Despite a persistent and incremental march toward automation, people are still necessary for much of manufacturing. Perhaps that will always be true for certain segments.

If someone tells you his leak test system is superior because of its control software, kick the tires, so to speak. In many, if not most, applications, it is the hardware, not the software, that makes or breaks the ability to get high throughput without compromising gauge R&R.

There’s nothing worse than solving the wrong problem. It’s bad on many fronts—consumption of valuable resources, mislaid expectations of company leadership, and frustration of the solvers.