By its very nature, lean strategies of all kinds result in a safer workplace. Rather than having safety result as a byproduct of lean, however, you can flush out more opportunities for lean improvements by exploring your safety issues. While you’re examining process, flow, communication, and the waste therein, remember to take a close look… Read more
You can find endless articles describing tips and guidelines to create a safer manufacturing facility, but most of these bypass what is really happening at your site. If you want to improve safety, you need to establish a safe work environment. That means that you can’t just focus on the aftermath of poor choices. You… Read more
If you’re a manufacturer, you know the pressure to be leaner exists daily. There are a lot of models and practices available that can assist you with this mission. Kaizen, or Continuous Improvement, is one of the simpler notions to follow, but the approaches to it branch out into numerous avenues. It’s difficult to choose… Read more
Lean manufacturing targets opportunities to improve output while limiting any unnecessary action or task. It allows you to optimize your process and rid your workflow of extra time, resources, or anything else that costs money and/or doesn’t add value. In order to develop a truly lean system that works for you, first you need to… Read more
In manufacturing, the need to be leaner than your competition is an ongoing race to produce more product by using less people resources. Lean is a very broad subject that branches off into many subsets that define ways to identify and address opportunities for improvement. One of the basic roadmaps of this model is the… Read more
Across the nation, this summer has been a hot one. This is particularly dangerous for anyone who does manual labor, even if it isn’t outdoors. In fact, material handlers who work in warehouses and other indoor facilities can be at even greater risk because the airflow is minimal and there is no relief from air… Read more
Accidents in a warehouse can have devastating consequences for the employees involved as well as the business. In this environment, many dangers are present, so accidents can unfortunately happen frequently. By looking at some of the most likely culprits, though, you can take steps to drastically reduce the likelihood of an accident in your warehouse…. Read more
If you’re looking to update your facility with safety improvements, you could be eligible for up to $10,000 of assistance from the state of Minnesota. Safety improvement programs typically pay for themselves in the end, especially in manufacturing environments. However, assistance in bearing the burden of the initial cost can help these projects move along…. Read more
Higher productivity in material handling can result from various kinds of changes. If you improve the ergonomics, you make the job easier to physically execute. If you improve the tools, you make work performance more efficient. If you improve the process, you optimize how much can be accomplished in a given amount of time. Productivity… Read more
Musculoskeletal injuries from pushing and pulling tasks cost American businesses billions every year. Acute injuries aren’t the most commonly-sustained, either. Rather, chronic injuries that occur over time cost millions of people jobs, medical expenses, insurance hikes, disability, and lost labor or work. Materials handling relies heavily on the pushing and pulling of carts. It’s tempting… Read more