Articles by Ray Harkins

Automated automotive assembly line with robotic systems and vehicle bodies moving through a modern car manufacturing facility.

Measurement

Measuring Manufacturing Effectiveness: Downtime Frequency and Duration

Downtime behavior influences performance and quality beyond its direct impact on availability.

June 25, 2026

Most organizations track downtime in some form, but far fewer distinguish meaningfully between how often downtime occurs and how long it lasts.

This image shows a person in personal protective equipment (PPE) using a tablet, likely in an industrial or construction setting

Measurement

Cohen’s Kappa: Measuring Agreement Beyond Chance

Given how each inspector tends to classify items, how much agreement would we expect purely by chance?

Ray Harkins

January 21, 2026

Attribute inspection is one of the most widespread, yet difficult-to-control, measurement methods in manufacturing.

The group of dial indicator gauge on the table with lighting effect.

Measurement

Making Sense of Gage R&R Analysis

Ultimately, the goal is not just to evaluate the gage but to ensure that capability studies, SPC charts, and process improvement projects are built on reliable data.

Ray Harkins

October 24, 2025

Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) evaluates measurement systems in manufacturing, focusing on errors like repeatability (variability from the same operator) and reproducibility (variability from different operators). Gage R&R Analysis, using the A&R or ANOVA methods, quantifies these errors to ensure manufacturing processes meet customer requirements.

Discover how advanced FAI software automates First Article Inspection workflows by generating inspection plans, validating results in real time, integrating 2D/3D data, and reducing quality escapes to improve efficiency and compliance.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2026 PharmSci 360 held on October 25-28, 2026 in New Orleans!

AAPS is the convener of the pharmaceutical science community, bringing together thousands of scientists from across the world and the drug development process. For them, PharmSci 360 combines all the energy of a large scientific conference with the intimacy of a small niche meeting because of its unique programming structure.

PharmSci 360 is built on five tracks that cover the pharmaceutical development process. Scientists attending the meeting report that they build their schedule to solve their problems, and may attend programming in only one track or all of them!

Articles by Ray Harkins

Measuring Manufacturing Effectiveness: Downtime Frequency and Duration

Cohen’s Kappa: Measuring Agreement Beyond Chance

Making Sense of Gage R&R Analysis

Stay in the know with Quality’s comprehensive coverage of
the manufacturing and metrology industries.

Newsletters | Website | eMagazine

Articles by Ray Harkins

Stay in the know with Quality’s comprehensive coverage ofthe manufacturing and metrology industries.

Newsletters | Website | eMagazine

Stay in the know with Quality’s comprehensive coverage of
the manufacturing and metrology industries.