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(Deloitte: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Manufacturing USA is working. That’s the overarching conclusion of an independent study conducted by Deloitte with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to the study, the first eight advanced manufacturing institutes established between 2012 and…
(InfinityQS: Fairfax, VA) -- InfinityQS International Inc., data, technology, and manufacturing experts that create enterprise visibility and promote global transformation, has been named a finalist in the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and will ultimately be a Gold,…
It’s been nearly 50 years since Stanley Kubrick introduced HAL (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) in the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. What appeared to be fantastic and futuristic at the time is quickly becoming commonplace as automated services and electronic butlers…
Goal setting is powerful. No doubt about it. Research shows you are likely to perform at a higher level if you set smart goals. But how do you know what are the right goals to set?
Goals are milestones that mark the way on your journey. If you set the wrong goals, you will get sidetracked. Too…
I recently had the privilege of attending the Health Care Advisory Board’s National Meeting in St. Louis. One of the topics that really struck me was the last presentation about the importance of building a consumer-focused organization and increasing consumer loyalty.
We hear so much about the…
When we talk about supply chains, we may conjure up images of manufacturing plants, warehouses, trucks, and shipping docks. There is another, truly unique supply chain for a product vitally important to healthcare and life, and it is very volatile at the moment: the blood supply chain.
Human…
A catchphrase from a popular reality show goes: “One day you’re in. And the next day, you’re out.” For the purposes of the show, the host is referencing fashion. But the same could be said about science. With each new discovery or advance, an old theory or idea often becomes obsolete—or at least…
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For quality management to be effective, a solid corrective action process is critical. ISO standards and general best-practice guides suggest—and even mandate—a set procedure and proper documentation for addressing and correcting issues.
In fact, 72 percent of quality…
(BEA Lasers: Elk Grove Village, IL) -- The MIL Series laser modules includes the MIL RA Model that features a right angle, and the MIL Compact Model that features a straight housing. Both laser modules are ideally suited for applications with limited space and tight positioning requirements.
Both…
Is it just me, or does it seem like businesses are actually trying to outdo each other in poor customer experience? Now, I don’t want to be misunderstood, so let me be as clear as I can.
I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill poor customer service like big box stores running skeleton crews as…
When it comes to quality management, it’s not just about the requirements. As companies register to ISO 9001:2015, we see an additional shift. Not only are management system requirements changing to build an improved framework for the standard, but we also see an emphasis on an overall mindset…
This is the fourth part in a series about my perspective of what the future has in store for various aspects of manufacturing. I approached each aspect by imagining what is possible using what we know to be technically possible today. In part one I covered cutting tools for machining, in part two…
(D. L. Newslow & Associates: Orlando, FL) -- Food-safety training experts D. L. Newslow & Associates and Australia-based certification body HACCP International have employed the services of Ronald D. Mathis, CMS, as executive vice president. His role will provide strategic planning and…
As our new year unfolds, I wanted to write an article to remind myself of three pieces of advice. They are from Epictetus (55–135 AD), Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD), and George Pólya (1887–1985). Epictetus and Aurelius are two famous Stoic philosophers of the past, and Pólya is a famous Hungarian…
Business marketers have much to gain from retention marketing. Business customers tend to be fewer in number, and each is more valuable—meaning you can’t afford to lose even one. But how do you keep your customers active and buying from you, vs. the competition? How do you prevent defection?
Let’s…
Whether predicting demand for a product or forecasting spot prices for a resource or currency, we invariably seek out subjective opinions—expert viewpoints—to assist in the information-gathering process in order to make informed decisions. If forecasters are too closely linked, less information can…
D
uring the past year, I have interviewed many customers across a variety of manufacturing industries to learn more about their industry concerns, the design and manufacturing challenges they face, and the technologies that excite them. Here are some manufacturing and business trends to follow over…
Two words no manufacturing organization wants to hear: product recalls. By their very nature, product recalls are unpredictable events.
The cost to a company transcends potentially expensive litigation and settlements. Product recalls and the effects that product failures have on companies that…
The many “truisms” of customer loyalty lore are mostly a set of mythologies to deceive the gullible and exploit the innocent. Let us explore these mythologies and then talk about best practices for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty research.
The mythologies
Rising customer satisfaction…
I
enjoy the holidays because they offer time to reflect. The work world slows down for a few weeks, and you can think about what went well during the past year, what didn’t go well, how you want to grow, and what you can do to improve yourself for the year ahead. I’d like to offer a list of…
When it comes to asset management and facility management, everyone within an organization is affected by breakdowns and downtime. That means employees from the CFO to the environmental health and safety (EHS) director to the plant engineer should be involved in maintenance.
In the manufacturing…
We were back to a full complement of hosts on this week’s episode of QDL, as I returned from vacation to an action-package show with lots of interesting content.
In case you missed it, this past Friday’ Quality Digest Live looked at:
“Amazon Patents Flying Warehouse”
Dirk Dusharme reports that…
You’re going to see a bit of a departure in some Quality Digest coverage this year. Certainly on our webcast, Quality Digest Live, but even in our online editorial coverage. It is spurred in no small part by the incoming administration’s approach to dealing with U.S. manufacturing and the…
(MIPI Alliance: Piscatawa, NJ) -- The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, has released MIPI I3C—“Improved inter-integrated circuit,” a sensor-interface specification that streamlines sensor integration in…
I recently presented “Statistical Thinking for OD Professionals” for the Organization Development Network annual conference. It was well received, but more important, it reignited in me a passion for the use of control charts in decision making for everyone who uses numbers, or needs to use them…