If you’ve ever wondered how your company’s spending patterns compare to others, we here at Quality Magazine aim to help.

How good are our product designs? Are they better than past versions? How do they compare with those from other companies?

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.

It’s been said that the human body is a marvel, the greatest machine ever designed. It’s not hard to find confirmation of that statement in the other machines man has designed and built.

There are a number of documents dealing with the calibration of thread gages purporting to be “standards” that are really more like training manuals. There is a need out there for this information but invariably, instead of sticking to the metrology involved, they delve into quality decisions and things start to come off the rails.