We’ve been discussing different lean models in manufacturing and what makes them successful. No matter what strategy you implement, lean is a continual mindset, not a one-and-done plan to execute. So if you want lean to benefit you, everyone at your company has to approach work from a Continuous Improvement point of view. This is… Read more
Any effort in Lean Manufacturing falls under the much more general umbrella of Continuous Improvement. Also called Kaizen, it’s the mindset that the employees of Toyota innately have that makes all of their other efforts so successful. Approaching your business strategy in terms of Continuous Improvement rather than solely Lean, Just-in-Time (JIT), or any other… Read more
We’ve posted some recent articles on some of the struggles that American manufacturers have had adopting lean strategies in their plants. There are many various “tools” you can use to achieve lean, some easier to implement than others. Cellular workcells, however, are successfully bringing about huge improvements in the American Just-in-Time (JIT) environment. Cellular manufacturing… Read more
Until its end destination, any widget that has left its initial starting point in the manufacturing process is considered to be work in process (WIP). The component may have many stops in its journey from point A to point B, and along there, it can rack up a lot of wastes. WIP can require more… Read more
In Part 1, we discussed the efforts of Lean Manufacturing and the failing results that many American companies experience. The tools work for some but not others, and since they work so extremely well for Toyota, we need to understand what we are doing wrong. We mentioned this article that thoroughly discusses one popular Lean… Read more
The Lean Manufacturing that is popular today originated in Japan with Toyota. The Western civilization has adapted it with measurable success, but for some companies, efforts fall flat. There doesn’t seem to be a rule of thumb as far as what kind of manufacturer or company size is more or less likely to succeed at… Read more
For most regions, at least one cold snap has hit by now, and we know: it’s only going to get worse. As we look winter down the barrel, warehouse workers need to ensure they’re prepared to work safely in these conditions. Even indoors, warehouses get dangerously cold in the winter, and it’s just as important… Read more
Meet Joe. He’s a respectable, hard-working guy who does his job well. Here you see one of the many things he does every day – push a cart filled with units to get from one place to another. Having a cart makes his job easier, right? He can move more units at a time, and… Read more
The manufacturing industry is aching from a labor shortage that is aggravated by a double-whammy. First, the stellar workforce it has is getting older. Employees can’t physically accomplish what they could a decade or two ago. The jobs are physically demanding, so workers are more vulnerable to injury, and they can’t get things done at… Read more
Separate strategies for making a warehouse greener or leaner often complement each other. After all, they both aim to reduce waste and make the most of the resources you have. Since lean practices show such significant financial benefits, it is often the more commonly sought-out approach when it’s time for a change. Looking at the… Read more