Thanks to rising costs abroad, a need to protect intellectual property from foreign competitors, and a growing consumer preference for American goods, U.S. manufacturing is turning around.

Create a Lean, standardized process across all inspection equipment with Loc-N-Load™ plates and work holding from Inspection Arsenal™.  Lean practitioners testify that the design reduces the most expensive waste affecting profits – defective parts, excess motion, over production, and waiting… waiting of talented people and expensive spindles! 

There has been great debate as to whether lean manufacturing and system integration can coexist.

Although it’s not exactly a new problem within industry in the United States, there has been a definite uptick in the overall attention being given to the “lack of qualified personnel” issue we are experiencing.

Paul W. Critchley saw the power of lean as a plant manager at a growing medical device company. As the orders increased, every day the two-person shipping department struggled to make deadlines, getting in at 6:30 a.m. and rushing all day in order to make the UPS truck deadline at 5 p.m.

In order to stay afloat in today’s competitive manufacturing environment, many companies have implemented lean manufacturing techniques to create more efficient workflows. 

It is not uncommon to blame senior management for most of what ails an organization. However, it is past time to rethink this attitude!

Label verification systems safe-guard manufacturer shipments against customer rejects and fines for inaccurate or noncompliant product label data.

The goal of performance management, as defined by the United States Office of Personnel Management, is “improving organizational effectiveness.” Performance management application, however, depends on both the industry and the methodology being applied.

The operations manager and I were touring the final assembly line at an engine plant in the Midwest.