July 2015

7/31/2015 - THE CENTER
Most companies have great ideas. The challenge is deciding what to do with them. How can we get over the hurdles, speed up the implementation and turn these ideas into cash, whether it be from revenue or cost savings? Stepping outside the box and trying something new can prove difficult because of FEAR.

7/24/2015 - THE CENTER
Safety is on the minds of Americans every day. When you get into your car, you buckle up. When you go to the lake, you lather on sunscreen. The same expectation of safety is extended to food. Each year, millions of dollars are spent on food safety initiatives. Yet, despite efforts, extensive outbreaks of foodborne illness continue to exist. It leads many to ask: What’s the problem? Is the testing conducted inadequate?

7/17/2015 - THE CENTER
The word Kaizen is often referenced when talking about Lean Manufacturing. Kaizen is a combination of two Japanese words: ‘Kai’ meaning change and ‘Zen’ meaning good. Kaizen combines these words to express the idea that big changes come from many small changes over a period of time. For manufacturers, business process improvement and an increase in profit is the result of many small changes accumulated over time.

7/10/2015 - THE CENTER
All manufacturers want to boost productivity and efficiency while reducing errors and accidents. Standardization of work, which can be difficult to adopt initially, can be an effective way to increase productivity and efficiency since it defines expectations, formalizes processes and creates accountability.

7/2/2015 - THE CENTER
Manufacturers have helped the United States through most of the challenging times confronted as a nation. It was the manufacturing capacity of the United States that proved decisive in World War II. Only America had the manufacturing infrastructure to accomplish such things. The world was a better place because manufacturers played a vital role