submit the following example of thinking that you are doing the math right and getting an answer that can get you into real trouble.
Consider the following capability assessment problem. The…
The execution of an inspection plan is critical for ensuring the continuous production of quality products. The purpose of this article is to explain how software tools can be used to maximize utilization of the inspection system within the main control loop once the inspection plan has been…
The FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) provided a glowing self-assessment in a recent report. The CDRH met its 2016 strategic objectives for several initiatives pertaining to medical device manufacturers.
The CDRH continues to put a premium on quality when it assesses a…
(DeFelsko: Newport News, VA) -- DeFelsko is now selling the PosiTest DFT Coating Thickness Gage for measuring coating thickness on metal substrates. It is the economical choice that retains the uncompromising quality of DeFelsko inspection instruments.
New features include a faster measurement…
It was September 1901, in Dayton, Ohio, and Wilbur Wright was frustrated. The previous year, 1900, he had built and tested, with his brother Orville’s help, their first full-size glider. It was designed using the most up-to-date information about wing design available. His plan had been to “kite”…
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Founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints—cutting edge at the time—Zimmer Biomet is a medical device company commanding second place in the entire world’s overall orthopedic market share. The organization’s stated purpose is to “Restore mobility, alleviate pain, and improve the…
Three transportation revolutions are in sight, and together they could help reduce traffic, improve livability, eventually save trillions of dollars each year, and reduce urban transportation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 percent or more worldwide by 2050. That’s according to a report…
In last week’s Quality Digest Live: LEGO, do spacesuits make your butt look fat, and when reality smacks you in the face.
“What to Do When Reality Smacks You in the Face”
Three self-leadership techniques to use when reality smacks you in the face.
“The LEGO Group reaches 100% renewable energy…
My eye was caught recently by a gossipy article concerning NASA’s suit situation. Spacesuits, that is, not the standard-issue coat and trousers worn by many earthbound employees at the agency. It seems its Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a thumbs down following a spacesuit audit, warning…
You may have heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Well, it turns out that’s just a myth. Researchers found that, on average, it takes people more than two months before a new behavior becomes automatic. So what does that have to do with your office ergonomics process? A lot, especially…
Do Less Better is the name of my book (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Do less better is also a culture and a strategy of organizations and their leaders. Do-less-better practitioners are fanatical about focus and simplification; herein lies the secret of their success. Yet, do less better isn’t…
In his February 2017 Quality Digest column, “Don’t We Need Good Measurements?” Donald J. Wheeler recommends that a measurement system contributing up to 80 percent of the overall variation (on the variance scale) is good enough to detect persistent mean shifts when using a process behavior (…
In his February 2017 Quality Digest column, “Don’t We Need Good Measurements?” Donald J. Wheeler recommends that a measurement system contributing up to 80 percent of the overall variation (on the variance scale) is good enough to detect persistent mean shifts when using a process behavior (…
While Hank Matousek Sr. was perfectly content in his position as quality control manager at a bearing company during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he had no idea that his employer’s growing financial woes and a pending layoff would become his surprise catalysts to found Grind All Inc. Not…
Create an innovation advantage for your organization by letting go of industrial-age principles, embracing imagination, and experimenting even if you might fail, said Polly LaBarre, co-founder and director of Management Lab (MLab) and co-founder of MIX (Management Innovation eXchange). LaBarre,…
(MIT Sloan Executive Education: Cambridge, MA) -- The use of internet of things (IoT) technologies in manufacturing—known as the industrial internet of things (IIoT)—has been heralded as a way to improve operational efficiency by correcting inefficiencies and identifying problems sooner.…
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks stakeholder feedback to gather information for an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) survey, focused on service standards and management system standards. As the U.S. member to ISO, ANSI requests information from U.S.…
The CEO rejected my proposal by explaining, “Susan, your problem is you keep creating nine-ton elephants for two-ton cages.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This man was putting the kibosh on a cutting-edge product based on his limited perspective and lack of imagination. What did he know…
In parts one and two of “Gauging Gage,” we looked at the numbers of parts, operators, and replicates used in a gage repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study and how accurately we could estimate %Contribution based on the choice for each. In doing so, I hoped to provide you with valuable…
A common pitfall in quality management system (QMS) process automation occurs with a poorly planned process automation strategy. Too often, the temptation is to automate all quality processes at once and streamline the entire eQMS process in one giant undertaking. However, real-world experience…
(Georgia Tech News Center: Atlanta) -- A team of researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and two other institutions has developed a new 3D printing method to create objects that can permanently transform into a range of different shapes in response to heat.
The team, which included…