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Kevin Meyer
My lean journey of more than 20 years has changed my life in many ways, perhaps none as pervasively as recognition of and disdain for waste.
Along with respect for people, waste awareness has changed my career, leadership style, and personal life. Observing waste has led to a life of increasing…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with drugmakers in a new way to help the industry adopt scientifically sound, novel technologies to produce quality medicines that are consistently safe and effective—with an eye toward avoiding drug shortages.
When manufacturing problems…
Davis Balestracci
Marketers are relentless in their efforts to seduce you with fancy tools, acronyms, Japanese terminology—and promises—about their versions of formal improvement structures such as Six Sigma, lean, lean Six Sigma, or the Toyota Production System, each with its own unique toolbox.
In my last column…
Bruce Hamilton
Mel Brooks fans will remember Spaceballs, his jocular jibe at the Star Wars franchise. In pursuit of a rebel ship, evil Lord Dark Helmet (played by Rick Moranis) orders his crew to accelerate their craft beyond the speed of light to “ludicrous speed.”
Although time travel remains within the…
NIST
Let’s say you’re a biotechnologist working to develop new medicines or a better test for forensic analysis. You might find yourself frequently using absorbance spectroscopy, a technique that allows researchers to identify even small amounts of a substance (such as DNA) or an antibody based on how…
Mark Esser
Maintaining a social media account involves keeping track of the many random celebrations that can provide an excuse to post a story that otherwise might not have a timely hook. National Peanut Butter Day (Jan. 24 for the uninitiated) is just such a day.
While NIST chemist Carolyn Burdette spent…
Chris Howells
Reputation is fast becoming one of the most important risks to manage. Build quantifiable arguments to get boards on board.
Corporate reputation, the close cousin of a firm’s brand, is one of the most intangible assets a company has. If a brand is the inside-out perception of a firm, reputation…
Bob Emiliani
Every day, thousands of people confuse lean management with “Taylorism,” properly known as scientific management. The negative association brings out the lean bigwigs and others who work hard to create a great separation between lean and Frederick Winslow Taylor. This is an ill-informed and…
Kevin McKinley
Walking the snowy streets of the small Swiss town of Davos, it was impressive to know that 40 heads of state and 2,500 leaders from business and society were there to talk about some of the most important global challenges facing us today.
In the main congress hall, I saw and met leading…
Chad Kymal
ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2015 establish clear expectations for top management. Not only are executives accountable for the effectiveness of these respective systems, they also have specific tasks ranging from establishing objectives to supporting relevant managers in their…
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Although the most common method of metal 3D printing is growing exponentially, moving forward from producing prototypes to manufacturing critical parts will be possible only by reaching a fundamental understanding of the complex physics behind the process, according to a new paper written by…
Grant Ramaley
The International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) began a pilot phase for its new Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP) in January 2014. This audit combines regulatory audits the manufacturer would typically face when they sell their products in certain IMDRF member countries: the…
NIST
Flu season typically peaks between December and February, but by the time the winter holidays roll around, many of us will have already waited in line at area clinics, grocery stores, and pharmacies to get our annual flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control reports that U.S. vaccination efforts…
These days, even a cursory scan of the headlines brings fresh reminders of risk, from the ramifications of climate change to shocking terror events such as the recent attacks on Paris by the Islamic State. Now more than ever, companies need risk managers.
Paradoxically, however, the new ubiquity…
Miriam Boudreaux
Before 2015, many of us rode one of the largest waves of success in the history of the oil and gas industry. Everything was booming—companies, salaries, bonuses, cities, services, etc. Then 2015 came and crashed the party, leaving us all a bit uncertain.
Now, entering 2016, you may have some your…
Christine Schaefer
A question for devotees of the Baldrige Excellence Framework: Do people who passionately promote continuous improvement within organizations also tend to make New Year’s resolutions to improve their own well-being?
Seriously, I’m wondering if those who fully appreciate the framework’s value in…
David Schwinn
Wherever you stand, be the Soul of that place. —Rumi
I was blessed last week to spend two glorious days with my wife, Carole, our daughter, Lisa, and Lisa’s consulting partner, Rox. Those two days were a model for how we could be in every one of our workplaces... and the world would be a better…
Grant Ramaley
On Dec. 23, 2015, a vote was taken among 78 nations with accreditation bodies that are part of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). From the vote it was determined that a new international database for quality management system (QMS) certifications should be created.
The intent of the…
Mike Micklewright
I’ve made the point many times that the quality function and the lean/continuous improvement/kaizen function within an enterprise are really one and the same. Treating them as separate value streams with their own documentation, procedures, and goals is wasteful, short-sighted, and disrespectful…
Mike Micklewright
To many people, the relationship between daily kaizen and statistical process control (SPC) might seem as remote as the relationship between a kangaroo and the past iconic American TV series Friends. And yet, a kangaroo and Friends have a commonality in that each contains a “Joey.” Daily kaizen…
TÜV SÜD America
Sponsored Content
Company managers have a lot on their plates. It’s a tall order to handle daily operations, inventory, staffing needs, training, deadline and quota expectations, and a bevy of other duties. The best managers know enough to delegate certain responsibilities which can help maintain…
Gilles Hilary, Arnaud Lagarde
Eric (not his real name) was under pressure from his sales department. He was hesitant to close a large financing deal with a Chinese corporation but had little beyond his intuition to back up his position.
The company’s stock price had gained a whopping 600 percent in one year. Nevertheless,…
Dawn Bailey
Losing can actually have its benefits. For Baldrige users, however, it’s a common saying that everyone is a winner who takes that first step.
The most important reason for using the Baldrige Excellence Framework is not to win an award but to improve financial and business performance, says Joseph…
Bruce Hamilton
A piece of popular lore, provided by Shigeo Shingo, is that the original name for mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) was actually fool-proofing (baka-yoke). Shingo chided managers at Panasonic for using the latter term, as it disrespected workers by essentially calling them fools.
Shingo substituted…
Christine Schaefer
Being a Baldrige examiner: What is the experience like? Some have compared the work—especially during the final phase of an evaluation—to being in a rigorous MBA program. Others may find it’s like being part of a dispersed but highly engaged task force, as teams collaborate online and on the phone…