Manufacture Smarter Blog

11/20/2015 - THE CENTER
Remember the old adage, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door”? It is no longer acceptable just to build a better mousetrap. That mousetrap must now be built using a team-oriented approach and it should deliver a product/process in less time, using less material and fewer capital resources.

10/16/2015 - THE CENTER
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a ratio that demonstrates the number of parts produced by a machine versus its theoretical or optimal capacity.

9/18/2015 - THE CENTER
“That order will be delivered within the next day. It will be picked and shipped as soon as I hit ENTER. Thank you so much for making us your number one supplier. We value your business”. Once the ENTER key is pressed, will the inventory be available to fulfill the order?

9/4/2015 - THE CENTER
If you Google “Value Stream Mapping,” a very elaborate (and wordy) definition pops up on the screen. In order to understand the concept, we must simplify the definition. Value Stream Mapping looks at how things are currently executed in order to improve processes in the future. The actual mapping portion comes into play because a written ‘map’ is used to sequentially depict steps required to design, produce and provide a good or service.

9/5/2014 - THE CENTER
We recently published a blog entry about the importance of roadmapping. Roadmapping is an excellent way to align your technology with your company’s strategic goals. To recap Part 1, roadmapping is a visualization of how to tie a company’s technology needs to its new product development and strategy.

8/22/2014 - THE CENTER
A couple weeks ago, we posted about Waste Walks. In fact, there’s a lot of information out on the internet that you can just Google and discover. Remember, the most important thing is to identify what you see – what type of waste it is, potential causes, and potential solutions. This sets you up for the next part – which is what you are going to do about it.

8/15/2014 - THE CENTER
How much time do you spend on strategic planning for your organization? In manufacturing, it’s very easy to get caught up in the daily grind…and understandably so! You have to worry about maintaining production levels, serving clients, adhering to safety standards, marketing your products, and so on and so on.

8/8/2014 - THE CENTER
The purpose of a waste walk is to gather information about the work process, the work areas within which it is performed, and any instances of waste that is observed. Typically, the waste walk is conducted by experienced lean practitioners who can offer a fresh perspective to manufacturers and illuminate opportunities for improvement.

5/23/2014 - THE CENTER
In a previous entry, Can Your Team Pinpoint Value-Added?, we identified some places that waste or non-value added steps can hide in your company’s processes. Today, we’d like to follow up on that. I mean, now that you know where to look, how do you actually identify the correct steps to eliminate?

2/28/2014 - THE CENTER
Business pains, much like pain from injuries, are not unusual. However, the cause and the cure to those pains can vary greatly. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to problems.