The word kanban means “sign” or “signboard” in Japanese and is often used in conjunction with lean or just-in-time principles for scheduling and manufacturing.

The manufacturing sector, its advocates note, is burdened by negative stereotypes.

So, you think you’ve got them all figured it out, and then, bam! Somebody else comes up with a new quality acronym to throw you off your game. But don’t give up too soon. Acronyms are confusing, but they all boil down to continual improvement.

(GDO: Eygelshoven, Netherlands) -- GDO BV is a designer and builder of production automation and visual inspection systems based in The Netherlands.

(Cognex: Natick, MA) -- Cognex, the a global supplier of machine vision systems, has released SensorView 2, a smart display for Checker machine vision sensors.