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(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, RI) -- Leading metrology solutions developer Hexagon Metrology has unveiled the Leica Absolute Tracker AT960, a walk-around coordinate measuring machine that fits in a single flight case. The latest model in the Leica Absolute Tracker range, the AT960 answers…
Here’s a shocking finding from the most recent “ASQ Global State of Quality” report: The higher you rise in your organization’s leadership, the less often you receive reports about quality metrics. Only 2 percent of senior executives get daily quality reports, compared to 33 percent of frontline…
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he modern supply chain is becoming more complex, and many different levels of skill and oversight are found among suppliers and purchasing companies. Some suppliers do an excellent job of implementing lessons learned and maintaining a high level of quality, production, and safety. Other…
You might think that the medical and engineering professions would operate quite differently from each other. Yet, as we will see, not only are they similar, but there is a lot that the engineering profession could and should borrow from the medical profession.
So what is it that they have in…
(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- SME, an organization dedicated to supporting manufacturing through training, events, media, and membership, has announced #MFGis, an awareness campaign to help students, educators, professionals, and companies tell their stories of “what manufacturing is” through…
Publically announced breaches of secured information are so common today that they almost seem routine. Last year, in the United States alone, financial companies like JPMorgan Chase and retailers such as Target and Home Depot were victimized by information system hackers that allegedly gained…
(LDI: Minneapolis) -- Laser Design Inc. (LDI), developer and provider of 3-D scanning systems and dimensional inspection services, now offers Europe’s leading anti-reflection coating for laser scanning, Helling 3D Scan Spray.
Reflectivity is detrimental to 3D data acquisition, so it is often…
Managing risk in a quality management system (QMS) is considered a clear maturity indicator and a way to determine that an organization has shifted from a reactive and less controlled state toward an agile, proactive and anticipatory approach to quality management.
In this post we are going to…
Responding to FDA 483 observations was my focus in part 1 of this series. Responses lead to commitments, and commitments lead to changes that are intended to prevent recurrence of the underlying problem that led to the observation.
Here, I’ll share my views on getting the work done to fulfill…
(Siemens PLM: Plano, TX) -- Siemens has added new applications to its Sinumerik Integrate for Production software suite for networking machine tools with production-level IT systems. The new release now includes Manage MyMaintenance (MMM), an effective maintenance-tasks management system, and…
Imagine: You find someone you’d like to connect with on LinkedIn. You email the person to ask if you can pick his or her brain. A coffee date is set. You’ve just become part of the phenomenon that’s taking over industrial sales: zombie coffee. This no-frills networking strategy, fueled by a lethal…
Story update 11/10/2014: We clarified the meaning of the 16% response in the Bamboo HR report.
Mark was upbeat at the end of his first day at his new job as a programmer for a small tech company. He was shown around, introduced to his co-workers, and given a desk and a computer. He had spent most…
ISO 9001 certification is like a driver’s license test. To prepare for a driver’s license test, a new, unlicensed driver requests a booklet from the state. This booklet explains the laws and conventions of driving in that state. From ISO, a new, unregistered company receives two booklets…
After a flurry of activity, it’s been relatively quiet lately on the FDA warning-letter front, though three device makers did get some bad news in recent weeks.
FDA’s Philadelphia office hit Pittsburgh-based Zoll Manufacturing Corporation, a maker of Class III medical device life vests, with a…
(Hexagon: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology, Inc. has announced its customer CRCoachworks (CRC, Lakewood, WA) will be featured using a ROMER arm this season on the TV show “Corvette Nation.” Airing on Discovery’s Velocity channel, this weekly series is dedicated to America’s sports car—the…
Do you ever feel overwhelmed as a manager? Being overburdened by the responsibility of having to figure out what the people on your team want and need from you is a familiar feeling shared among leaders. Fortunately, there is a “best practice” for obtaining just the kind of information needed to…
Some things are just meant to be, apparently. Sept. 23, 2014, marked an interesting waypoint in the career of someone concerned about standards of measurement, because on that day, I became a standard reference human.
Having started working for the (then) National Bureau of Standards (NBS) almost…
The following tips have been compiled from interviews with representatives of Baldrige Award-winning organizations during the 2014 Quest for Excellence conference.
How to get started using the Baldrige framework
Communicate. Make sure you have the support of senior leadership and employees.…
(ISO: Geneva) -- From responding to major disease outbreaks to everyday medical treatment, having the right information in the right place at the right time is vital for any national health system. Now health organizations around the globe can improve the management of their information—and in…
A weekend design challenge to develop new protective gear for health workers fighting Ebola drew students, faculty, and clinicians from across Johns Hopkins University and beyond, along with $25,000 in state seed grants to support further development of the best ideas.
Jhpiego, a nonprofit global…
One of the biggest barriers to creating new ideas is the raw inertia of organizations. Personally, I’m not satisfied with the “way we’ve always done it.”
Whenever I’m given an explanation of how the organization does something, I ask, “Why?” five times. That’s my maxim for generating new insights…
This three-part series will discuss how to respond to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Form 483 (FDA 483), which is issued at the conclusion of an inspection to document potential violations to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. We’ll look at how to assess the work needed to address…
(SAE International: Troy, MI) -- Northrop Grumman Corp. recently celebrated the grand opening of its Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) at the company’s Space Park facility in Redondo Beach, California. The 5500-ft² laboratory was inspired and developed by a group of more than 70 employees, providing…
(Steinbichler: Plymouth, MI) -- Steinbichler has introduced a newly updated and completely redesigned worldwide website for 3D scanning metrology solutions. Significantly restructured and customized for easy navigation and application support, the new Steinbichler website offers users the ability…
His was a politically unpopular act. The tension between Britain and the American colonies had heightened. The resentment against the crown had grown, and the mere presence of British troops only made feelings more bitter.
A small platoon of British soldiers stood sentry on King Street in Boston…
