One of the most demanding problems lean manufacturing faces in discrete manufacturing is control of first operations, where raw material may be cut into multiple parts.

I travel too much. Invariably, though, it enriches me. I typically return with some unusual experience or a new story with which to regale my colleagues.

"We have had a series of power outages even though we have central and local uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems. This disruption causes a loss of service to our customers.

When I was a boy, my grandmother used to read me nursery rhymes to entertain me and teach me about the world. One has resonated with me for years:

(WCBF: Chicago) -- WCBF has recently announced the shortlist of finalists for the 2008 Global Six Sigma & Business Improvement Awards program.

(IAIDQ: Lutz, Florida) -- Registration is open for The International Association for Information and Data Quality (IAIDQ) 2008 Information & Data Quality (IDQ) Conference to be held September 22–25, at The Marriot Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

(IBM: Armonk, New York) -- A new IBM consulting offering can help clients lower their environmental impact, increase efficiency, and reduce costs by applying lean Six Sigma principles to energy and water usage throughout their operations.

(ISO: Geneva, Switzerland) -- The U.S.

(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is asking for public review and comment on a major revision to its security certification and accreditation guidelines for federal information systems.