In early stages of industrialization, products were simpler, factories were smaller, most processes were manual, and process flows were shorter. Contact with customers was direct between production and customer.

Almost nothing gets done without software. Companies use it to track inventory, processes, and of course, communicate.

When challenged to improve efficiency, increase safety, and save money, Boston Scientific Heredia’s Amplatz Super Stiff Guidewires area team chose a DMAIC roadmap to reach its goal.

We’re already more than a decade into this new century, and companies are still waiting for the “next big thing” to surface.

During the oil embargo, as drivers lined up at gas stations, the market for small cars took off.

Quality cops and the quality patrol. These are just two of the many names quality managers and technicians have been called over the past 70-plus years.

Organizations are successful if they incorporate structured steps for implementing Lean Six Sigma so that the enterprise as a whole benefits.

Last month I laid out “A Roadmap for the Future” which received a favorable reaction, therefore, I thought I might continue along this path on a subject that is important to every quality professional.

Around 1999, Hypertherm Inc. changed the manufacture of one of their products from a “craft style,” in which one person built the entire product from start to finish, to a team approach.

Recently I had a conversation with a senior quality engineer at a large manufacturing operation about the future of the quality profession. There is no definite answer because no one has a crystal ball but a transformation has been underway. There have been several studies published and many articles, including some by this author, written on this issue.