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I just finished participating in a delightful design charrette. I’m sharing this with you because design can be a very powerful tool in the Six Sigma arsenal, and this little charrette both reminded me of and taught me a few important lessons about the design process.
Lansing Community College,…
As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, U.S. companies are grappling with how to address it most effectively. These businesses could learn a great deal from U.S. cities with the highest well-being.
The largest U.S. employers could reap about $22 billion in annual savings if their employees…
In his State of the Union address in February 2012, President Obama called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9 an hour. “Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line,” he said…
R ecently more than 194 manufacturing IT managers and directors were asked to identify what would facilitate collaboration and productivity improvements across their organizations. More than 150 people completed a multiple-choice email survey, which contained both open-ended and multiple-choice…
I’ve always felt the need to accentuate the positive, something I think I picked up from my mother. In tense situations she would always interject, “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” This usually generated laughter and reduced tensions. Although this seems like an admirable quality, I discovered one day…
As we all look forward to 2014, I ask you to keep the new CMS certification program in mind, whether you are a beginner or veteran metrologist. Our certification committee is working hard to build a program that is beneficial to our membership, as well as future members of our organization.
This…
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Although 80 percent of Accurex’s business lies in the industrial application of precision metrology and scanning, the company always enjoys the occasional cultural heritage project. When the Accurex team was called upon to scan the Sphinx of Hatshepsut, it was ready for the…
Editor’s note: A webinar on this topic will held on Nov. 19, 2013, at 11 a.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Eastern. Register here.
And previewing the webinar, Matthew Littlefield will be a guest on Quality Digest Live this Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, at 11 a.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Eastern.
Unless you’ve been hiding…
Weighted average cycle time (Tcwa), also known as “average weighted cycle time,” provides a representative average cycle time (Tc) within a mixed model environment. Varied models or services in a given cell, line, or work area often have varied work contents due to different steps, duration of…
Nala, our 6-year-old golden retriever, loves her dogma. That’s her sitting in front of church on Sunday morning. But she’s not crazy about her catechism. For example, she doesn’t always dutifully follow the “lay down” commandment.
What factors may be influencing her response? We’re…
(Delcam: Windsor, Ontario, Canada) -- Delcam has released the 2013 R2 version of its PowerINSPECT metrology software, which offers faster programming and inspection, plus even easier-to-read reports. It includes a new method for automated inspection of part edges, improved display of deviations,…
S teven Pearlstein, a business columnist for The Washington Post, and others, have written about business leaders’ excessive and shortsighted focus on stock values for shareholders. What about the role of corporate governance boards? Aren’t board members obliged to view company management and…
(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology has announced the commercial availability of ROMER measuring arm packages equipped with PC-DMIS Touch Portable, a revolutionary measurement software. Utilizing high-resolution Multi-Touch display technology on a tablet PC, users…
(Brunson: Kansas City, MO) -- Brunson Instrument Co. has released its TetraLock product line for shipping worldwide. The original TetraLock set a new standard in lightweight industrial metrology stands with a prestressed tetrahedron design, a pyramid-like structure known for its ultimate stability…
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- FARO Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: FARO), the world's most trusted source for 3D measurement, imaging, and realization technology, announced it has released the new FARO Laser Scanner Focus3D X 330.
Building on the success of the Focus3D, the new Focus3D X 330 surpasses…
(Breuckmann: Meersburg, Germany) -- About 150 years ago, archaeologists in Cambodia made a spectacular discovery: the temple ruins of Angkor Wat. The temple was built during the 12th century by the ancient people of the Khmer under the reign of King Suryavarman II, but was deserted by its…
A colleague of mine at Minitab, Cheryl Pammer, was recently featured in “A Statistician’s Journey,” a monthly feature that appears in the print and online versions of the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) AMSTAT News magazine.
Each month, the magazine asks ASA members to talk about the…
In my last column, I posted the first two motivational triggers boomers respond to. If you’re just now checking in, you can read that column here. I’m not going to continue with the next three triggers here. Instead, I want to share a story that directly relates to the theme of motivating workers…
(Nikon Metrology: Brighton, MI) -- CAMIO offers true multi-sensor capability, allowing best-practice selection of sensor technology for each task. By combining touch trigger, analog scanning, and 3D laser scanning sensors within the same inspection program, the right inspection results are obtained…
(Solutionix: Bristol, UK) -- Solutionix, the leading developer and manufacturer of structured-light 3D scanning solutions, announced that HJC, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycle crash helmets, relied on a Solutionix Rexcan 3D scanner to provide the 3D digital data required to design and…
The NOvA (NuMI off-axis νe appearance) experiment is looking to answer fundamental questions about neutrinos and the role they play in the universe. NOvA will use two detectors, a near detector located underground at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, and a far detector located 810 km from Fermilab…
Creaform Inc., developer of the Handyscan 3D laser scanner, was recently acquired for approximately $120 million by AMETEK Inc., a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-mechanical devices.
Creaform was formed in 2002 in Lévis, Québec, Canada, near Québec City. In 2005, the…
(API: Newport News, VA) -- API Services, a subsidiary of metrology provider Automated Precision Inc. (API), announced this month that it has reached partnerships with two design and manufacturing leaders in the nuclear and energy industries. The partnerships are the result of ongoing growth in the…
In March 2013, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it was changing some of its carry-on restrictions; in addition to certain types of knives, TSA decided to allow passengers to bring golf clubs, hockey sticks, and plastic bats onto planes, all of which had been restricted…
Like most of us, I like to occasionally receive a simple “thank you” for something I have done. I think during this holiday season we should turn the tables a bit and bestow a hearty thanks to a segment of our population that at times does not receive enough “thank yous.” I’m speaking of the men…
