Manufacture Smarter Blog

11/4/2016 - THE CENTER
If you are interested in optimizing your organization’s capabilities and efficiencies to produce the best quality output possible at the lowest cost, it’s time to adopt Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma is a measurement-based strategy for process improvement and variation reduction that utilizes DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) as a road map to successful implementation.

10/28/2016 - THE CENTER
For small businesses in today’s global and technologically advanced market, it is crucial to maintain competitiveness and stay aligned with larger organizations.

10/14/2016 - THE CENTER
We all agree on the benefits of embracing a Six Sigma Culture. It is after all a management methodology which allows companies to use data to eliminate defects and reduce variability in any process, manufacturing and business alike.

9/30/2016 - THE CENTER
Standardized work is perhaps one of the most powerful lean tools that will have the most impact on your organization’s daily operational activities ─ yet, it is the least used lean tool of the Lean Manufacturing concept. Why?

9/23/2016 - THE CENTER
Hoshin Planning, commonly referred to as “policy deployment”, is a method utilized to ensure that the strategic goals of a company are consistently driving development and action at every functional level of an organization. This type of methodology endeavors to remove all wastes resulting from discrepancies of direction and lack of communication in order to get every employee on the same page.

9/16/2016 - THE CENTER
All members of a company have a responsibility to solve workplace problems. Effective problem solving is critical for personal and business success. However, being able to execute solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner is often a challenge.

9/9/2016 - THE CENTER
Most manufacturers would assume their organization follows a continuous improvement approach, where they improve their products, services and processes in efforts to sustain success. However, according to the Kaizen/Lean Philosophy, Continuous Improvement is much more complex.

6/17/2016 - THE CENTER
Quality must be built in to each process, making sure each person checks and is resposible for their own work. But this is not enough to guarantee 100% quality.  It is a myth to think that “lean means no inspection”. In fact, there are multiple checkpoints – and checks of checkpoints - within a build-in-quality system.

4/8/2016 - THE CENTER
In today’s age, it is amazing that some manufacturers have not yet heard of “Lean”. The question is: How are they surviving in today’s competitive market without it? The issue is that, in many ways, the customer sets pricing.

2/5/2016 - THE CENTER
Imagine sitting at your table and watching the news while drinking your morning coffee. The newscaster’s voice booms as he breaks the latest story: a fire burned through the night and destroyed almost half of the warehouses and businesses in a nearby industrial park.