How well do you think you’re optimizing your manufacturing process? Obviously suboptimal processes are not ideal, and most manufacturers are working on getting the most out of their current workflow. But what exactly is optimization?

Almost all organizations set performance targets for departments and/or individuals to conduct their operations and to deliver products and services to their customers. Although managers attempt to ensure their processes can handle all the issues that may arise in their business, in today’s complex world, these processes often fall short.

For most processes, we have a choice of measurement options that vary with cost. Ideally, we seek the most accurate measurement at the lowest cost with the expectation that the result will be satisfactory. When measurements are critical to operations, we should validate these assumptions.

Increasingly, manufacturers are looking at the potential of digital transformation to improve their competitiveness. The benefits in quality management are particularly compelling—offering the ability to optimize product quality and customers’ experiences by streamlining audits and reporting, improving batch and process manufacturing workflows, and synchronizing production centers to improve perfect order performance.

The fundamental goal of automation is to reduce reliance on manpower. Whether for traditional manufacturing or additive manufacturing, it is important to understand the capabilities of supporting post-process manufacturing and metrology for validating that process.

Successfully launching an SPC-based quality management solution requires more than just setting up the software. Learn how one company helped operators embrace the change and transform quality.

Sometimes adopting lean manufacturing means adding more people to a process. Eric Ethington, a lean product and process development coach, previously worked in the auto supply business. In a pump assembly product line, the typical cell had six operators.

Learn seven key considerations for designing a sampling plan that incorporates proper sampling frequency and rational subgrouping.

Zeta potential (ζ) is a key indicator of the stability of colloidal dispersions. The higher the magnitude of the zeta potential (that is, highly positive OR highly negative), the more stable the colloid.

As Dennis Arter (ASQ Fellow member and 2014 Distinguished Service Medalist) stated in a 2014 interview, “Many organizations make the mistake of lumping policies and procedures together as ‘policiesandprocedures.’” The five years since Arter’s proclamation haven’t changed organizations’ view of the two terms.