Items Tagged with 'culture of quality'

The manufacturing sector faces a pivotal moment in 2026. Employers and HR leaders are confronted by a scarcity of skilled workers, an aging workforce and intensifying competition for talent.

I felt it might be of interest to continue the discussion from my previous column on organizational culture. It is not easy for some organizations to convert to a culture that is truly focused on establishing a robust culture of quality.

Bennie Caldwell is the director of quality at Bullen Ultrasonics. He oversees the full spectrum of quality operations, including quality engineering, CMM programing, calibration, and final inspection. He also recently wrote an article for Quality.

Modern manufacturing is undergoing a profound transformation. Automation, digitalization, and AI are reshaping how products are designed, produced, and delivered. Yet amid this rapid evolution, many organizations overlook the most critical determinant of quality performance: culture.

In the Quality function of our organizations, we deal with a variety of activities: problem solving, decision making, project management, systems development, and much more. But few of them have the impact of communication.

Every organization, regardless of its mission, operates within a delicate framework of trust. We trust our colleagues to perform their duties, our systems to function as designed, and our leadership to steer us true. 

The manufacturing industry is overwhelmed with claims of "AI-powered" solutions that promise to transform quality management. However, there's little clarity on what this truly means. Learn how to move past the buzzwords and focus on what matters: how AI can transform quality management from a compliance-driven necessity to a strategic driver of manufacturing excellence.

Skepticism surrounds AI among quality professionals, but innovative organizations are already using it to improve operations through conversational interfaces. This highlights AI's potential to streamline processes and enhance decision-making by adapting existing solutions.

Jim Mayer, the Manufacturing Connector, explains how culture starts at the individual level, offers an example of culture from the world of F1 racing, and how the proposed ISO standards may include a cultural component as well.

Lean Daily Management plays a crucial role in sustaining a Lean culture by empowering employees through aligned goals, visual management, daily huddles, and active leadership engagement to foster continuous improvement and effective problem-solving.