All Features
Gene Morrison
Never-before-seen growth has turned the aviation, space, and defense industries into lucrative markets. Demand for increased efficiency, security, quality, and durability has taken off in recent years, resulting in high margins and operating profits. With exponential growth potential and a long-…
Mike Richman
During the Nov. 3, 2017, episode of QDL, we (figuratively) traveled the globe to bring you quality information. Let’s take a closer look:
“‘Made in Japan’ Falls from Grace Amid Scandals, Systematic Flaws in Manufacturing Industry” Kobe Steel is the latest Japanese manufacturer to admit to…
Olympus
Sponsored Content
High-volume manufacturers need fast, nondestructive testing methods to help avoid material mix-ups and to meet customer quality requirements. Quality assurance (QA) inspectors are responsible for evaluating incoming raw materials by determining their elemental makeup and…
Kemper Lewis
President Trump has long talked about reinvigorating U.S. manufacturing, which has suffered heavy job losses as a result of automation, trade deals, and other factors. In July, the Trump administration even celebrated “made in America” week by showcasing things built in the United States and…
Eric Stoop
General Motors (GM) recently published updated customer-specific requirements for IATF 16949 compliance. The new requirements take effect Nov. 1, 2017, and cover layered process audit (LPA) requirements in greater depth than previous versions.
LPAs use a series of frequent audits to check high-…
Christopher Martin
Nearly two decades ago, rising from the ashes of the once-giant video game hardware manufacturer Sega, Microsoft debuted the Xbox and entered into the video game market with the intent of competing directly with Sony’s PlayStation brand. By 2006, Microsoft’s launch of the second-generation of Xbox…
Lily Elefteriadou
What self-driving cars want, and what people want from them, varies widely. Often these desires are at odds with each other. For instance, carmakers—and the designers of the software that will run autonomous vehicles—know that it’s safest if cars stay far away from each other. But traffic…
Sheronda Jeffries, Carmine Reda
Companies purchase lots of things. They purchase tangible goods, like raw materials and equipment, or intangible services, like calibration and transportation. And most companies have basic criteria that they use to qualify and select suppliers.
Many companies require their suppliers to obtain…
Mike Richman
We cover a wide range of topics on QDL most weeks, but our latest episode, from Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, provided a steady drumbeat of technological detail. Here’s what we chatted about:
“Energy Harvested from Evaporation Could Power Much of U.S., Says Study” Renewal sources of energy like solar…
Dane Warren
Sponsored Content
As businesses become increasingly dependent on an effective supplier network, more data must be shared with these suppliers to support business goals and delivery business value. This gives rise to the need for a more robust, next-generation approach to supplier assurance and…
Ken Kingery
The first in-car measurements of exposure to pollutants that cause oxidative stress during rush-hour commutes has turned up potentially alarming results. The levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside car cabins was found to be twice as high as previously believed.
Most traffic…
Timothy Zimmerman
Cybersecurity, at this point in the technological age, has become a household word. Every week, almost like clockwork, it seems there is a story in the news about a newly discovered hack or data breach, often made possible by poor cybersecurity practices. Many of these incidents are focused around…
Dirk Dusharme
Our Oct. 13, 2017, episode of Quality Digest Live looked at edge computing for natural disasters, medical records, and zero defects.
“New Research May Improve Communications During Natural Disasters”
Could edge computing help communications during disasters?
“How Health Care Leaders Should…
Chad Kymal
When Philip Crosby announced zero defects as a philosophy during the 1970s, it was met with incredulity. There were already many articles written on the fallacy of such a strategy and the enormous costs of moving toward zero defects. Fast forward 40+ years, and zero defects has become a reality.…
Therese Graff
Medical device companies use ISO 14971 to identify and manage user risks with their devices. However, we often find these same companies do not manage their project risks well.
What is project risk management?
The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute,…
Roy Swift
Certificates, certifications, badges, and licenses: What are they worth to the workforce? The last decade has seen huge growth in the number and variety of credentials, and this explosion has fueled a great deal of confusion among students, workers, job seekers, employers, and others.
Job seekers…
Olympus
Sponsored Content
Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) regulations help protect the public from dangerous or toxic materials in consumer products and electronics. Beyond public health and safety concerns, noncompliance represents significant potential costs, including fines, product recalls…
Ben Snedeker
Storms like Hurricanes Irma and Maria as well as other natural disasters bring with them lots of uncertainty: Where will they go? How much damage will they cause? What is certain is that no matter where they strike, natural disasters knock out power.
And no power means no internet for thousands…
Knowledge at Wharton
NASA Chief Astronaut Chris Cassidy has lived for months on the International Space Station and has performed six spacewalks. “Imagine hanging out with a glass bubble on your head, one hand on a hunk of metal, Earth going beneath your feet at five miles a second, and the whole world listening to…
Ann Cleland
If your hospital or clinic uses a Windows 7-based version of a Siemens PET/CT or SPECT system, it could be vulnerable to attack by a relatively low-skill hacker, according to a July 26, 2017, security advisory from the company.
The Industrial Control System Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT…
William A. Levinson
Some ISO 9001 users complain that the standard does not improve performance or deliver bottom-line results, while others are delighted by the standard as a framework for effective quality management systems. I pointed out previously that ISO 9001:2015 does not address, at least not explicitly, the…
Mike Richman
Our most recent episode of QDL from Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. featured news, technology, and two great interviews. Let’s have a closer look:
“Domestic Cars Fail to Keep Up With International Competition”
The most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) survey took a look at people’s…
Jack Phillips, Patti Phillips
According to W. Edwards Deming, “Every system is perfectly designed to achieve exactly the results it gets.” This applies to any quality initiative and any other activity, including learning and development. Yet, according to an ATD/ROI Institute study, only 8 percent of CEOs see the results most…
Anna Abram
We’re at a moment of extraordinary opportunity to improve public health. New innovations are giving us fundamentally better ways to address disease. Some of the same technology is providing consumers with a broader selection of foods that can improve peoples’ diets and products that can expand…
Arun Hariharan
In my October 2013 column, “Standardize to Improve,” I dealt with business process mapping in detail. Business process management systems (BPMS) comprise the entire gamut of documenting process steps, assigning ownership to process owners, and often, process-compliance audits to check whether you…