A colleague once remarked, "Quality is like water; it flows toward the gaps." This illustrates that quality supports all areas of a business, targeting weaknesses and communication gaps. Ultimately, a strong quality organization aims to improve processes and ensures customer satisfaction.
Manufacturing leaders struggle with the choice between embracing change or risking stagnation, often delaying the adoption of lean manufacturing. Despite its benefits, resistance stems from entrenched habits and misunderstandings of its full potential.
Kalpita Mehta is a combination products and medical device expert at a top U.S. generic manufacturer. She specializes in developing complex pharmaceutical products like COVID-19 testing kits.
Supply chain vulnerabilities threaten businesses across industries, highlighted by recent disruptions like the bird flu. Companies must adopt an integrated approach—encompassing third-party monitoring and ethical AI practices—to enhance resilience and mitigate risks amid evolving regulations.
Advanced ultrasonic testing techniques, such as Phased Array (PAUT) and the emerging Full Matrix Capture/Total Focusing Method (FMC/TFM), are transforming weld-quality examinations and are recognized in ASME and AWS codes. A crucial aspect of these methods is a comprehensive Scan Plan for maintaining testing quality and consistency.
Effective strategy deployment goes beyond management by objectives, requiring a clear vision, defined responsibilities, and aligned resources. It focuses on key objectives that align with customer needs, guiding the organization toward strategic priorities through collaboration.
The ASQ Inspection Division has selected Pharmaceuticals Calibration and Instrumentation’s Metrologist/QA Lead, Fikremariam (Fikre) Woldegiorgis, as the 2025 Chuck Carter International Inspector of the Year.
Collecting measurement and test data in manufacturing is vital for enhancing productivity and cutting costs. However, if key practices are not followed, resources can be wasted. To maximize the value of quality data, three essential actions must be taken.
Companies face a pivotal decision when choosing a machine vision system: develop in-house or partner with a system integrator. Balancing control and expertise against potential challenges is essential, and key factors like expertise, time, budget, and complexity must be evaluated.
In the plastics industry, maintaining consistent color quality is challenging due to variations in raw materials and processing. Digital color management can enhance accuracy and communication, helping to reduce waste and errors.