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(SAE: Warrendale, PA) -- The relative strength of the U.S. economy compared to other regions of the world is reflected in the latest biennial SAE International Salary Study, released during the SAE International 2012 World Congress, while the overall strength of transportation and mobility…
Innovations in software and technology are creating increasingly complex systems: cars that park themselves; medical devices that automatically deliver drugs; and smartphones with the computing power of desktop computers, to name a few. Such complex systems allow us to do things that seemed…
OK, so there’s nothing about this video that isn’t cute. And that’s fine. But what does it have to do with lean? One of the most important lessons that lean can teach us is how to appreciate variation and make the most of it.
When Jim Henson and this little girl went on set, it was to create a…
Leonardo da Vinci’s comment, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” could easily serve as a lean tag line.
Surely, lean tools, like standard work, visual controls, and mistake proofing devices, are only truly effective if they are easily explained, understood, deployed, maintained, and…
(Laser Design: Minneapolis) -- Laser Design and GKS are proud to announce that one of their engineering services customers, Sbyke USA, has won awards from both Popular Science and Parenting magazines for its patented rear-steer kick scooter. Receiving top honors in Popular Science’s “Wheel Wars”…
During the next few months, manufacturers of certain in vitro diagnostic and radiology products may start to notice they are getting decisions on their premarket notification submissions, aka 510(k), sooner than expected. This will be due to a six-month pilot program called Triage, launched…
(Predictive Solutions: Oakdale, PA) -- The SafetyCary blog aims to share best practices related to keeping people safe in their workplaces, particularly through the use of leading indicators, advanced analytics, and predictive modeling. The blog’s writer, Cary Usrey, Predictive Solutions’…
As the Supreme Court debates the fate of “Obama Care,” we should recall the formal name of the law: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Most of the public debate has been about the cost of health care, losing sight of the urgent need to fix the ongoing crisis of quality and…
(AMETEK: Largo, FL) -- AMETEK Test and Calibration Instruments has expanded the capabilities of its versatile JOFRA HPC600 handheld pressure calibrator. The instrument’s built-in electric pump now allows the calibrator to achieve pressure and vacuum generation up to 20 bar/300 psi with the single…
(Nordson: Carlsbad, CA) -- Nordson YESTECH, a subsidiary of Nordson Corp. and a developer and producer of automated optical and X-ray inspection systems for the electronics industry, has introduced its latest generation of automated optical inspection (AOI) systems, the FX, BX, and BX-UV conformal…
(Renishaw: Hoffman Estates, IL) -- Renishaw, an engineering technologies company that develops products to advance operational performance, has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2012 in the Innovations category for its highly innovative SP80 ultrahigh-accuracy analogue scanning probe. The…
(Artel: Westbrook, ME) -- Artel, manufacturer of precise systems for ensuring data integrity in any laboratory process requiring liquid handling, is introducing two new applications that use the Artel Multichannel Verification System (MVS) to verify key steps in the assay workflow that are critical…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- On April 15, 2012, U.S. Commerce Department Secretary John Bryson presented 11 U.S. organizations with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
The ceremony—the 23rd in the history…
(JAI: San Jose, CA) -- JAI, developer and manufacturer of high-quality industrial and machine vision cameras, has introduced the AD-130GE, a new 2-CCD multispectral camera, offering significantly greater resolution and light sensitivity than the company’s first-generation models. Like the existing…
(Koslow: Englewood, NJ) -- Declaring a major advancement in verifying the passivity of stainless-steel equipment used in processing and transporting pharmaceuticals, food, and other products, Koslow Scientific Co. has introduced the world’s fastest portable instrument for passivation testing and…
(Newport: Irvine, CA) -- Newport Corp., a global supplier of laser and photonic solutions that make, manage, and measure light, has expanded the scientific-grade (SG) series Vision IsoStation vibration isolation workstation. The Vision IsoStation provides advanced performance with more user-…
(XIMEA: Munster, Germany) -- XIMEA GmbH, developer, manufacturer, and supplier of integrated machine vision systems, inspection systems, and advanced cameras, will demonstrate two firsts for the machine vision industry at The Vision Show in Boston, held May 8–10, 2012. Demonstrated at booth 407…
3P, or “Production Preparation Process,” is a method introduced to the United States during the mid-1980s by Chihiro Nakao, a contemporary of Taiichi Ohno, and a founder of the consulting firm Shingijutsu Ltd. I recall the method was called “New Production Preparation” (NPP) early along, but…
Just a few reminders to start with: In the automotive supply chain, process failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) must be based on—or at least must take into consideration—design FMEA. This is the case whether a given supplier is responsible for the design or not.
During an FMEA, severity (S)…
Has this ever happened to you? You’re talking to a client, or perhaps your boss, and you realize the conversation has gotten off on absolutely the wrong foot. You may have learned new and unexpected information from the other person that renders everything you’ve said irrelevant. You may have…
(Aven: Ann Arbor, MI) -- Aven Inc., manufacturer and distributor of precision tools and optical inspection systems, has introduced a 5.0-megapixel upgrade of its Digital Mighty Scope handheld microscope, a sophisticated inspection instrument for engineers, scientists, doctors, quality inspectors,…
Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part video interview with Juran Institute’s CEO, Joseph DeFeo, and hosted by Quality Digest’s CEO, Jeff Dewar. View part one here.
In this part of my video interview with Juran Institute president and executive coach, Joseph De Feo, we discussed where the…
(Kauffman Foundation: Kansas City, MO) -- Cost trends in U.S. health care consistently increase at about 2.5 percentage points faster than the general rate of inflation—clearly an unsustainable rate. To address what it called "America’s most urgent public policy problem," the Ewing Marion Kauffman…
Everyone seeks out value. Whether you’re a coupon clipper, a sale shopper, or a garage-sale stalker, people look to get some sort of value out of their buying experience. And if the product is purchased at a retailer, you look for ways to get the most out of the product you purchased. The software…
(CyberMetrics: Phoenix, AZ) -- CyberMetrics Corp. begins a series of no-cost, informative webinars and seminars to educate facilities maintenance and instrument calibration professionals about real-world industry solutions. Learning how to pass quality audits, strategizing for successful CMMS…
