The medical device industry is one that requires preparation. Unlike less regulated industries, there’s an expectation in the industry around the possibility that an inspector or auditor can show up without notice and stop a business in its tracks.

The ideal of proactive quality has been the holy grail of chief quality officers in the life sciences industry for at least five years, but few, if any, have realized the vision.

One of the most significant developments of potential interest to small and medium-sized manufacturers in the area of industrial robots is the introduction about 10 years or so ago of a subset of industrial robots called collaborative robots or “cobots.”

During the last decade, we’ve witnessed the emergence of sustainability issues among the most important business concerns in a firm’s supply chain.

As part of the MIT Task Force on the “Work of the Future’s” recent series of research briefs, MIT professors Paul Osterman and Kathleen Thelen highlight the critical role that skills, education, and workforce training play in providing pathways to employment for low-

Research has shown that during economic uncertainty, companies that find a balance between reducing resources to survive and investing in key areas for growth will fare better through the recession and beyond.

With the increasing power of digital technology, the idea of a connected manufacturing system that can sense, analyze, and respond will soon be a reality.

A hypothesis-driven approach to problem solving and making recommendations can be tremendously efficient.

This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.

This year will be the 45th anniversary of the Metric Conversion Act, which was signed on Dec. 23, 1975, by President Gerald R. Ford.