Blog New World
It’s been more than a year since I started this blog. Pretty impressive for a guy who didn’t even know what a blog was until a few months before. Thanks to Dennis Arter for introducing me to the “blogosphere” (i.e., what geeks call the world of blogs).
Blogs are a great way to create dialogue and share information. Their interactive nature adds depth to the topic being covered. The best blogs provide open access and discussion about a particular subject.
In the quality world, there are several blogs worth visiting:
- The Audit Guy—www.auditguy.blogspot.com. This blog by Dennis Arter, known in certain circles as “The Audit Guy,” discusses a wide range of issues, from quality auditing to technology. Dennis is a quality expert and technology guru, a nice combination.
- PDCA Auditing—www.pdcauditing.com. This blog by Paul Palmes discusses auditing issues and includes podcast (a downloadable audio file) interviews with quality professionals.
- The Quality Weblog—www.qualityweblog.com. This blog features discussion on a wide range of quality issues and is hosted by Darryl VanDorp.
- Sarbanes-Oxley—www4.asq.org/blogs/sarbanes-oxley . This blog features discussion on Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) and is moderated by John Walz. Although not technically a quality issue, SOx is certainly important to quality professionals. The American Society for Quality hosts this site.
ASQ has a blog section on its Web site (www.asq.org/blog). Unfortunately, it has only four blogs listed at present, including John Walz’s SOx blog. However, there is a link to suggest blog topics and potential moderators. This seems like a logical place for ASQ sections and divisions to post their blogs. I don’t know if the reason they aren’t listed here is because none of the sections or divisions have blogs, or if I just can’t find them on ASQ’s rather labyrinthine site.
There are a couple of other nonquality blogs that I visit frequently and I highly recommend:
- Lifehacker—www.lifehacker.com. This blog’s description says it all: “Computers make us more productive. Yeah, right. Lifehacker recommends the software downloads and Web sites that actually save time. Don’t live to geek; geek to live.”
- 43 Folders—www.43folders.com. This blog is about personal productivity, life hacks and simple ways to make your life a little better. It features a lot of good information about David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology.
I’m sure there are some great blogs out there that I haven’t mentioned; please post your favorites here.
User input makes blogs even more interesting. Most blogs allow visitors to post comments, and most bloggers appreciate visitor input. One caveat, however: Be polite and have something useful to say. Some people think blogs are an open invitation to personally attack others. What would your mother say?
If you think the blogosphere is pretty cool and might want to start one of your own, you’re in luck. Setting up a blog is simple and free. A number of services, including Blogger (www.blogger.com) and Word Press (www.wordpress.org), provide free online software and hosting for blogs. I use Blogger, which happens to be owned by Google. Blogger includes a variety of templates to vary the look of your blog. In addition to text postings, you can add links to other blogs and Web sites, images, and audio or video clips. I set up my blog and began posting in less than 10 minutes. If you do set up your own quality blog, let me know about it. I’d like to feature some quality blogs on mine and provide links to them. Adding links to your blog is a great way to drive traffic (i.e., users) to your site.
If you’re uncomfortable with newfangled terms like blog, blogosphere, Web log, podcast and such, relax. They’re entering the mainstream. Toss them around at your next company meeting or with your kids. Your co-workers will think you’re hip; your kids probably won’t. Still confused? Look in Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), the free online user-compiled encyclopedia. (Another nod to Dennis Arter for enlightening me about this useful tool.)
posted by Scott Paton @ 12:39 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
Hi. Thanks for the link to my blog. Hopefully it will inspire me to work a little harder on it!
Best regards,
Darryl
Thanks for the great blogs. Another non-quality blog I like is www.freemoneyfinance.com You should read his saga regarding Sears customer service and the elliptical exercise machine that has given him nothing but problems. It makes the columns you wrote on Wal-Mart seem like child's play.
Scott, to my knowledge, the best discussion website for most quality professionals is the Elsmar Cove Forums @ www.elsmar.com/forums . I was surprised it was not mentioned in your review.
Keep up the great work.
Cheers.
Thought you might find the following news articles interesting as they relate directly to some cutting edge quality initiatives under development here in Indiana, and beyond.
We are applying digital signage networks in the OEM environment to get the TQM/ISO story out and on to the plant floor of some of the most dynamic high technology companies in the USA.
Please check this out.
http://mediaserver.prweb.com/pdfdownload/459078/pr.pdf
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/10/prweb459096.htm#
Article copy:
BAE Systems implements Scala digital signage to enhance corporate employee communication.
Fort Wayne, IN (PRWeb) October 28, 2006 -- BAE is a major producer of aircraft engine controls and avionics equipment. Winner of the 2005 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, the Fort Wayne location recently faced a critical internal challenge. As manufacturing director Royce Binion put it, "We realized we needed to do a better job of getting real-time manufacturing and quality performance data out to our manufacturing floor, while at the same time disseminating corporate information to our production associates. These were two similar challenges that begged for a single solution."
A technical inquiry to Scala, Inc. in Exton, PA gave Binion the starting point needed to launch their new digital signage program. Digital AV, the regional Scala Certified Partner was called to evaluate the industrial signage application and advise BAE Systems on an efficient solution. With the help of Tom Johnson, DAV's President, and other key personnel, Royce and his team undertook the major project of developing a significant digital signage network throughout the 700-employee Fort Wayne plant.
The scope of the project ultimately involved the installation of fourteen, 42 inch wide-screen, LG monitors positioned in various key departments including engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance, operations, human resources, corporate communications, and information technology. It has become a corporate success and is now a model for other BAE Systems locations across the United States.
BAE Systems' corporate content is created in Scala's InfoChannel Designer Software and housed on standard Dell computers. The Scala InfoChannel Network Manager drives the content messaging over the internal company network to Scala's InfoChannel Player software locations configured as remote IP addresses throughout the factory.
The new mini-Dell computers are mounted directly on the LG displays creating a very efficient package profile suspended by rafter-mounted plasma ceiling mounts and plasma brackets. Some departments have wireless keyboards and mice at the PC to call up MPEG video files and script sets for on the plant floor training.
While most key departments have DS monitors, others are located in strategic locations throughout the plant including the lobby, employee break areas, major plant thoroughfares and other high-traffic venues.
Other addresses include critical shop floor locations displaying monthly scorecard and electronic ANDON signals and other key customer performance metrics. A "video of the week" is now tying BAE Systems' avionics products to end-user applications. Real-time weather, weather emergency updates, Doppler Radar and traffic situations are now all displayed for employees via the new DataCall Newsfeed System recently provided through Digital AV.
"BAE Systems calls its new digital signage network, 'The inSight Channel,' to signify its internal plant-wide communications application," said Binion.
In addition to standard digital signage content that scrolls throughout the day, InfoChannel scripts may be overridden on the shop floor so the digital displays serve as a communication and training medium for impromptu aisle meetings with employees. This allows the product team leaders to conduct employee training sessions via streaming MPEG videos — right on the manufacturing floor without reservation.
"Applying these displays in this manner is more practical and efficient than using a conference room," said Binion.
In new product development areas, the displays are used in conjunction with a Web camera for "virtual design reviews" with other BAE Systems sites for live product design reviews and to provide feedback regarding real-time producibility.
Certified Scala training at Digital AV's Fort Wayne offices helped train the BAE Systems IT team with new programming concepts, including Web scraping, RSS feeds, VB Scripting and Web media capture for the new signage system.
"We were able to bring in all sorts of streaming and static media of the end application of our products, allowing us to 'put a face' on the products we build," Binion said. "Scala's InfoChannel coupled with Digital AV's support has provided us with a truly world-class communication system for our employees." DAV's president Tom Johnson discussed the projects resonant effects; "The success of the Scala network in Fort Wayne was noticed by other BAE Systems operations. The facility's sister plant in Johnson City, New York integrated their plant with a similar Scala network and 10 plasma displays shortly after the initial integration."
Additional locations have followed suit installing InfoChannel-based DS systems. The company's facilities in Irving Texas and Cheshire Connecticut are now involved and trained with Scala InfoChannel software and LG displays. Others plants are in project development. Digital AV has helped integrate each of these locations by providing the entire digital signage package including Scala InfoChannel software, LG Plasma displays and Premier mounting systems. Standard Equus or Dell pre-configured PC systems are integrated as well as Scala certified sales, training and support for the entire software package.
"Our customers find it easier to procure from one certified source for all of their digital signage network requirements, knowing we can pull together all the pieces of the network puzzle and bundle it under one purchase order. Digital signage is all we do at DAV and OEM applications such as BAE Systems' are our dominant market. Our customers generally have IT staffs who know how to push data up and out on their own network. This is really helpful for large project deployment," said Johnson.
Recent IT requests from new DAV corporate clients call for importation and integration of key manufacturing databases such as Oracle, Access and other software sets to be read and interpreted by the Scala InfoChannel and displayed in logical fashion within the Scala templates.
Critical factory line data can be automatically read and interpreted by the Scala InfoChannel through simple VB Scripting and displayed as color coded, crawl lines or flashing signals to alert key corporate personnel to critical shop floor situations miles away from the location of the corporate viewer. Johnson said, "It's a simple way to know what critical factory line situations are in play with a quick glance to a plant monitor and it's all automatic, through the software."
DAV's Johnson sums it up: "The electronic signage growth in the OEM and corporate world is now driven by initiatives calling for closer integration of different systems and observation of those systems by more people in different locations. Big investments in manufacturing and quality control make digital signage networks the icing on the corporate muffin."
About Scala, Inc.
Scala, Inc. (http://www.scala.com) is the world's leading provider of software for digital signage software used in retail, education, entertainment, government and other industries. The company's cutting-edge multimedia software platform powers thousands of digital signs around the world including the digital signage networks of Tesco, Best Buy, T-Mobile, ShopRite, Virgin MegaStore, Bloomberg, Burger King, Kiwi, Azizia-Panda Supermarket, McKee Foods, Muvico, Santiago Airport, RaboBank and Warner Brothers Movie World. Since InfoChannel is proven, scalable, and easy to manage, it is the platform of choice for many digital display networks ranging in size from one screen to thousands of screens with uses including advertising displays, touch screens, retail TV, LED billboards, lobby signage, digital menu boards, interactive kiosks, and more. Scala, Inc. pioneered the industry of digital signage in 1987, and is today headquartered near Philadelphia, PA with operations in California, the UK, Norway, The Netherlands, France, China and Japan.
About Digital AV
Founded in 2004, Digital AV is the Midwest's largest dynamic digital signage company. Located in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana, DAV is a leader in digital signage development and service.
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Exton, PA (PRWeb) October 27, 2006 -- Scala Inc. (http://www.scala.com), the world's leading software platform for digital signage, today announced Digital AV, a Scala Certified Partner based in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, has been awarded the Northeast Indiana Innovation Award in the services sector for a new innovation in applied technologies.
Digital AV, a Fort Wayne based software integrations company, won the award based on the total integration of a local high technology manufacturing company with digital signage. The company, BAE Systems, installed a series of networked plasma monitors throughout its Indiana facility displaying critical plant and corporate information driven by a specialized software suite named Scala InfoChannel. Digital AV is one of the largest integrators of Scala in the United States. The application has since been expanded to other BAE locations throughout the country and now includes manufacturing facilities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Texas.
Innovation Award judges included the CEO's and Founders of some of the largest companies in Northeast Indiana including Steel Dynamics and Biomet Corporation. Semi-finalist winners met with the judges on September 22, 2006 for the final time. Entries were judged by whether the innovation had proved itself as a commercial success or had a clear path towards becoming a commercial success.
Tom Johnson, President of Digital AV said the award was "a fine compliment" and that he looked forward to continued innovation through corporate digital signage networks in years to come. Digital AV was started in 2003 as a solution provider to OEM companies for corporate communications beyond e-mail systems and web pages. "Our customers were developing budgets for corporate communication systems that were never really reaching the employees," Johnson said. "Digital signage in the corporate environment brings a whole new level to inter-plant communications putting a face on the systems that companies have spent so much time and money to develop."
"Other DAV customers range from universities to sports stadiums and everything in-between," he said. "Almost any organization with people to reach and ideas to transmit are candidates for digital signage and we are fortunate to be riding the first wave of this important new technology."
Final judging for "Innovator of the Year" will be announced at a November 10th luncheon.
Sorry about all the words but hopefully you get the quality aspect of our initiative here.
>>>> Call me for ideas on an article. We have more data which purports directly to the quality drive with this inter-plant corporate signage network at BAE. This story needs to be told.
Thank you,
Tom Johnson, President
Digital AV Division/ The Johnson Company
Fort Wayne, Indiana
260-485-5400
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