We’ve all been there before. The manufacturing floor is humming along, hitting deadlines, reaching quotas – all according to plan. And then… A machine goes down. All the progress your team has been making suddenly hits a wall. And the problems spiral out from there. It’s a simple fact of manufacturing production: machinery reliability is…
If the COVID-19 epidemic taught the manufacturing industry anything, it was the significance of an efficient and streamlined supply chain. When supply chain issues arise, businesses often tend to solely focus on external factors and fail to recognize the potential for improvement within their own internal processes. Let’s take a look at the importance of…
In the early days of my career, I worked for a manufacturing firm under a very astute CEO. We were in the middle of a critical project when he asked me to take on a significant task. He didn’t just send an email saying, “Do this.” Instead, he made a point to explain why the…
Data is the lifeblood of modern business. In an increasingly digital world, it’s become an integral part of who we are as companies. We invest time, money, and resources into collecting data, from labor transactions and delivery statistics to quality control and inventory levels. But the crucial question remains: what are we doing with all…
My wife was recently involved in a car accident. She was thankfully unhurt and it wasn’t her fault. Because she needs her vehicle, we paid out of pocket to have it repaired while simultaneously working with the insurance company to get them to cut the reimbursement check. For us, keeping the time between paying out…
Let’s face it: every business has its problems, its constraints, and its inefficiencies. These issues can be like roadblocks, preventing you from reaching your goals and keeping you from delivering on your promises to your customers. The key is figuring out which of these roadblocks are the most detrimental and, more importantly, how to remove…
When we think about quality in the manufacturing realm, we generally limit our focus to the tangible aspects of products such as parts, components, and their fit, size, finish, and alignment. Poor quality, however, extends far beyond what you can feel and see. As do the effects, not just on the consumer but within the…
Once, early in my career, I was standing above a Toyota assembly line in Japan. Looking down at the plant floor, I realized that at any given time, a hundred different kinds of vehicles were rolling off the line. I felt like being there and seeing all of this was essentially akin to giving away…
In my work with companies across the manufacturing landscape, I see it all the time. While many companies are great at creating strategies, very few are adept at deploying and managing them. Many companies mistakenly view their budgeting cycle as strategy deployment, keeping their focus solely on spending money on the things they predict will…
When you’re thinking about buying a company, it’s important to look at more than just the financials. You also need to assess the company’s operational health. What’s amazing is that two of the best metrics for gaining a valuable amount of information on the operations side of things–namely, inventory levels and workforce engagement–can be gathered…
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