All Features
Richard Lepsinger
Companies frequently develop vision and mission statements about being No. 1 in their industry, the great service they provide to customers, and their rewarding work environment. More often than not, these statements are so far from reality that they become joke fodder for customers and…
Bill Kalmar
In the last couple of months, two topics have become particularly vexing to me. First, how can we be environmentally responsible by purchasing E85 fuel when there are few service stations that provide this new elixir? Second—even more difficult to comprehend—why do companies eliminate products and…
Allen Huffman
With all the emphasis today on quality, and studies showing that quality is very important to the leaders of American business, why are so many organizations struggling to achieve and sustain quality systems? The answer is that managers have been inundated for 20 years with a parade of quality…
Bill Kalmar
Now that I have your attention, let me explain. This year I will enter a very special age group, namely, those people eligible for Medicare. The magical age of 65 provides one with certain mystical rights—Medicare benefits, of course, which means we’ll be swimming in extra disposable income. Yeah…
Georgia Institute of Technology
Unique three-dimensional solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic systems while reducing their size, weight, and mechanical complexity. The new 3-D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature “tower”…
Georgia Institute of Technology
Research reported recently in the journal Advanced Materials describes a potentially promising strategy for encouraging the regeneration of damaged central nervous system cells known as neurons.The technique would use a biodegradable polymer containing a chemical group that mimics the…
Steven Ouellette
As I’m writing this, our first big snowfall of the year is piling up outside and it is –10°C (15°F). This brings to mind the many times my grandfather told me of how he walked to school in winter uphill (both ways) with no shoes. So I wondered, will I be able to spin the same yarn for my girls and…
Forrest Breyfogle—New Paradigms
Editor’s note:This short story is part of a three-volume series—Integrated Enterprise Excellence: Going Beyond Lean Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard, by Forrest Breyfogle. Within the context of this fictional story the author discusses the attributes of an integrated training program that he…
Douglas C. Fair
I don’t believe in ghosts. Yet quality professionals chase them every day. Why? Because erroneous control limits tell them to. Control limits should be statistically based, 100-percent reliable, and reveal natural process variability. Hence, they should help to uncover unnatural events. Yet when I…
William Tandler
Our original plan for workshop No. 3 was to discuss what are generally referred to as material condition modifiers, namely the encircled letters “M,” “L,” and “S” which sometimes follow tolerance values and sometimes follow datum-feature labels in feature-control frames. The idea was to explain…
Fred Mason
During this annual holiday shopping melee, economists project the implications of our spending for the country’s overall economic health in the coming year. That can be like claiming a warm December day proves global warming. What does this have to do with measurement? Quite a bit, actually,…
Denise Robitaille
Many of us quality professionals have been teased by our families on more than one occasion for applying quality principles to everyday life. “I know you said you did your homework, but I’d like to see the evidence.” Admit it; many of you have been caught using quality speak around the house.…
Peter A. Quinter
The recent rash of highly publicized recalls and alerts on Chinese-made toothpaste, tires, and toys has shaken confidence in the safety of Chinese imports, with the media calling for consumer boycotts and stricter trade regulations to discourage U.S. businesses from dealing with China.
The danger…
Rina Molari-Korgel
The CMSC is proud to sponsor this inaugural issue of CMSC World, an electronic information guide for users of industrial, high-precision, 3-D measurement technology. This quarterly e-newsletter will deliver the latest metrology industry news, best practices, new techniques, product and personnel…
Belinda Jones
The 23rd Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference convened at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, July 16-20, 2007. The CMSC Society hosts this gathering each year. The organization is comprised of 3-D measurement technology professionals, service providers, and original equipment…
Neven Jeremi
Dirk Noffke, a metrology technician at DaimlerChrysler Bremen, inspects the dimensional accuracy of the left fender on a Mercedes SLK body-in-white. The comparison between the actual and CAD data is displayed in real time on an application PC running the PolyWorks…
Praveen Gupta
Imagine you decide to learn a new language and never make a mistake while learning it. No typos, no misspellings, no grammatical errors, everything turns out perfect. The first reaction is, “How can this happen?” Perfection isn’t believable. Similarly, if everything one tries doesn’t work, usually…
Bill Kalmar
Sitting in my home office contemplating the upcoming holidays reminds me that I have yet to submit my wish list to Santa. It’s a long list, crammed with lots of items for me, and I have included some requests for you, the readers. Of course it’s also an opportunity for me to rant about some…
Mike Micklewright
Question: How is lean like making whoopee?
Answer: I don’t know. I just wanted you to open the article. However …
Send me your funny answer. I’ll choose the best answer, that’s not too dirty or offensive, and perhaps it’ll be published in my next article two months from now. You’ll be famous! The…
Steven Ouellette
Harvest time—vegetables fresh from the local farmer’s market going right into a homemade soup, eaten with fresh bread. Yum! This month, I’d like to talk about a recipe for a Greek alphabet soup, which you had better know about if you plan on doing an experiment. This may be the first recipe that…
Terry Kaytor
Quality’s commonly accepted definition along the lines of “meeting or exceeding customer expectations” falls short. A more complete definition of quality should also consider achieving our potential, which can exist at a personal level or at a business level. Our ability to achieve both potentials…
William Tandler
Continuing with our analysis of the Greatest Design Tool ever, our objective in this article is to take a detailed look at the structure and contents of feature control frames to demonstrate that they represent “encoded” information which may only be “decoded,” not “interpreted.” With their…
Fred Mason
You manufacture a part that must be within design tolerances to work properly, so you need to measure it. It costs to: Buy the measuring device Provide a space and/or utilities for it Develop fixtures or part-holding accessories Make sure people are trained to do the measurements Develop…
Martin Zwilling
The processes followed by most small- and medium-sized companies to prepare for or maintain an ISO 9001 registration have been largely manual rather than computerized. Employees are expected to key in or type the required quality documents, physically draw process diagrams, and spend hours…
Rudolf Melik
Our spherical world has been declared flat once again, and you’ve likely found that your old way of doing business fits about as well as the suit you wore 30 pounds ago. Many operations scattered to the four corners of the globe, and the attitudes of the workforce have undergone a similar shift.…