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The ability to identify and resolve quality-related issues quickly and efficiently is essential to anyone working in quality assurance or process improvement. But statistical quality control can quickly get complex and unwieldy for the average person, making training and quality assurance more difficult to scale. Thankfully, engineers have discovered that most quality control problems can be solved by following a few key fundamentals. These fundamentals are called the seven basic tools of quality. With these basic quality tools in your arsenal, you can easily manage the quality of your product or process, no matter what industry you serve. Learn about these quality management tools and find templates to start using them quickly. ...Read More

Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000, according to the latest estimates by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization published in Environment International today. In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%. ...Read More

Luciano Pavarotti said it best: "One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." Enjoy your food, but be sure to follow these food safety tips in order to avoid foodborne sickness. ...Read More

Leading a team is often a tiring and demanding venture. With so many moving pieces, finding the right balance from week to week can feel overwhelming. Luckily, there are numerous techniques to make team management much simpler and more rewarding. As you put together a team for your project you will begin to see the best ways to assist them, what goals to set, and how to effectively communicate with each other. These strategies improve as time progresses, but there are some steps you can take to expedite the process. ...Read More

Being promoted to manager for the first time is both exhilarating and challenging. It takes smarts to move up the corporate ladder but transitioning into your new role means mastering a new skill set. No matter what kind of business or field you work in, these 15 tips will help you navigate the managerial waters. ...Read More

It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that Lean management owes a great deal of its success in pulling new work in progress instead of pushing it. This allows you to create and deliver value to your customers only when there is a demand. However, managing a pull system wouldn’t be possible without maintaining a continuous flow of work. This is not an easy task as demand is in a constant state of flux. In order to meet demand and run your process in the leanest and most efficient way, you need to define takt time for your work process. ...Read More

Kanban is a visual method for controlling production as part of Just in Time (JIT) and Lean Manufacturing. As part of a pull system it controls what is produced, in what quantity, and when. Its purpose is to ensure that you only produce what the customer is asking for and nothing more. It is a system of signals that is used through the value stream to pull product from customer demand back to raw materials. Its literal meaning is that of a flag or sign, when you see that flag you know that it is time to manufacture the next part. Kanbans can take many forms but in most production facilities they will use Kanban cards or bins to control the process, although there are no limits to how you can control and design kanbans; only your imagination. ...Read More

Typically, your career path progresses through four main levels. You begin by offering hard work in exchange for low wages and valuable experience. Eventually, you leverage your accumulated experience to gain higher wages and benefits. However, even while giving your best, you may encounter career stagnation. One significant reason for this can be the limitations imposed by your workplace's strategy due to its current life cycle phase. Therefore, to ensure a smooth career trajectory, you need to transition to the right workplace at the right time. This requires understanding the four levels of career development and the four phases of a business life cycle, along with how their overlap can either accelerate or decelerate your progress. ...Read More

A serious workplace can suck out the positive vibes from the work environment. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually critical to have fun in order to boost mood, improve productivity, and performance in the long run. In fact, a study found that happier employees are more productive by an average of 12%. ...Read More

Situational Leadership® is a common-sense, contingency-based leadership model that consists of four common leadership styles. Two points of clarification in that regard: 1. Unfortunately, “common sense” is anything but “common practice.” 2. “Contingency-based” basically means the correct answer to the question: a. “What is the best leadership style?” b. Answer: It depends! A Situational Leader employs one of four leadership styles that provide him or her with the highest probability of success in every situation they encounter. Those situations are a function of the task that needs to be performed, in conjunction with the task-related ability and willingness of the follower identified to perform it. Based on the objective assessment of those parameters, and with the responsibility of successfully and effectively influencing the follower, the leader responds to the situation with one of four leadership styles. Those styles are operationally defined by Task/Directive Behavior and Relationship/Supportive Behavior: • Task/Directive Behavior – the extent to which the leader tells the follower what to do, how to do it, where it needs to be done and when it needs to be completed ...Read More

Safety in the workplace cannot exist on the best practice policies or the procedures and the guidelines alone. Creating the safe environment is based on how the well everyone in your organization communicates and the adheres to the safety policies or the procedures. The real foundation of any valid initiative is one that supports employees to quickly the identify possibilities for the improvement as well as the unsafe or risky behavior behaviors. Instead of the thinking of safety as the passive measure, you can break the organizational it down into the daily steps. These are the actionable things that everyone in the organization can do every day to ensure the higher level of the assurance as well as the productivity. The following given information or message explains the eight daily workplace health and safety tips that you can immediately implement the shared responsibility in the whole organization. ...Read More

Every regulated organization understands the need to implement a quality system. In fact, it’s a “shall” clause for all life sciences companies to ensure they are in compliance with industry regulations. The focus of any effective quality system is, and rightly so, all about ensuring patient safety. From there, as the organization matures, its people, processes and technology evolve from a compliance, to a correction, to a prevention mindset, eventually resulting in increased quality brand recognition and shareholder value. Consider a scenario in which a manufacturer maximizes the capabilities of its quality system. If that company really “did it right the first time;” if every motion, thought, and investment -- from the product development, through market approval, and through manufacturing at all production sites and along the value chain -- were spent “right the first time” -- the outcome would be “right.” Right for the consumer/patient and for the manufacturer. In the real world, companies need to engage quality system processes, such corrective and preventive action (CAPA), as the lifeline to feed improvements through the change management processes into the product li ...Read More

Environment, health, and safety (EHS) managers are always looking for ways that they can mitigate risk, take preventive action against potential hazards and incidents, and improve their company’s overall safety culture. Behavior-based safety (BBS) is an effective tool that can be put to use in achieving all of these goals. Basically, BBS is a method of avoiding human error and improving workplace safety by observing and analyzing employees’ behavior while they work. Let’s take a look at some of the key concepts of BBS, along with actions EHS managers and professionals can take to put the concepts to beneficial use at their organizations. Before we get started, however, we must first emphasize one thing in order to dispel a common misconception about BBS: Behavior-based safety is NOT about blaming the employee for safety mishaps. It is about positively reinforcing safe behaviors while providing corrective feedback when risky behaviors are observed. ...Read More

Project management is an increasingly important business function, essential to organizations looking to increase the efficiency and timeliness of their work. The official responsibilities of project managers typically include initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing projects. They also oversee several key tasks in pursuit of successful project completion, including assembling a project team, monitoring project budget, setting timelines, overseeing deliverables, and communicating with stakeholders. It’s not only project managers that are tasked these types of responsibilities, however. Even without the title of ‘project manager’, many professionals can still benefit from learning the skills and techniques project managers utilize every day. Read on to explore tailored tips to help you improve your project management skills, even if you aren’t a project manager. ...Read More

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Lean Management has adopted the principles and techniques originating as part of the Lean Manufacturing methodology and developed them further. Now we can experience Lean's benefits in management and transfer successful techniques from the times of post-war Japan to modern-day business conditions. One of the most valuable takeaways is Poka-Yoke. It has become one of the most powerful work standardization techniques and can be applied to any manufacturing or service industry. Its idea to prevent errors and defects from appearing in the first place is universally applicable and has proven to be a true efficiency booster. ...Read More

Jidoka is one of the most important Lean methods for ensuring built-in quality. Learn how it can help you enhance your workflow. ...Read More

While today’s competition in the Food & Beverage industry remains fierce, there are steps your manufacturing company can take to foster success. It starts by addressing many of the challenges the industry faces, such as managing cash flow; assessing some of the hottest trends in the industry; focusing your business offerings; and utilizing networking and social media to help your company increase sales. For more than 30 years, Sensiba San Filippo (SSF) has worked with manufacturing and distribution companies of all sizes to meet these very challenges. Karen Burns, Audit Partner and Food & Beverage Practice Leader for the firm, shares five steps critical to success in this industry. ...Read More

A quick online browse of a few job boards can easily demonstrate that there is no shortage of positions available. But building a rewarding career doesn’t involve accepting just any job. It’s all about knowing how to find the right job for you – one that engages and motivates you, and brings the rewards of making a valuable contribution each working day. ...Read More

We asked executives who have been through many career highs and lows how to know when it’s time to move on from a job. Many professionals examine their career in a harder, more critical way, prompting them to reconsider how they’re pacing. Most of the time, this includes determining whether they should stay loyal to their employer—or start the process of applying elsewhere or going freelance. Most Americans will spend far more time with their coworkers than their spouses, so remaining at a gig that doesn’t fulfill, challenge, or make you happy is not only a waste of time, but also energy and spirit. Instead of seeking the advice of career experts or coaches, many executives at leading companies have been through lots of professional ebbs and flows, so they recognize when it’s time to move on. Here, they explicitly note the hints you might be missing that it’s time to quit your job. ASAP. ...Read More

Quality Function Deployment, or QFD, is a model for product development and production popularized in Japan in the 1960’s. The model aids in translating customer needs and expectations into technical requirements by listening to the voice of customer. ...Read More

I’ve spent years negotiating many types of deals and living with the results as well as observing the negotiating styles and skills of other senior leaders. With that perspective, I thought I would share what I have learned about being an effective negotiator. ...Read More

The core concept of the Theory of Constraints is that every process has a single constraint and that total process throughput can only be improved when the constraint is improved. A very important corollary to this is that spending time optimizing non-constraints will not provide significant benefits; only improvements to the constraint will further the goal (achieving more profit). ...Read More

The Monte Carlo simulation is an important technique in risk management that many PMP and PMI-RMP exam study books do not describe in detail. Most of the guides say it is a complex technique that requires a computer’s assistance, and so aspirants don’t dig further. This assumption is not true; it is a straightforward technique. ...Read More

A confined space is one which is both enclosed, or largely enclosed, and which also has a reasonably foreseeable risk to workers of fire, explosion, loss of consciousness, asphyxiation or drowning. It may be small and restrictive for the worker or it could be far larger such as a grain storage silo with hundreds of cubic metre capacity. ...Read More

Proper defrosting reduces your risk of food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when you eat food that contains harmful bacteria. Meat, poultry, fish and seafood must reach a safe internal cooking temperature to kill bacteria in the meat. If food is not thawed properly, bacteria that may have been present on their surface before freezing can begin to multiply. If raw meat is partly frozen when you cook it, it can lead to uneven cooking. This means certain parts of the meat may not reach the safe internal cooking temperature required to kill the bacteria. When defrosting meat, poultry, fish and seafood, avoid cross-contamination by: *sanitizing your: -sink -dishes -utensils -surfaces *washing your hands Some people are more at risk for food poisoning than others, including: -seniors -pregnant women -children ages 5 and under -people with weakened immune systems ...Read More

Just in Time (JIT), as the name suggests, is a management philosophy that calls for the production of what the customer wants, when they want it, in the quantities requested, where they want it, without it being delayed in inventory. So instead of building large stocks of what you think the customer might want you only make exactly what the customer actually asks for when they ask for it. This allows you to concentrate your resources on only fulfilling what you are going to be paid for rather than building for stock. Within a Just in Time manufacturing system, each process will only produce what the next process in sequence is calling for. ...Read More

Every project, regardless of its subject matter, starts with an idea and ends (if successful) with a functioning reality of the idea's intent. Projects that fail are sometimes considered losses, but, most often, they also offer excellent lessons on how to avoid repeating the failures in the future. The Sydney, Australia Opera House is a notable example. ...Read More

Starting your own company is an exciting time but having a great business idea doesn’t always mean long-term success and a high risk of failure is a fact of life for all start-ups. Instead of pumping more time and money into a failing business, sometimes it can be better to cut your losses. It’s no use sticking your head in the sand and the quicker you acknowledge potential problems, the better chance you have of doing something about them before it’s too late. Very few companies fail without warning. Here are five signs that your business could be in serious trouble: ...Read More

"Good luck!" It's a common word of encouragement you'll hear from colleagues when they find out that you're facing an ISO audit. Of course, trusting in luck isn't a great strategy with this much on the line. You should prepare in every way possible so that luck won't play into the results. And one of the best ways to prepare is to learn from the mistakes of others. Too many life sciences companies find themselves under scrutiny because they thought they had all of their bases covered, but, in fact, failed to pay attention to common nonconformities cited during ISO audits. Let's take a look at the ISO audit blooper reel so that you can avoid these mistakes and pass with flying colors. ...Read More

Also called: process flowchart, process flow diagram Variations: macro flowchart, top-down flowchart, detailed flowchart (also called process map, micro map, service map, or symbolic flowchart), deployment flowchart (also called down-across or cross-functional flowchart), several-leveled flowchart A flowchart is a picture of the separate steps of a process in sequential order. It is a generic tool that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes, and can be used to describe various processes, such as a manufacturing process, an administrative or service process, or a project plan. It's a common process analysis tool and one of the seven basic quality tools. Elements that may be included in a flowchart are a sequence of actions, materials or services entering or leaving the process (inputs and outputs), decisions that must be made, people who become involved, time involved at each step, and/or process measurements. ...Read More

The tedious resume building, the tiring process of job searching, the excitement of getting replies from companies, the nervousness of doing job interviews and the excitement of getting the employment letter are the steps of getting a new job for recent graduates. Accepting the job offer and signing contracts are the most exciting parts of finding a job, but how do you know the job is right for you? After all, you may have this job for the rest of your life. Before signing that contract, there are some things you might want to consider. The following lists of 5 criteria should be thought out when evaluating the company you plan to work with: ...Read More

Business performance indicators have evolved over the last decades, not considering only the financial perspective because of the main reason in particular: to quantitatively reveal the effectiveness in achieving goals in the face of the improvement actions implemented. Through them, a company can scale the effective capacity of its actions and decisions, so that a current reference value is known before any improvement strategy is executed. It is on the basis of this initial control that the proposed and performed actions for the combat of waste and the increase of performance can be faithfully be evaluated, revealing clearly what the new index of improvement achieved. In this way, there can be evidence of the progress of an area, company or sector over time, where hasty decisions are revealed and effective actions are measured and analyzed. It is only by relying on benchmarks of performance that an organization can prove its success and increasingly stimulate its sustainability in the market. In this article, you will learn a very efficient performance indicator when assessing the new level of performance achieved through the solution actions performed. You will ...Read More

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to periodically track and evaluate the performance of a business or organization toward the achievement of specific goals. They are also used to gauge the overall performance of the company against other comparable companies within the industry. Key Performance Indicators can either be internal or external. Internal KPIs are used to gauge internal goals in the departments or sections, but will also impact achieving the core goals of the company. KPIs help to mobilize employees to work toward the achievement of core objectives. External KPIs are used to gauge departmental/section performance in relation to the overall core objectives of the company. KPIs vary from one company to another, depending on their particular goals and chosen performance criteria. ...Read More

By extracting and cataloguing data, organisations can pinpoint and evaluate relationships, patterns and trends so they can glean insights and draw conclusions based on the data and use these to make informed decisions. Such data can include information on: - Processes, Products, People, Materials - Market, Suppliers, Customers, Competitors - Costs, Prices, Revenue - ……… It’s an interesting innovative work, to collect and convert irrelative tinny pieces of data into insights and recommendations leading to right decision. But how do data analysts actually turn raw data into something useful? There are a range of methods and techniques that data analysts use depending on the type of data in question and the kinds of insights they want to uncover. In this article we summarize the main concepts, tools, and techniques of data analytics. ...Read More

Quality assurance, control and management are key pillars of business stability and success. Failure to adhere to these principles can lead to cataclysmic and indeed tragic consequences, as these five events reveal. ...Read More

There are some regularities that happen in every sales process in order to achieve a sale—you must find an ideal customer, establish trust, present solutions, close the deal, and nurture the relationship. Understanding these nine effective sales techniques will enable you to sell your product or service in a way that benefits your customers and your company. Selling might seem easy when you list these sales techniques out, but actually implementing them successfully takes a lot of practice. Mastering these skills is not like riding a bike, but more like brushing your teeth—you need to do them every day to see the results, even when you’re not in the mood. ...Read More

Freelance Content Marketing Writer and Strategist, Freelance Writer for National Brands including IBM, Ameriprise, Adobe, Samsung and Hewlett Packard ...Read More

Time – it’s a concept that everybody understands differently. But everyone is agreement of one thing: We need more of it. Here's how you can manage your time more effectively. Everybody wants to increase their productivity and work more efficiently. While there is no one-size-fits-all method to time management – everybody needs to find out for themselves which method(s) work best for them – there are certain do’s and don’ts that you can use as a guide to more effective time management. ...Read More

By: Simon Bodie Tools and methodology will only get a person so far. Experience gained from the practical implementation of Six Sigma solutions is priceless. A list of tips, tools and suggestions for Six Sigma practitioners can help avoid many pitfalls of project management. Some fundamental points for project success are: ...Read More

The salary negotiation process can be a tricky one for both employees and job-seekers. Workers can feel uncomfortable asking for higher pay from current or potential employers. With the job market as fickle as it is, some feel grateful just to have found employment at all, settling for a lower salary and neglecting the fact they are working for less than they’re worth. If you’ve been offered a new position at a company or you think your current job title deserves a higher salary increase, it may be time to work on your salary negotiation strategies. ...Read More

Phage therapy is an approach in which viruses (bacteriophages or phages) fight specific pathogenic bacteria while leaving beneficial bacteria, people, animals and plants unharmed. A phage fights a certain bacteria by specifically attaching itself to it and injecting its hereditary material into the bacteria cell. The bacterial cell is disabled as a result and will then start producing many completely new phages. Since the phages make holes in the cell wall from the inside out (lysis), this dies off. The phages that are then released re-attach themselves to a new prey and this cycle repeats itself. In addition to phage therapy, it is also possible to use the enzymes caused by this lysis for specific anti-bacterial activities. This is known as lysine therapy. ...Read More

A team is a group of people working together with equal commitment, toward a common goal or set of targets. Hiring team members based on their knowledge and technical skills is not enough to assure team capability to achieve its goals, different behavior styles of individuals play an important role and affecting the way to access their common targets. Experts indicated that the most successful teams were made up of a diverse mix of behaviors, Understanding the behavior style of yourself and others helps you optimize advantages and avoid weaknesses Here are 4 main behavior styles you meet in every workplace, Though each behavioral style is unique, it’s uncommon to find a person who exhibits every characteristic of one style. Usually, you’ll find that an individual is a mixture of all 4 – but with one leading behavior.

Career development is the process of choosing a career, improving your skills, and advancing along a career path. It's a lifelong process of learning and decision-making that brings you closer to your ideal job, skillset, and lifestyle. Improving your career development will help you stay competitive when it's time to seek a promotion or apply for a new opportunity. The tips below will help you improve your career development so you can succeed in your chosen career path. ...Read More

Your company has recently switched to the Lean manufacturing method. You’re on board with this idea—everyone commits to less waste, making the company more efficient and your job a lot easier. But then you realize a key part of Lean methodology involves value stream mapping. You look at one example, and you’re not even sure where you’d begin recreating this diagram for your own process. If you find yourself stuck in the situation above or you just want to find out more, use this guide to learn about the value stream map process. ...Read More

The Project Management Institute’s 2020 Pulse of the Profession report reveals that 11.4 percent of business investment is wasted due to poor project performance. Today’s organizations must uncover the cause of these failures and determine what project management professionals can do to help overcome these challenges. “For decades, we’ve been trying to improve the rate of project success,” says Northeastern University assistant teaching professor Jacques Alexis. “Poor planning has been one of the consistent causes of failure. Often this means the project management team did not engage stakeholders in the planning and therefore didn’t understand the scope of the project. If you don’t understand the scope of the project, then the schedule and the budget will be unrealistic. There is ample evidence that planning is a critical success factor in project management.” Alexis is a scholar-practitioner with a unique combination of expertise in business economics, general management, portfolio, project, and operations management. He has nearly two decades of experience managing major programs and projects within the manufacturing and power generation industries. Based on his experien ...Read More

To figure out how to create a successful project, you need to be somewhat of a jack of all trades. This is because there are many factors to consider, and just as many challenges to overcome. With this in mind, let’s look at what successful project management looks like, and the steps you need to take to get there. ...Read More

Research has indicated that the percentage of Americans who are stressed at work is high—and it’s only getting higher. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, 29 to 40% of Americans report being "extremely stressed at work. Work stress has significant health consequences that range from relatively benign (like getting more colds and flus) to potentially serious (such as heart disease and metabolic syndrome). While stress at work is common, finding a low-stress job is hard (if not impossible). A more realistic approach is to adopt effective coping strategies to reduce stress at your current job. Here are some stress management techniques you can try if you are finding it hard to cope with work stress. ...Read More

A run chart is a line chart of data plotted over time. In other words, a run chart graphically depicts the process performance or data values in time order. Viewing data over time gives a more accurate conclusion rather than just summary statistics. A run chart is also known as trend chart or time series plot. Usually, run charts are used in measure phase of DMAIC project and it helps to identify trends or shifts in process and allows testing for randomness in the process. ...Read More

Implementing and maintaining a Quality Management System (QMS) can be quite a challenge. It's not always easy to find the information, method, person or time to implement the QMS that best suits your needs. In this article, we wanted to share 8 common challenges you may face when designing and implementing your next QMS, and 8 lessons our Quality experts learned when facing these challenges during their projects. ...Read More

Thinking about starting a new business? Running a company can be an amazing adventure, and it can even give you more security than a regular day job. Being your own boss may sound like heaven on earth, but what you have to remember is that it’s still a lot of hard work. It’s easy to feel ready much earlier than you actually are, and it’s equally easy to let fear hold you back long after you should have jumped. Here are 15 signs that show you might be ready to start your own business:
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People consider starting their own business for a variety of reasons. Setting up your own business allows you to work for yourself rather than someone else gives you some flexibility with your work schedule or allows you to express your creativity in the product or service you offer. Though starting your own business requires dedication and commitment, the rewards may be well worth the effort. In this article, we discuss how to get your business started. ...Read More