No Waste Path Using TIMWOODS Ben Hershey Part 9 in our TIMWOODS Series Hey TimWoods, it’s time to take a pause with your Gemba walk and talk about a Waste Reduction plan using what we learned in this series. Throughout this series, our friend TimWoods has helped us focus on the wastes of Transportation, Inventory, Motion,... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 46
Is a Linear Saw Paired with Each Roof Truss Assembly Table a Magic Cure for the Best Lean System? Todd Drummond A current trend in our industry is that the component manufacturers are being advised that one should have a fully automated lumber retrieval system linked to an automated linear saw that pushes the cut lumber directly to the assembly table with an auto puck system. This type of setup is often... Read More November 2017 Issue #10220 Page 28
Skills Play a Vital Role in Lean Management Ben Hershey Part 8 in our TIMWOODS Series Our journey through the various waste topics in Lean brings us to the final letter in our series on TIMWOODS: Skills. Many companies, managers, and supervisors forget when improving their operations to look at their team and review how their skills are being... Read More November 2017 Issue #10220 Page 44
Can Staple Use Be Too Much of a Good Thing? Glenn Traylor With today’s complex profiles and configurations, many truss fabricators have been relying on staples to set assembly member contact and relationships. Stapling serves as a temporary means to insure tight joints and accurate locations. Often times, however, because of the ease of multiple... Read More October 2017 Issue #10219 Page 34
Improve Your Production Processes and Say “NO” to Waste Ben Hershey Part 7 in our TIMWOODS series Reducing Over-Processing is a critical part of creating an efficient lean production/distribution company. As our friend Tim Woods has been guiding us through our lumber yards, manufacturing operations, and offices, we’ve seen a lot of wastes. Now... Read More September 2017 Issue #10218 Page 38
Improve Your Motion and Waiting Ben Hershey Part 6 in our TIMWOODS series Clearly, there are many different ways that people waste time, money, and resources, but throughout our series my objective is providing new ways for you to think about the opportunities in your operation. In previous articles, we’ve talked about the wastes... Read More August 2017 Issue #10217 Page 36
Open Your Eyes to Overproduction Ben Hershey Part 5 in our TIMWOODS Series Piles and piles of production all around you. No, I am not talking about inventory, I am talking about WIP, finished goods/staged jobs—Overproduction. Overproduction is making products in too great a quantity or before actually needed, leading to excessive... Read More June 2017 Issue #10215 Page 48
Robotics in the LBM & Component Industry Ben Hershey A book I read in 2015, “Rise of the Robots,” by Martin Ford, talked about the threat many people see that robots present to the employment marketplace. At the time, I was working with several different equipment manufacturers and clients on their automated/robotic equipment... Read More May 2017 Issue #10214 Page 48
How Quality Control is Essential in Your Lean Program Ben Hershey Part 4 in our TIMWOODS Series Shigeo Shingo, who is considered the world’s leading expert on manufacturing practices and the Toyota Production System, wrote “humans are animals that make mistakes.” But how often do we make mistakes in our lumber yards, millwork, and... Read More April 2017 Issue #10213 Page 50
Inventory Could be Costing You More Than You Think Ben Hershey Part 3 in our TIMWOODS Series Our friend, TIM WOODS, has been busy in many LBM and component operations and, as we continue our series, he has been seen sweeping “Inventory” down several operations’ drains. Inventory is another waste word in our TIMWOODS acronym for the... Read More March 2017 Issue #10212 Page 50