Category Archives: Manufacturing

Danaher Practicing Lean Thinking

Posted on August 22, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturer’s Acquisition Strategy Sets It Apart From The Pack [the broken link was removed], Investors Business Daily: “It’s adapted from the Japanese Kaizen system,” Holmstead said. “Kaizen is a way of removing waste and standardizing processes and bringing underperforming or slow-growth companies with maybe single-digit margins up to midteen margins.” The keys are standardization, measurement and innovation — all directed toward the goal of continuous improvement. “It’s basically a set of tools that allows Danaher to make whatever widget they … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Toyota’s New Texas Plant

Posted on August 20, 2006 by John Hunter

Toyota exec stands up to Texas heat [the broken link was removed] by Cheryl Hall: Toyota’s new Texas plant is coming on line and will further increase Toyota’s contribution to the US economy, by buying from local suppliers and most importantly by working with local suppliers: And he’s well-acquainted with those 21 on-site suppliers, which Toyota refers to as equal partners and a vital component in this ahead-of-the-industry endeavor. Each of the 200,000 trucks produced annually will have up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Manufacturing, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS)

Manufacturing Value Added Economic Data

Posted on August 16, 2006 by John Hunter

In our post on Manufacturing and the Economy we examined global manufacturing value added economic data. The World Bank has provided updated data, for 2002, which we provide below. In, Global Manufacturing Data by Country, we explored data from the United Nations through 2004 (on a related, but different, measure of manufacturing). Country 1990 2001 2002 1990-2002% increase* United States 1,040,600 1,422,999 1,463,300 41 Japan 810,231 865,809 811,829 0 China 116,572 407,513 No Data 250 Germany 456,405 385,923 410,644 -10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Economics, Manufacturing, quote | 3 Comments

Switching to Lean

Posted on August 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Switching to lean [the broken link was removed] by Vanessa Chris: Since Eaton implemented lean manufacturing practices across its 235 plants in 2003, this facility has ranked number one for three years running. It used Eaton’s eight lean tools — that include value stream mapping, 5S, total productive maintenance, and Kanban techniques, among others — to free up 32,000 square feet of floor space, reduce panelboard cycle time to six minutes, boost on-time delivery from 72 per cent to 92 … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged

La-Z-Boy Lean

Posted on July 28, 2006 by John Hunter

Richard K. — More about the Dayton plant Nice example of the process of transitioning to lean manufacturing. Two years ago La-Z-Boy embarked on its lean journey, moving from batch and queue to cellular manufacturing. The Dayton (TN) plant is about 25% of the way. … Then we want to do everything we can to sustain the progress. That’s why we’re training the supervisors with the simulation. The TPM (total productive maintenance) teach is another way to sustain. It gives … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Better Manufacturing in UK

Posted on July 16, 2006 by John Hunter

My design for better manufacturing in UK [the broken link was removed] by James Dyson: The way forward is to make things that are better designed, better engineered and with better technology than our competitors’ products. This is the blueprint for 21st-century success embraced by Japan. It is why Japan makes six times as many patent applications as Britain and spends three times as much on research and development. The Japanese government is about to spend £128 billion on research … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Manufacturing, Science, UK | Tagged ,

North American Manufacturing

Posted on July 6, 2006 by John Hunter

Can North American manufacturers thrive again? [the broken link was removed] by David Hogg I once again feel compelled to point out that the USA is still manufacturing more than ever and its share of Global manufacturing is either not declining or declining very slightly. The sad part is that employees seem to understand what managers do not. Why do you think that nearly 63,000 people applied for only 2,000 production line jobs at a new Toyota plant in Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Lean Manufacturing Dream

Posted on July 6, 2006 by John Hunter

This article is from 2001 and worth reading. It is important to keep up with what is currently happening but there is a great deal of useful information from 5, 10,20, 50… years ago. Achieving the lean dream [the broken link was removed] by Nelson J. Teed: Growth and lean are great partners for another reason. Positive employee reaction to lean is crucial to success, and not automatic. Lean improves productivity and can reduce the number of people needed. Layoffs … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Seminars by Toyota UK

Posted on July 3, 2006 by John Hunter

‘Increasing quality, efficiency and profitability via A Lean Approach’ is a series of six one day tour, seminar and workshop events at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire that focuses on the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Quality Management. Guests can choose from three workshops, HRM, Visual Control or Practical Problem Solving, and take part in a Q&A session with the speakers: Hein Van Gerwen, Managing Director; Carl Klemm, Deputy Managing Director; Clive Bridge, Corporate Affairs Director … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS), UK | Tagged , | 1 Comment

New Look American Manufacturing

Posted on June 30, 2006 by John Hunter

The New Look American Manufacturing [the broken link was removed] by Dale Buss: The evidence shows that American manufacturers that revise their processes and integrate technology in ways that allow them to stay close to customers can survive the onslaught from China. Adaptability is key above all other factors. I agree by applying lean manufacturing and other management improvement ideas manufacturers can (and are) prospering in the USA. I don’t think one factor is the key. Many factors determine whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

American Manufacturing Successes

Posted on June 29, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean and Unseen, The Economist: But someone forgot to tell American manufacturers the bad news. Most of them have enjoyed roaring success of late. Net profits have risen by nearly 9% a year since the recession in 2001 and productivity has been growing even more rapidly than is usual during economic expansions Yes, as I have been saying the demise of manufacturing in the USA has been exaggerated in the popular press (Global Manufacturing Data by Country – US Manufacturing … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Management, Manufacturing | Tagged

Innovation Needed to Keep USA Manufacturing?

Posted on June 29, 2006 by John Hunter

ICAR touted as example of innovation needed in U.S. [the broken link was removed] “Our ace in the hole is innovation, and that’s why intellectual property is so important to develop,” Graham said. “How do we protect that advantage within the rule of the law?” Lindsey Graham [the broken link was removed] and Hillary Clinton are co-chairs of the United States Senate Manufacturing Caucus. Is innovation our ace in the hole? I don’t think so. There is no ace in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Innovation, Management, Manufacturing, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Lean Furniture Manufacturing

Posted on June 28, 2006 by John Hunter

Pulaski’s passion for lean plumps up dealer service [the broken link was removed] by Jeff Linville Pulaski Furniture says it has cut inventories, improved delivery times and reduced waste as part of a new emphasis on lean manufacturing. … This led to cutting out about 100 feet of conveyor line to reduce inefficiency, and moving machinery and other equipment around in the plant; a few new pieces were added too. Reducing waste didn’t mean cutting any jobs, Oakley said. Instead, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Employee Ownership

Posted on June 26, 2006 by John Hunter

H.C. Miller workers to earn ownership [the broken link was removed] by Richard Ryman. I have always liked the idea of employee ownership. To me this can be a great help in creating a system where employees, owners, customers, suppliers work together. Alone an ESOP does little. But as part of a system of management it is something I think can be beneficial. Employees of H.C. Miller Co. have learned to look at their company differently. And because they did, … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Manufacturing is Cool

Posted on June 12, 2006 by John Hunter

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers brings us the web site: manufacturingiscool.com [the broken link was removed – maybe manufacturing isn’t cool anymore 🙁 ]. Maybe this is the answer to Bill Waddell post: We Don’t Get No Respect 🙂 From the manufacturing is cool site: Video tapes and books full of additional information regarding the many interesting careers available in manufacturing engineering and technically oriented material.Professionally prepared classroom programs and curriculum resources available to enhance your instructional capabilities. Ways to … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Education, Manufacturing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Kaizen Event Research Project

Posted on June 5, 2006 by John Hunter

NSF Funded Kaizen Event Research Project [the broken link was removed] First, this research seeks to identify the most important factors influencing successful outcomes (both technical and social)…The second objective investigates the sustainability of Kaizen events over time. The research team has visited numerous organizations utilizing Kaizen events across multiple areas. Leaders in some organizations acknowledge that some areas will quickly (within 6 months to one year) revert back to the pre-Kaizen performance levels. Yet other organizations appear successful in … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Public Sector, Quality tools | Tagged , , | 2 Comments