Quality doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t come as a result of just the corner office, but of countless people in the organization. Achievement of a robust quality culture is an outcome of the combined efforts of the minds and hearts of everyone working together toward a common cause.

If you’re curious about what the plant down the road is buying, we have some answers for you. And if you’re wondering what types of equipment are popular right now, we’ve looked into that as well. In our 19th Annual Spending Survey, we also looked to identify the change in your approach to quality today as compared to a year ago, the spending on quality equipment and services overall, and the change in the budget within categories.

The obvious reasons for automating quality in manufacturing are to reduce scrap, rework, overtime and costs while simultaneously increasing productivity and customer satisfaction. The non-obvious reasons include employee satisfaction, customer referrals and market growth. Automation also give managers and line workers insights into ongoing production. 

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. According to Ty Webb, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line…in the opposite direction.” 

They are two distinct phrases with two different meanings. But does your organization treat them that way?

Successful management and leadership of the quality department for an organization involves an integrated approach that includes a communication network that extends both horizontally and vertically within the organization as well as outward to customers and suppliers.