ptguru's podcast

With the transition to ISO 9001:2015 and all of the other standards that surround it, it seemed like a good time to remind everyone that calibration is an ideal example of risk management.

The single most prestigious award you can obtain for quality in the US is the Malcolm Baldrige. What exactly goes into this award and what is the framework to even attempt to participate?

I've received a number of questions lately about what I mean when I say testing as it relates to calibration and ISO 17025. This is a great question and I thought today was a perfect day to elaborate on the subject.

The metrology of cops and robbers is as old as time. How does a simple little device that emits a harmless radio wave strike fear in the hearts of grown men? It's called the Doppler effect, even if you don't know it by name, I promise you, you've seen it in action.

Why is it cold inside in the winter and hot inside in the summer when we have the thermostat set for the same temperature? The answer is humidity, but not like you probably think.

I've fielded a number of questions lately about what is actually supposed to be on a calibration certificate. Unfortunately, there is no absolutely clear answer to this question. However, we can have a look at the ISO standard for calibration, and see what it calls the minimum requirement for calibration certificates.

I've been in love with learning since I was a child, and think you should be too. Learning is the key to growth professionally and personally. In this weekend edition of the podcast I talk about just how important learning is for everyone.

In the world of measurement, things aren't as black and white as you probably think they are. Every measurement is surrounded by a grey area. So what happens when that grey area overlaps a specification or tolerance?

One of the key parts of any improvement process is coming up with ideas to make things better. Brainstorming is a major part of the process, but have you ever really put any thought into going about it. Most people have a tendency to let their filters take over and block what could be some of the best ideas they have.

I can't stress the fact that calibration and adjustment are two completely different things. Calibration itself is about establishing metrological traceability. Today, we talk about what the two terms actually mean.

Spoons into cups, what kind of spoon? How many little spoons in a big spoon? We dive into some measurements in the kitchen once again and look at where all these crazy things come from and why they are the way they are.

Why do we use all of these different words to represent multipliers for units? Why not just use the base unit with a few extra zeros? Because we would need a lot more than a few extra zeros.

Where does calibration even come from? You'd likely be amazed to think back to a time when measurements weren't standardized. The length of a foot in your village might be different than a foot in the next town over. Let's look at how we arrived at where we are today.

Sometimes I'm known to get a little too heavy into things. I thought it might be fun to really build some of the groundwork for the foundation of a solid understanding of calibration. If you're a noob or think you know whats going on in metrology, this one is a good place to start. This will build your calibration foundation or possibly fill in a few cracks in your existing structure.

Waste is present in any process or project. The question then becomes, how much waste is too much waste? Six Sigma gives us a framework to look at and identify waste in a process. Today we look at the classification of waste into 7 different categories and even an eighth that is sometimes used.