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Whenever something suddenly fell apart, my grandfather used to exclaim, “Down goes the meathouse!” I don’t know where that expression came from—as a child I often pictured a flabby house of raw meat caving in on itself. This was decades before Lady Gaga made wearing raw meat dresses... uh...…
The device doesn’t look like much: a caterpillar-sized assembly of metal rings and strips resembling something you might find buried in a home-workshop drawer. But the technology behind it, and the long-range possibilities it represents, are quite remarkable.
The little device is called a “milli-…
(Mettler Toledo: Columbus, OH) -- METTLER TOLEDO is offering five new scale models in the ICS family: ICS425, ICS435, ICS445, ICS465 and ICS685. The new ICS5 models feature user menus, flexible software and configurable components, ensuring easy integration into even the most complex industrial…
If you work for an organization involved with meeting the requirements of a quality system standard, specification, or government regulation, sooner or later you will be on the receiving end of a quality system audit.
The auditor might be one who works for: • Your organization (an internal auditor…
(Meggitt: San Juan Capistrano, CA) -- Meggitt Sensing Systems, a Meggitt group division, has announced the successful application of Endevco 8507C rugged, miniature piezoresistive pressure transducers, as well as its full range of acoustic microphones, to support the requirements of hypersonic,…
Every year, millions of products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) flood into the United States from 150 countries. Ensuring these products are safe and effective can be daunting task. It was heartening for me to sign two cooperative arrangements with some of our international…
Previously, I’ve written about how to use Minitab to identify the distribution of your continuous data. That post prompted several questions about how to use and identify discrete distributions. If you are a quality improvement analyst who works with counts of defects or pass/fail inspections, you…
I remember when I first discovered the work of Mark Graban. The year was 2008, and I was preparing to speak to the Massachusetts Hospital Association, an audience of about 400 hospital CEOs and administrators. They wanted me to tie my work with Toyota to healthcare, which I had no firsthand…
Masaaki Imai is a consultant, author, and founder of the Kaizen Institute. The second edition of his book, Gemba Kaizen (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2012), was published in May. He agreed to an interview with The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog.
The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog (TDI): Did you…
(Sunnen Products: St. Louis) -- From Sunnen Products Co., manufacturer and distributor of bore sizing machines and engine-building products, the PG bore gauge takes an intuitive approach to hole gauging with a mechanical design and speedometer-type scale for quick visual confirmation of inside…
(CMS: Benbrook, TX) -- The Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) has announced its call for papers is now open for the 29th annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC), to be held July 22–26, 2013, in San Diego, California. The CMS is the eminent membership association for measurement…
(Methods: Sudbury, MA) -- Methods Machine Tools, a leading supplier of innovative machine tools, automation, and machine tool accessories, has introduced hardware and software enhancements to the VisionGauge digital optical comparators, developed by VISIONx. These upgrades are included on both…
(Olympus: Center Valley, PA) -- Designed to provide customers with an effective and streamlined solution for quantifying microscopic residue, defects, and foreign particles, the newly released OLYMPUS Inspector Series 5.2 delivers accurate and reproducible data required to determine if manufactured…
There are two basic ideas or principles that need to be respected when creating a chart for individual values and a moving range (an XmR chart). This column will explain and illustrate these two principles for effective XmR charts.
The first principle for an effective XmR chart is that successive…
Effective coaching is a skill that requires an understanding of human motivation and behavior. It also requires plenty of practice. To coach, according to most dictionaries, means to “tutor, train, give hints to, or prime with facts.”
The role of a supervisor or leader as a coach is to stimulate…
Effective coaching is a skill that requires an understanding of human motivation and behavior. It also requires plenty of practice. To coach, according to most dictionaries, means to “tutor, train, give hints to, or prime with facts.”
The role of a supervisor or leader as a coach is to stimulate…
Six Sigma was originally created by Bob Gavin at Motorola during the 1980s; however, it could be argued that a comparable methodology was in use as early as the 1850s. Florence Nightingale is known for founding the field of nursing, but few people outside of the field of mathematics appreciate her…
You’re in a meeting when a colleague brings up an idea that you think (or even know) is not so great. For many of us, our first instinct is to shoot the idea down immediately, one way or another, before it gains traction. How often have you suffered through this challenging situation?
When it…
The United States spends $2.5 trillion for healthcare. Healthcare spending is expected to reach $4.5 trillion by the end of the decade. With Obamacare becoming a reality, we need to find a way cut the cost of healthcare to help pay for these increasing costs. The Institute of Medicine (IOM)…
Portable 3D measuring devices have revolutionized the world of metrology since their invention some 30 years ago. They have brought the world of inspection right down to the production line, allowing measurements to be done much quicker and easier.
However, some devices, including portable…
With new treatments for disease, test suites that safeguard computers, and even expertise to rescue miners trapped thousands of feet underground, federal laboratories have a wealth of technologies and know-how that can give U.S. companies a competitive edge and improve quality of life.
These…
At hospital shift changes, doctors and nurses exchange crucial information about the patients they’re handing over—or at least they strive to. In reality, they might not spend enough time talking about the toughest cases, according to a study led by the University of Michigan.
These quick but…
A couple of decades ago, visitors to the quiet city of Zaragoza, Spain, had no reason to think it would become a capital of world trade. But in 2000, the city opened Europe’s largest logistics hub, called PLAZA, and now Zaragoza is a global shipping link, connecting manufacturers, suppliers, and…
Brian had been running his machine shop as a third-tier supplier to the aerospace industry for more than 15 years, and it had been successful as a small shop. Over the years he had learned the importance of ongoing training and continuous improvement. He contracted with trainers and encouraged his…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- It’s been said that the one of the most prestigious qualifications a professional can have is to say that he or she was part of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners. To say you served as a Baldrige examiner and were part of building American…