So reads the title on the YouTube posting from Lincoln Electric. We were privileged to lead this inaugural kaizen project at Lincoln Electric Cutting Systems in Reno, Nevada. They are a newer division, since 2011, of Lincoln Electric Corporation; full of bright, energetic people who design and build CNC metal cutting machines for sheet and … Read more
The goal of Lean Manufacturing implementation and Lean Enterprise is to deliver exactly what the customer wants, exactly when the customer wants it. This helps businesses avoid such profit-killers as stockpiling inventory or parts that don’t move, or performing services and intermediate steps that the client neither wants nor needs. Lean Manufacturing Implementation Using Lean … Read more
Reducing the time required to change over from one processing operation to another. Reducing lead times and lot sizes requires a fundamental shift in how a company looks at setup, which is the time required to change over from one processing operation to another. The traditional view has been that the time it takes to … Read more
Kaizen, a Japanese word, means orderly and gradual continuous improvement. Kaizen is a broad-based philosophy through which the expectations of internal and external customers can be met and exceeded by empowering process owners. We’ve found with our clients that effective systems are rooted in clear objectives and measurements, coupled with effective application of targeted tools … Read more
With lean manufacturing machine downtime becomes an intolerable situation, requiring a different approach to maintenance. The common focus is changed from fixing breakdowns to preventing them. We use a process to help companies achieve this by transferring and sharing skills between the machine operator and maintenance people. Since operators are the closest to the machines, … Read more
The bottom line and definition of lean manufacturing is the relentless elimination of waste. In short, waste is anything that does not add value to what a company produces. Waste is found in all areas of a company and may include: materials, time, human resources, and capital. In the early 20th century Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford relentlessly pursued the … Read more
Lean manufacturing does not mean doing more with fewer people. The desire for greater output with a smaller workforce is widespread. Stock prices rise at the mere mention of down-sizing. However that was never the intent of lean. Our definition of lean is: “Establishing a culture where people are given the expectation, education, resources and … Read more
Confused about Lean? Don’t feel alone. Today’s constantly growing plethora of lean this and lean that is confusing to say the least. While some in the U.S. were applying Japanese manufacturing techniques well before the eighties, these days everyone is an “expert” with the consulting industry and academia minting new acronyms, developing new tools, methods, … Read more
As January comes to a close and February begins, many of our well- intentioned New Year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside. Even if we have had less than stellar success, we needn’t completely give up. This year we can show improvement if we exert even some effort. A common resolution for many of us … Read more
Seeking new ways to improve without losing what one has. We’ve been thinking a lot lately about “driving change”. Not just because our own move created many changes that required and still require real effort to make changes for the better. We have also seen over the last decade the difficulties of the process our … Read more