Operations
Practical Advice for a Digitization Strategy
By Martin Cloake, CEO & Founder, Raven.ai One of the best things about the time I spent in my early career, working at a mid-sized manufacturing plant, was how simple it was to get things done. Once plant leadership and the operators were on board with a plan, the only thing holding me back was…
Read MoreDeveloping a Winning Automation Strategy
By Paul Neblock, Apex Management Partners Many manufacturers are starting to turn to automation to address increasing competition and a lack of skilled production workers. COVID and retiring Baby Boomers have exacerbated the labor shortage and made a more urgent issue. Most manufacturers do not have an automation strategy. This gap in planning results in…
Read MoreSix Key Components that will develop your Supervisors into Leaders
By Gayle Noakes, Founder of Gayle Noakes Supervisor Success All too often when we realize our Supervisors need more skills, we sign them up for a training program and wipe our hands, thinking the job is done. The Supervisors probably do need to learn new skills, but there is so much more that needs to…
Read MorePractical Supply Chain Automation for Small Manufacturers
By Tim Allen, Vice President of Management Consulting, Pragmatek When you think about supply chain automation what often comes to mind are mega-corporations with expensive and complex robotics running people-less factories and warehouses with endless arrays of software and robots moving materials and churning out products. How can a small manufacturer possibly afford automation? The…
Read MorePrototyping as a Profit-Center, not a Cost-Center
By Rodd Joos What is your reaction when your customer requests a quote for prototype parts? Traditionally, manufacturers consider making prototypes a cost of doing business. Customers expect you to support prototype quantities, but let’s face it, they are a nuisance. Quoting the work takes as long as making the parts, and the order will…
Read MoreThe Importance of Supervisors in the Manufacturing Industry
A production supervisor has perhaps one of the most difficult and thankless jobs in a factory. I learned firsthand one summer as an intern at a GM Factory in Saginaw, Michigan, where I filled in for vacationing supervisors. There I was, a 21-year-old college kid supervising a bunch of grizzled workers. It was daunting at…
Read MoreLean and Operational Excellence in the BBQ Pit
Over the past couple of years, BBQ cooking has become a hobby for me. I enjoyed watching BBQ Pitmasters on TV and it led to the purchase of a wood smoker to do low-and-slow barbecue. After a lot of experimenting, I’ve developed some decent tried-and-true recipes, but I wanted to learn how to move beyond…
Read MoreFinding Grace in the Details: Become a Master of Your Operation
I’ve always been fascinated with heavy equipment. I suppose it started with my Tonka trucks in the sandbox. To this day, I can watch a backhoe in action with no small degree of amazement. In the hands of an experienced operator, this hunk of metal, cylinders and hydraulic fluid becomes a work of grace and…
Read MoreFive Mindsets for the Lean Manufacturing Leadership Team
Leadership is commonly cited as a primary driver of successful lean manufacturing implementations. It’s hard to argue with that since the leadership team owns all the results of the company. However, it begs the question: What exactly is senior leadership supposed to do? I’ve found there are five keys mindsets senior leaders must have to…
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