Freightliner Customizes Quality The Quality Magazine 2007 Plant of the Year, Freightliner’s Mt. Holly, NC, Truck Manufacturing Plant, is loud-bring earplugs-and busy, producing about 80 trucks per day, with plans to produce twice that in the coming years. The plant is constantly in motion, with 1,200 employees weaving throughout the shop floor, along with robots, automated carts and, of course, various parts on their way to becoming a truck.

View a slideshow of Freightliner’s Mt. Holly, NC, Truck Manufacturing Plant

Positive Material Identification (PMI) refers to the identification and analysis of various metal alloys based on their chemical composition in nondestructive testing (NDT). Because specifications for materials used in industry are increasingly more specific, the need for PMI testing has been steadily increasing for the past several years.

The concept of signal (S) to noise (N) ratios has high visibility in design of experiment circles due to the work of Taguchi and his disciples.

Industrial environments demand rugged and reliable solutions regardless of the type of system to be deployed. Electronics as a group are some of the most mechanically and performance fragile systems that live on the shop floor.

For a long time surface metrology has been based upon measurement using 2D profilometers. Over the past twenty years the appearance of 3D profilometers and non-contact gauges has created a need for the standardization and formalization of the analysis of 3D surface texture.

WinSPC: Real-time SPC software to improve product & process quality

Nearly half of the current membership of the American Measuring Tool Manufacturers Association (AMTMA) gathered for a three-day meeting March 14 to 16. The annual meeting had several firsts-its first end user as a member, its first meeting under the leadership of the members themselves and its first in-depth look at the market in which their measurement tools are used.

While L.A. Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant was putting together a consecutive series of 50-point games and attracting thousands to the Staples Center to watch him simply shoot warm-up baskets, thousands more were checking out the latest in measurement and manufacturing equipment next door at the L.A. Convention Center.

The 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit, held in Miami January 22 to 25, offered attendees workshops, a variety of tracks and networking opportunities, and the chance to meet a former Secretary of State.

Customer satisfaction and financial performance are undoubtedly key areas to focus on for a successful business, but attaining these goals is sometimes difficult. The 2007 International Conference on ISO 9000 addressed these issues and offered a current and comprehensive technical program, as well as networking opportunities for attendees. The conference and workshops, February 25 to 28, were held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, FL.