Pareto charts provide clarity and direction, helping quality control departments target and resolve key challenges.

Model-Based Definition (MBD) offers a modernized approach to implementing GD&T into electric motor production using 3D models instead of traditional 2D drawings.

A Q&A with Reed Switch Developments Corp. president Debra Dahlin, and Engineering and QA Manager, Jeff Rosenbaum, to talk more about its holistic approach to quality.

As manufacturing and quality control becomes increasingly digital, auditing is increasingly enmeshed with technology and data analytics.

This article explores the transformative impact of incorporating rotary stages into coordinate measuring systems, enhancing their capabilities and the efficiency of the measurement process.

Manufacturing ERP software impacts every aspect of a business and enables automation and data-driven planning for operational efficiency, which is crucial for maintaining profitability in today's market.

Ensuring high quality in medical device manufacturing requires operational excellence, which optimizes efficiency and enhances product quality and compliance. Let’s explore some of the key elements and best practices.

As robots gain prevalence in manufacturing, emphasizing their safe use is vital. This includes understanding safety features, challenges, and best practices across all robot types, such as industrial, collaborative (cobots), autonomous mobile (AMRs), and humanoid robots, to navigate their complexities effectively.

Quality control in manufacturing and engineering relies heavily on compression force testing to determine material strength, durability, and stability. This article highlights the key uses and equipment needed for such testing.

Change is inevitable, and our greatest tool to deal with it is adaptability.

How is the ISO involved with Greenhouse Gasses (GHG)? Over the past 20 years or so, ISO has released a number of standards around GHG.

This month, I'm honored to speak at the ASQ Columbus (Ohio) Section’s annual conference on the theme "What is in Your Toolbox?" I'll discuss the seven basic quality tools I've extensively used over my 30+ years as a quality professional. Interestingly, unlike with my children, I do have a favorite among these tools.

Industry 4.0, or Technology 4.0, signifies the shift towards automation, data exchange, and advanced technologies like AI and IoT in manufacturing and beyond. Its value lies in aligning with organizational goals and strategic plans and enhancing employee efficiency, offering a comprehensive approach to modernizing operations across the board.

How did I end up working with medical devices? Reflecting on my career, it's been diverse. Three years ago, I was working on protein structure in research labs. I never thought I'd be in the world of quality later on!

Daniel Zrymiak highlights key threats to quality culture from his experience. Organizations must continuously check for these threats in operations and discussions, ready to respond appropriately.

Listen to this podcast featuring Harshala Patil, a Senior Quality and Reliability Engineer. In it, she discusses her journey into quality, the significance of quality across various industries, and what attracted her to the manufacturing sector.

In today's competitive industrial landscape, adhering to quality management certification and audit standards is vital for consistency and excellence, especially in sectors like aviation and defense. These standards drive improvement and build customer trust. Understanding the audit process is crucial, as preparation varies by audit type, enabling organizations to effectively meet auditors' expectations.

In a world where every minute matters, a car rental turns into a frustrating ordeal of delays and inefficiencies. Will I reach my important meeting on time, or will I be exposed to the 8 deadly wastes?

The Paris 2024 Olympics highlight global unity and the crucial role of metrology in ensuring accuracy and fairness in sports. Precise timing in events like track and swimming, accurate measurements in javelin and cycling, and monitoring environmental factors all contribute to the integrity of the Games and uphold competitive excellence.

The NextGen Global Advocacy Committee addresses the needs of young professionals under 40 or with less than four years of experience through a framework of understanding, engaging, and preparing for leadership. Recognizing that Millennials and Gen Z value inclusivity, networking, and technology integration is crucial for organizations like ASQ to meet these evolving needs and maintain a competitive edge.

American manufacturing is making a comeback, fueled by billions in investments and new technologies. This reshoring not only boosts job quality and economic opportunity but also mitigates supply chain risks exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But is there a catch?

Are you throwing away a significant portion of your budget without realizing it? How often do engineers, scientists, and analysts regenerate knowledge work—solving problems or similar problems that have already been solved?

Reed Switch Developments Corp. (RSD), a woman-owned manufacturer in Racine, WI, specializes in magnetic reed switches and sensors. Recognized as last year’s Quality Plant of the Year, RSD has achieved a 25% increase in sales year-to-date, leveraging in-house technical expertise and automation to manage growth amid rising costs and economic uncertainty.

One of the major challenges in the manufacturing industry is the skills gap and the need to attract more individuals, especially young people, to pursue careers in this field. Organizations like IMTS and ASQ emphasize the importance of showcasing the opportunities that a career in manufacturing offers.

The ongoing challenge for many companies is how to upgrade or integrate internal audit knowledge/competence and maybe cross train auditors for all the auditing schemes that your company is currently registered to or may be planning on expanding.

This article considers how quality professionals and practitioners can more effectively prepare for their certification exams which are proctored or supervised as they complete a selection of responses from multiple-choice questions.

This may seem like two very different fields, but they surprisingly intersect, combining the precision and accuracy of measurements with the creativity and subjectivity of artistic expression.

In our ever-changing world of global business, quality is a cornerstone of success. Organizations striving for excellence cannot afford to overlook Total Quality Management (TQM), a management philosophy centered on the continuous improvement of processes, products, and services through the involvement of all employees. 

Process validation is becoming ever more important within regulated and non-regulated industries.

A cohesive workforce is critical for success.

If someone gets hurt, you are not doing your job.

A bad boss creates more bad bosses.

Express pride in what you do and draw young workers in.

If you are blinded by any stigma, you are limiting your creativity.

AI, despite its hype, often causes delays in manufacturers' automation strategies due to confusion and fear. Fundamentally, AI complements machine vision, which uses handcrafted algorithms needing new formulas and trial-and-error development for each product type or feature.

The most frustrating moment in problem-solving is fixing an error only to see it reappear the next day. Until the root cause is identified and addressed, the issue will persist.

Manufacturers are prioritizing low-code AI tools to simplify application development, enabling non-experts to create and customize AI workflows.

Our company often gets asked how to choose quality inspection software and how to maximize its potential. Quality is crucial in manufacturing, and the right inspection software can be a game-changer. Our experts shed light on the benefits of choosing the right fit for your organization and maximizing its utility.

Advancements in AI and machine learning offer hope to revolutionize industrial automation and tackle modern manufacturing challenges.

Quality starts with requirements. Conformance to requirements is important, but not enough. The quality of the requirements is equally critical. An effective quality management system ensures that requirements are not only present and up to date, but also adequate for creating quality.

The Digital Twin Consortium (DTC) Composability Framework provides a transformative approach to digital twin system development, focusing on interoperability, security, trustworthiness, scalability, and design reuse to align with businesses’ objectives and evolving needs.

We explore two critical applications of AI and ML in quality management: predictive quality analytics and automated quality inspections.

The hype around "big data" has mainly aimed at niche market sales without delivering expected benefits. Similarly, the business world's obsession with Lean Six Sigma has shown minimal returns on investment. In contrast, over the last 25 years, I've leveraged small Excel files to significantly cut costs and increase profits, often by millions of dollars, through a reliable sequence I discovered.

Calibration is essential for maintaining quality and safety in industries like pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and chemicals. The future looks to digital certificates and AI technology to make calibration processes faster and more efficient. This article discusses how AI is set to transform calibration.

The automotive industry is innovating to produce safer and more efficient vehicles. Quality standards are vital, as small defects can lead to serious safety issues. Digital twins and augmented reality (AR) are transforming quality management. This article explores their impact and associated challenges.

This article shows how to make leadership aware of all costs and not just the tangible ones. It helps quality professionals to quantify the Total Cost of Quality and derive a compelling business case from that quantification.

Today’s manufacturing environment demands greater product variety, shorter lead times, and higher customer expectations. To meet these challenges, manufacturers need agile and efficient intralogistics solutions, specifically scalable, modular systems that adapt to production changes and optimize resources while ensuring high quality.

In March 2023, after a GPT model passed a biology exam, Bill Gates noted on his blog that AI could save lives and address climate change. If AI can tackle such significant challenges, it can also help with issues faced by manufacturers, metrologists, and quality control professionals. This article will examine the challenges metrologists encounter and highlight potential AI-driven solutions in the metrology value chain.

We are going to be dissecting six data integrity issues that require resolution prior to taking any further steps into the overall quality control process.

As consumers demand higher-quality goods at steadily increasing volumes, the chief benefits of industrial automation — speed, accuracy, and consistency—become more important to businesses worldwide with each passing day.