Manufacturing is in the middle of a new industrial revolution that requires skilled laborers.

Cogeco’s technical distribution center in Burlington, Ontario, is one of Canada’s drop-off points for internet modem and cable device repair. In 2011, the company’s management carried out a kaizen blitz to improve the efficiency of its device repair process.

On a recent morning, Rick Lake stopped in the middle of giving a tour of NIST’s machine shop to ponder a part sitting on a shelf. It was about 25 cm long and made of metal coated in a sheen of purple and blue.

In our June 15, 2018, episode of QDL, we get a field report from the HxGN LIVE user conference, examine the “story of quality,” and consider the importance of experience.

Business partnerships are nothing new. Partnerships that result in leaner manufacturing processes, more consistent quality, and lower manufacturing costs—that is worth talking about.

Making mistakes and learning from them is par for the course for companies. But years of bad decisions could lead to the downfall of conglomerates.

In today’s talent market, employees are consumers of the workplace: They are attracted, recruited, and wooed into making employment decisions, similar to how companies market products and services to shoppers.

It is a great time to be a small business in manufacturing. Today’s digital disruption is about ideas, not major capital investments or facilities with sprawling footprints.

Quality is related to processes.

Quality management systems (QMS) have become strategic components that touch more and more of the business today.