The Power of SMED and 5S Keith Parker As a follow up to our 9-part “Ready for Change” article series, our next step down the “Lean” path is to introduce other tools and methods to reduce waste and time. The first in this new bi-monthly series focuses on SMED, Single Minute Exchange of Die, and how this... Read More August 2018 Issue #10229 Page 40
Estimating Truss Labor Using Board Footage Versus Proper Man-Minute Time Standards Todd Drummond For many years, I have been beating the drum that board footage (BF) is an imperfect unit measurement that our industry should abandon. The better alternative is the proven method of time estimations which uses man-minutes (MM). Man-minutes are derived from time-in-motion practices that have... Read More July 2018 Issue #10228 Page 22
How Does Your Company Performance Measure Up? The Importance of Benchmarking Ben Hershey I read a book recently that discussed the term “benchmark” and its origins as relates to business. Surprisingly, the term originates within the history of guns and ammunition. In fact, with the same aim we use it today—comparison and improved performance. The book talked... Read More July 2018 Issue #10228 Page 34
How the DMAIC Process Can Improve Design Time Keith Parker As a follow up to our last article, How the DMAIC Process Helps Sustain Achievements and Drive Continuous Improvements, below is another example and case study based on the need to reduce design cycle time. After setting the parameters, I will outline the DMAIC Lean method and demonstrate how... Read More July 2018 Issue #10228 Page 40
Moving From Best to Next Practices Ben Hershey As an industry, there are many times I believe we have been behind the curve in adopting/taking on new technology or hardware in our operations. Over the past 15 years or so, we have seen incredible growth in the use of automation, software, etc., but other industries have far exceeded the... Read More June 2018 Issue #10227 Page 18
Are Your Salespeople Selling Your Company into Eventual Bankruptcy? Todd Drummond Most people have a mistaken belief that my services are all about making component manufacturing more efficient. Actually, more than half my time during a consultation is taken up reviewing things like management practices and the sales process. Fact is, sales—correction, healthy... Read More June 2018 Issue #10227 Page 30
Emerging Pillars for Business Success Ben Hershey As companies grow and change, we should ask ourselves—what are the essential pillars of support that help companies succeed? While making changes that will transform their businesses, successful companies will rely on core pillars that form the foundation of who they will be in the future.... Read More May 2018 Issue #10226 Page 18
A Tale of Two Dealers, and Why One Far Surpasses the Other Todd Drummond Most think lack of time is their biggest barrier to achieving their goals, but they are mistaken. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This quote by Peter Drucker is one of my favorites. While providing consulting services for over one hundred companies, I have witnessed and... Read More May 2018 Issue #10226 Page 30
How the DMAIC Process Helps Sustain Achievements and Drive Continuous Improvements Keith Parker As the next and final step in the DMAIC process, the Control phase is perhaps the most critical! You have identified and Defined the scope of a challenge. Collected data and statistically Measured the baseline of the current process and/or output. Analyzed the current procedures and... Read More May 2018 Issue #10226 Page 62
Why It’s Time to Add Component Manufacturing to Your Lumber Business Todd Drummond We’ve all seen the predictions: Component manufacturing is going to grow ever bigger as labor remains tight and big builders get more efficient. And with component manufacturing gross margins being higher than what you get for selling commodities, it’s a good time to ask:... Read More April 2018 Issue #10225 Page 18