Establishing Your Lean Strategy Ben Hershey Many of today’s Component Manufacturers are considering some measure of Lean implementations. Most are based on a series of what are essentially isolated Kaizen-based waste reductions projects. In selecting areas in their operations, a CM will look at the perceived... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 66
Stop Wasting So Much Time Trying to Find Up to Date Project or Department Information Todd Drummond It is an all too common problem for too many managers and sales staff; hours are spent wasting so much time trying to find up-to-date information for any given project being processed by the company. Ask yourself one simple question. How much time each day do you spend looking for information... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 24
Launching Keymark’s New Program: Softright, Part Two Keith Dietzen Part Two: One Example of a Solution Provided By Softright Last month, Part I of this series discussed the problem that our new program, Softright, is designed to fix. We focused on the issues that business owners have with integrating all of their internal systems. In this article, I’d... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 34
Lean Thinking Means No Waste: No “TIM WOODS” Ben Hershey At its core, Lean means no waste. The original Lean (Six Sigma) concept defines 7 wastes (Muda) that exist in business. All process waste is categorized into one or more of these categories. The rules for these wastes apply in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. Defining and... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 62
Finding the Time to Make Improvements in Any Area of a Company Todd Drummond An often repeated statement made by many managers this year has been that they do not have enough time or people to accomplish their stated goals, so in other words, they face time constraints. These time constraints are causing delayed improvements in processes, which negatively affect every... Read More October 2016 Issue #09207 Page 20
Launching Keymark’s New Program: Softright Keith Dietzen Part I: The Problem Softright is Designed to Fix Throughout all of my years in this industry, I’ve always been looking for the next solution that I can offer my customers. In considering the ways in which businesses operate today, we at Keymark have focused on an area where we believe... Read More October 2016 Issue #09207 Page 32
Smart Manufacturing and the LBM & Component Operation Ben Hershey Smart Manufacturing You have probably read articles, heard this term used by an equipment manufacturer, and even heard it at a Chamber of Commerce meeting or other local group. Smart Manufacturing covers a broad category of manufacturing with the goal of optimizing the process from concept,... Read More October 2016 Issue #09207 Page 66
Material Handling Opportunities Joe Kannapell Once saw and table setups are automated, what about improving the rest of material handling? Can we lessen the 5 “touches” involved: fetching lumber, feeding saws, catching, transporting to tables, and feeding jigs? And can we better account for the cost of these indirect labor... Read More September 2016 Issue #09206 Page 22
Metrics & Connected Technology in the Manufacturing Space Ben Hershey A lot of people have been talking about production tracking lately, so now is a good time to talk more in depth about some of the issues involved. With increased demand for the handling of metrics, levels of complexity and ever-changing conditions, manufacturers have been moving toward more... Read More September 2016 Issue #09206 Page 62
Incentive Report Payout Options Todd Drummond The actual payment to employees for increased performance is truly one aspect that many managers may not understand, especially regarding how to get the most bang for their buck. For example, why give equal dollars to personnel with varying degrees of skills and responsibilities? This payout... Read More August 2016 Issue #09205 Page 18