Zen and Manufacturing Intelligence

Even if you haven't read it, you’ve likely heard of the book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, which looks at the concept of quality in a general sense through statements such as: “… the word ‘quality’ cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not because Quality is so mysterious but because Quality is so simple, immediate and direct.”

Focusing more specifically on the concept of quality in manufacturing, InfinityQS International (a provider of manufacturing intelligence software), has taken on the Zen theme as it relates to quality in a new eBook titled: “Zen Guide to Manufacturing Intelligence.”

Infinity QS says that the book provides insight into how to use reporting, statistical analysis, visual summaries and manufacturing Intelligence to attain more value from operational data. To do this, the book takes readers through five steps on the journey towards, what InfinityQS calls “data-driven wisdom.” Those steps are:
• Awareness: Focus on improving processes, rather than simply pass/fail data and product quality, through actionable intelligence.
• Interception: Intercept out-of-spec processes upstream and make corrections to prevent downstream consequences.
• Connectivity: Automate real-time data collection and integrate data points to take immediate corrective action as issues arise.
• Enlightenment: Use data to not only improve processes, but to make more strategic business decisions that cut costs and increase efficiencies.
• Nirvana: Achieve one point of complete consciousness and control with a manufacturing intelligence hub that assimilates quality data into a single repository, allowing manufacturers to understand and monitor supply chain interdependencies at all levels of the organization.

Ultimately, the eBook is obviously not designed to be a serious Zen approach to manufacturing intelligence, but to help manufacturers make more sense of all the data they’re increasingly collecting. As Steve Wise, vice president of statistical methods at InfinityQS, says, “Most manufacturers know the importance of data collection, but many do not completely understand how to use that information beyond the shop floor. The goal of our “Zen Guide to Manufacturing Intelligence” eBook is to show manufacturers that quality metrics can do much more than determine if a product passes or fails on the assembly line. With the right technology, manufacturers can use quality data to discover ways to reduce costs and gain new efficiencies that will ultimately benefit the company as a whole.”

Regardless of whether you agree with what InifinityQS has to say about their approach to quality through the Zen of manufacturing intelligence, the eBook should prove to be a more entertaining read than most such books that exist on the topic of manufacturing intelligence and quality.

To download the eBook, visit: http://www.infinityqs.com/ZenGuide/PR.