Lean performance: For no surprises, standardize it Why standards and consistency are key for peak performance in a lean initiative. Earlier this year we explored the importance of four basic building blocks for success in lean manufacturing  and how technology can make success much easier to achieve. I have seen […]

At a succesful industry, one of our core operating principles is sustainability. That means minimizing waste to improve efficiency, add value, and refine the manufacturing process for our automotive products when and where we can. Lean manufacturing methodology is still considered a best practice in automotive manufacturing circles, despite increased […]

Jared Bringhurst is president of Futura Industries, a division of Bonnell Aluminum, a leading manufacturer of custom-fabricated and finished aluminum extrusions. Under Bringhurst’s operations leadership, Futura improved the quality of its products and on-time delivery in the extrusion industry, while most recently overhauling its anodizing facility. Bringhurst shared Futura’s successes […]

For many global manufacturers, quality has traditionally been defined as a high level of conformance, or the degree to which a product or a service has been designed to meet customer expectations, is produced correctly, and in optimal numbers. That remains true, of course, but today quality goes beyond the […]

The concept of lean manufacturing is commonplace in the automotive industry. In this article we explore how Dearborn Mid-West Company (DMC), a manufacturer of automotive assembly lines, applied lean principles to their engineering processes. Michigan’s Dearborn Mid-West Company is deeply intertwined with the auto industry. As a tier-1 supplier to […]

Customer expectations of reliable quality and rapid delivery forces today’s manufacturers to either shorten cycle times or lose business. Customers simply switch suppliers when others are more capable of delivering within their preferred timeframes. Lean systems have provided a formidable operating strategy for leaders determined to achieve and maintain optimal […]

On Sep 11, we issued an updated research report on industrial goods manufacturer, Regal Beloit Corporation RBC . Regal Beloit continues to focus on simplification initiatives to lower operating costs and improve margins in the future. The company expects organic growth for 2017 in low single digits with modest demand […]

Operations expert, Henry Quesada Pineda from Virginia Tech shares an effective tool for conducting lean manufacturing and process improvement audits. This resource can help you improve your operations. Every manufacturing plant that wants to stay in business looks for ways to lower costs and become more efficient. Your competitors are […]

Synchrono, a leader in modern demand-driven manufacturing software and synchronization technology, today released a new InSync paper, Going eKanban, which is based on years of working with manufacturers to introduce Lean, or pull-based inventory replenishment methods. Grounded in Lean manufacturing and Just-in-Time (JIT) principles, Kanban is a pull-based inventory replenishment […]

Question: How do you decide when it is time to automate a process?” Answer: Many of our readers likely have faced this question in their own businesses so I hope some of you will share your experiences of how you answered this question. In the meantime, here’s my take on […]