Hazard- and risk-based approaches to product design and manufacturing may be required by some standards, but they are also simply good practice. These approaches require a more holistic view of the product, intended use, skillset of users, materials, environment, and end-of-life. 

The requirements of ISO 9001:2015 are viewed and implemented very differently by organizations, depending upon such variables as their size, resources, business sector, maturity, and external requirements.

For process manufacturing companies, it is a constant challenge to meet their customer’s product quality specifications, while operating as lean as possible. 

Voice of the Customer (VoC): Enhance Quality by Capturing Stated, Implied and Silent Needs is the first in a series of Insight Reports dedicated to helping you improve your quality management by mastering the Voice of the Customer methods.

“Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a term often heard by just about anyone who has ever set out to perform a task. It can be found on inspirational posters and do-it-yourself home repair manuals as well as articles on life management and corporate handbooks.

Smart manufacturing is enabling the best decisions in the shortest time based on the most accurate and actual real-time data—whether those decisions are made by people, automated machines or cyber-physical systems.

CMMs are vital measurement systems for many quality departments. Of the many active components of these systems, the software used to control and record the measurement of parts is critical to getting the most complete performance out of your machine. It is important to be diligent in your search for the software package that will best fit your needs. 

Computers have been used to automate manufacturing processes and tasks for many years. Until the 2010s, product assembly was centralized. Over the course of this decade, however, companies have been nudging organization-wide systems toward decentralization. 

Most organizational leaders know that quality makes them more competitive and yields improved bottom-line results. They know what they need to achieve—product and/or service quality—but many organizations struggle with how to consistently yield the quality they seek. This is where ASQ can best provide assistance.

Quality is the most frequently cited reason for reshoring manufacturing to the United States. According to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2017 Data Report, quality cost ranked number one as the most frequently mentioned negative factor experienced offshore from 2010 through 2017.