4 Building Material Company Challenges (and One Big Surprise) I Learned at the Whizard Summit Mark Mitchell I’m not just a teacher at my Whizard Summits, I’m also a student. I show up to each event ready to share my knowledge, but I also learn a lot from the companies who attend. The major thing I learn about at each of these events are the biggest challenges building material companies... Read More November 2018 Issue #10232 Page 95
Constructing a Roadmap to Operational Excellence, Part 2 Ben Hershey Part 2: Continuing the Journey of 7 Steps As discused in "Part 1: Beginning a Journey of 7 Steps," we all aspire to have a state of operational excellence in our organizations, which is easier said than done. Operational excellence is about more than simply adjusting the... Read More October 2018 Issue #10231 Page 20
Better Building BIM Joseph Sirilla Eliminating downtime associated with Requests for Information (RFIs) when clashes or questions come to light during the building phase saves significant time, money, and – of particular interest in our current supply-constrained labor market – construction labor. Many in the... Read More October 2018 Issue #10231 Page 38
Advertiser Forum: Looking for the Joy in Waiting Anna Stamm Anticipation. Sometimes it generates excitement. Other times it enhances frustration. Is there a way to emphasize the “good” part of waiting and diminish the less desirable aspects? Read More September 2018 Issue #10230 Page 6
Constructing a Roadmap to Operational Excellence Ben Hershey Part 1: Beginning a Journey of 7 Steps We all aspire to have a state of operational excellence in our organizations, but it is often much easier said than done. Although it’s often conceptualized as merely tweaking the current way of doing things, operational excellence is about... Read More September 2018 Issue #10230 Page 36
The Relationship Between Lean and Safety Ben Hershey In my experience and with the work I do with hundreds of component manufacturers, I find that many companies will tell me Safety is important, but, in practice, safety is treated as a burden on the company. Good managers will always have an attitude that they want all of their employees to be... Read More August 2018 Issue #10229 Page 24
Advertiser Forum: Own Your Attitude Anna Stamm In June, my sisters and I threw a 50th anniversary party for our aunt and uncle. Because our own parents never lived long enough to reach that milestone, it was a wonderful occasion to celebrate for everyone and have a great time. Seeing some of the photos after the party, one caught my... Read More July 2018 Issue #10228 Page 6
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
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
Advertiser Forum: Themes, Thoughts, and Subjects Anna Stamm Occasionally, someone will ask me—do you have themed issues or an editorial calendar? To date, the answer to that question is—no. Every author is invited to speak their mind about the topic of their choosing, so our articles appear in the order in which they are submitted. With that... Read More May 2018 Issue #10226 Page 4