Quality Digest

This article has been republished with permission from Medical Plastics News.

While ISO 13485 sets the standard for quality management systems (QMS) in medical device manufacturing, metrology is often treated as an afterthought and used simply to validate products and detect defects at the end of production. The result? It becomes harder to prove consistent quality, and the validation process can become fragmented.

Even if the pandemic abates enough for a return to normal, all evidence indicates that a substantial share of Americans will continue to work from home, relying on videoconferencing to team up.

Yet, while the ease of gathering virtually has made the shift to widespread remote work possible, a new study finds that on-screen meetings have a significant drawback: They hinder creative collaboration.

The study, co-authored by Jonathan Levav of Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Melanie Brucks of Columbia Business School, finds that in-person teams generated more ideas than remote teams working on the same problem.

One of the unexpected rewards of working at NIST has been the opportunity to see other disciplines through the NIST prism of measurement science and standards. By working with NASA scientists, astronomers, oceanographers and geologists, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the lives of scientists in a variety of fields.

Often, my way of interacting with these researchers is by calibrating the sensors on their instruments. These calibrations help ensure that the instruments accurately measure the light and other electromagnetic radiation from objects the scientists are studying, whether it is the Pacific Ocean, a forest fire, or a faraway galaxy. To calibrate these researchers’ sensors properly, we need reliable ways to measure light itself. My NIST colleagues and I are currently engaged in some cutting-edge efforts to make these measurements better than they’ve ever been. But before I tell you about the high-altitude NASA aircraft we use, and the lunar observatory we’re building, let’s talk about the earliest standard for measuring light output: the humble candle.

Many industries are embracing apprentice and trade programs in efforts to create a strong and reliable workforce for the future—and the manufacturing field is no exception. The BASF apprenticeship program began as a way for young professionals to find success through practical on-the-job training. Internationally, BASF offers apprenticeship in Germany and Switzerland as well as the United States. 

In an interview with Quality Digest, Susan Emmerich, Ph.D., spoke on BASF’s North American Apprenticeship Development Program. As the program’s project implementation manager, she was able to outline key factors that make it a success.

QD: What progress have you seen so far with the program applicants, and what feedback have you received?

SE: We have had 90 percent of the apprentices successfully complete and place-off in full-time technician roles. According to our apprentice exit surveys, 92 percent of the apprentices said they would stay at BASF if offered a similar role elsewhere, and 92 percent said they see themselves in some role at BASF beyond three years.

Staying on top of packing quality-control measures can have positive ramifications for companies. For starters, products are more likely to arrive undamaged if they're in appropriately robust boxes. There’s also a safety element involved. Suppose a fragile item shatters in transit due to improper packaging. If the broken item has sharp edges, a person could be cut while trying to open the product. They might not even realize anything’s wrong until they reach inside and get hurt.

Fortunately, following an established set of checks can prevent such issues. Here are some steps not to overlook.

1. Test the package’s strength

It’s essential to see how a package will hold up when subjected to the many stresses it may undergo from the time it leaves its original location to when it reaches a final destination. The edge crush test is one of the best-known ways to check resilience. It’s a compression-based method to see how well a box retains its shape when placed in a stacked orientation. The most accurate way to perform it is to put the package between two metal plates and program a machine to exert a particular amount of force.

This is the first installment of a five-part series.  

In May, Quality Digest editor in chief Dirk Dusharme and I attended ASQ’s 2022 World Conference on Quality and Improvement (WCQI) in Anaheim, California. It was the first in-person conference since Covid hit the world, and attendance was just over 1,000, about a third of what had been the norm.  

ASQ made their leadership available for wide-ranging  video interviews  covering everything from the future of the quality profession to the society’s new legal structure. Quality Digest  appreciates their efforts to help us provide valuable reporting to our readers.  

In all, we conducted five interviews with:
• ASQ’s CEO Ann Jordan
• ASQ’s board of directors
• ASQE’s (ASQ Excellence) CEO Jim Templin
• ASQE’s board of directors
• Both CEOs together, talking about their “connected journey”

This first installment of the series is our interview with ASQ CEO Ann Jordan. She joined ASQ in 2017 as general counsel, and began serving as interim CEO in January 2020, which was confirmed in January 2021.