Manufacture Smarter Blog

2/26/2024 Today, companies are envisioning—and producing—designs that wouldn’t be possible with traditional, subtractive manufacturing methods. The question today is no longer “Can I transition production of Widget X to additive manufacturing?” but instead “How does additive’s potential change how I design Widget X?”

3/3/2023 - BY: JOHN SPILLSON
Governor Whitmer has proclaimed March as Michigan Food and Agriculture Month to honor and celebrate Michigan’s farmers and diverse products. Our state’s unique climate and abundance of water has provided the ideal conditions to grow and process some of the nation’s finest agricultural products. As a $105 billion industry, food and agriculture provides more than 800,000 jobs, which accounts for 17% of our state’s employment. Encompassing nearly 10 million acres of farmland, Michigan has more than 300 commodities and is the second most diverse agriculture state in the U.S.

2/17/2023 - BY: DAVE NELSON
We all know that good oral hygiene is essential to healthy living. Even though we brush our teeth daily, visiting your dentist twice a year is still important. Unsurprisingly, the dentist will often find plaque, an occasional cavity or other serious issue regardless of prevention during the visit. Similarly, good operational “hygiene” is essential to business success. Conducting a value stream map (VSM) on your various operational processes should be performed regularly. 

1/13/2023 - BY: ANTHONY WELSH
It wasn’t until after a decade of working as a mechanical engineer that I really understood the crucial concept of letting the questions lead. While working on discovery-based projects, we must spend ample time documenting our question(s) before jumping into action. Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend fifty-five minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” Consider the fact that the smartest person in the room might not be the one with all the answers, but the one with the right questions. 

12/16/2022 - BY: MATT SHOFFNER
While touring a facility, I always look at how workspaces are organized. Occasionally, I see evidence of past Lean initiatives. 5S is the easiest Lean tool to spot on a tour and it is also the easiest to identify when it is no longer in use. When I find 5S that is no longer being followed, I call it a 5S graveyard because that is where 5S went to die. 5S graveyards were once initiatives optimized to improve flow through visual management of a workplace for inventory, tools and everything needed to do a specific job.

11/11/2022 - BY: CHUCK WERNER
As educators to small and medium-sized businesses on manufacturing technologies, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center’s (The Center) Industry 4.0 team participates in trade shows, expositions and technology events, allowing us to interact with experts, suppliers and adopters of technology. We are fortunate to experience current technologies, hear about implementation successes and failures, and get to see the upcoming developments in technology. While some of these new products may never mature into “game-changers” for manufacturing, the fact is that some, if not many, go on to revolutionize the processes and producers of products and services alike.

10/7/2022 - BY: ROB STAUFFER
Most manufacturers are facing inflation, which drives up the cost of just about everything they buy. At the same time, the price of petroleum has risen, increasing the cost of transporting items to and from their factories. The current talent and workforce shortage, particularly in manufacturing, has caused an upward pressure on wages. And to make things even more challenging, many economic indicators are predicting a looming recession, which tends to shrink consumption and slow down production.

9/23/2022 - BY: ROGER TOMLINSON
Take a look at your facility. Are there ways you could improve the layout of your plant? Are employees walking far between jobs? Does the arrangement of equipment make the most sense for optimum efficiency? Plant layout is a great way to minimize operating costs by ensuring efficient workflow throughout the shop floor.

7/22/2022 - BY: JERED TYACK
What if I told you I recently had a conversation with a company who decided it wasn’t worth the cost of implementing Lean in their facility? They believed their employees did not have time for training and the overall investment, including temporary loss of production, was too expensive. This company believed it would cost too much to dedicate 10 minutes of clean-up time at the end of their shift. Sounds crazy, right? However, many companies think this way when they don’t fully understand Lean manufacturing and its benefits.

7/8/2022 - BY: MIKE BEELS
When running a successful business, it is important to continuously work on process improvements. This is where Lean manufacturing can help. At the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center), we offer free Waste Walks to gather information about the work process, the work areas and any instances of observed waste.