All Features
Dave Coffaro
Lessons throughout history inform us that cause precedes effect, and actions create results. Plato explained the principle of causality, saying “Everything that becomes or changes must do so owing to some cause; for nothing can come to be without a cause.” In Codex Atlanticus Leonardo da Vinci…
Bruce Hamilton
Shortly after a recent post, in which I referred to sowing the seeds of change, I enlisted the help of my son, Ben, to reseed a particularly bare area of our yard. I’d neglected this spot for a few years, and it had become sparse and dormant.
Fixing the problem was therefore not merely a matter of…
Lola Butcher, Knowable Magazine
This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.
In February 2020, the month before Covid-19 hit Boston, Partners Healthcare, the huge health system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital, treated 1,600 patients via video visits. By April, the number of patients seeking care through…
Donald J. Wheeler
With data that come along one number at a time, it is easy to get lost in the details. To see the big picture, it helps to use a time-series graph that will draw your eye in the direction that your mind wants to go. These simple graphs reveal how the values are changing over time and thereby place…
Greg Hutchins
My recent epiphany was that the lens for all work and even for everyday living during the next few years will be risk-based. Why do I make this case?
In January 2020, my company was selected to participate in the largest pitch fest in the Northwest, TechfestNW, which was originally scheduled for…
Tom Taormina
Each article in this series presents new tools for increasing return on investment (ROI), enhancing customer satisfaction, creating process excellence, and driving risk from an ISO 9001:2015-based quality management system (QMS). They will help implementers evolve quality management to overall…
Katherine McCormick
To detect a virus, you need to already know intimate details about it. You need to design a test particular to that virus: one that finds and copies only a specific, identifying piece of its genetic material.
But Mauricio Terrones and his collaborators at Penn State University think they’ve found…
Elizabeth Tippett
If you’re among the tens of millions of people returning to work or preparing to do so after months sheltering in place, you may be worried it will put you and your family at increased risk of exposure to Covid-19.
The dilemma may be especially stark for the millions of Americans who can expect…
Douglas S. Thomas
The cyber world is relatively new, and unlike other types of assets, cyber-assets are potentially accessible to criminals in far-off locations. This distance provides the criminal with significant protections from getting caught; thus, the risks are low, and with cyber-assets and activities being…
Paul Laughlin
This month I read Andy Kirk’s absorbing Data Visualisation 2, or to give it its proper title Data Visualisation 2nd Edition. The subtitle for this book is A Handbook for Data-Driven Design, which hints at how this is packed with advice.
Although the paperback version is a comfortable weight, it is…
Ted Theyerl
‘Forward!” It’s the state motto of Wisconsin, where I work to help manufacturing companies improve their operations and processes. It’s one simple word that holds a lot of meaning and relevance. It’s what I want companies I work with to embrace, practice, and execute. Forward is a word that helps…
Bruce Hamilton
For the last four months, GBMP has, of necessity, pivoted to predominantly virtual consulting, training, and coaching. Now, as the economy begins to reopen, I’d like to share with you two lessons that we have learned.
Office space adds limited value to our work
We have discovered that physical…
Dave Coffaro
Leaders are called to look beyond current conditions. That doesn’t mean we have a crystal ball or overlook today’s reality. It means we have to ask, “What’s next for our organization?” That’s not always easy, particularly in the midst of turmoil, yet it’s essential.
As evidence of the importance…
Ben Brumfield
Dang robots are crummy at so many jobs, and they tell lousy jokes to boot. In two new studies, these were common biases human participants held toward robots.
The studies were originally intended to test for gender bias, that is, if people thought a robot believed to be female may be less…
Ann Clark
Reshoring is the trend of bringing manufacturing from overseas back to its local origin—to here, the United States. The tariffs on Chinese, Canadian, and European imports were levied both to level the global-trade playing field and incentivize U.S. companies to bring manufacturing back to America.…
Eric Stoop
What makes someone a quality leader and not just a manager? According to experts at Harvard Business School, the difference between leading vs. managing comes down to a few key strategies.
Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn defines leadership as “the creation of positive, nonincremental…
Willow Ascenzo
During the late 19th century, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays and soon after discovered their properties for medical and industrial imaging when he created a radiograph of his wife’s hand. From this discovery, the powerful tool of X-ray radiography and tomography fell into the hands of medical…
Jim Benson
You feel like you need to prioritize. That is a cry for help. And prioritization isn’t the help you need.
At this point, any act of prioritizing is a small bandage on a very large wound. You can, and probably should, still do it, but it will give you only momentary relief.
Politics, silos, poor…
Ryan Ayers
Data are valuable assets, so much so that they are the world’s most valuable resource. That makes understanding the different types of data—and the role of a data scientist—more important than ever. In the business world, more companies are trying to understand big numbers and what they can do with…
Farhana Ahmad
When Intelex developed its return-to-work program, we decided the best approach would be a phased one. Similar to the concept of continuous deployment, breaking down the plan to allow individuals to quickly process, adapt, and execute practices and procedures makes it more manageable for employers…
Paul Laughlin
During this time of teams being physically apart, it is easy for leaders to avoid difficult conversations. Empathy and compassion from leaders matters at this time, but you will not be serving your team if you use this as an excuse to avoid all criticism or challenging feedback.
I am hearing from…
Celia Paulsen
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots, 3D printing, the internet of things (IoT)... there’s a whole world of advanced manufacturing technology and innovation just waiting for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) that want to step up their digital game. Unfortunately, manufacturing…
Davis Balestracci
“With data from an epidemic there is no question of whether a change has occurred. Change is everywhere. The question is whether we are getting better or worse. So while the process behavior chart may be the Swiss army knife of statistical techniques, there are times when we need to leave the knife…
NIST
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated a potentially new way to make switches inside a computer’s processing chips, enabling them to use less energy and radiate less heat.
The team has developed …
Angelo Scangas
A manufacturer’s ability to maintain high-quality products and regulatory compliance depends largely on its suppliers’ own quality-related activities. Supplier audits can be an important tool for manufacturing organizations to ensure their suppliers are consistently delivering high-quality parts,…
