In many manufacturing operations, measurements and goals for front-line teams are often disconnected from what customers actually care about. That’s a problem. When goals and metrics are aligned with customer expectations and competitive market conditions, they become meaningful. They’re no longer arbitrary productivity calculations from a bygone era—they’re context-rich tools that help teams understand why improvements matter. […]
If you’re leading a midsize manufacturing company, you know that profitability isn’t just about cutting costs—it’s about building a smarter, more agile operation that consistently delivers value. Fortunately, there are 7 practical, proven strategies that can help you boost manufacturing profitability in your operation without compromising quality or burning out your team. So, where should you […]
Last year, I published a quick blog post titled “Improvement takes Practice.” The premise of this piece is that if leaders seek improvement in their business results, then they’d better ensure they and their team are allocating time toward improvements. However, there is another side to this coin, which is overwhelming teams with improvement demands […]
I have a habit of using the Notes app on my iPhone quite regularly. I write down to-do lists, grocery lists, and record the weights I lift at the gym. Sometimes, I even write down goals, usually in the form of a handful of objectives I would like to achieve at some point in the […]
At the core of every manufacturing business are processes designed to convert raw materials into finished products for customers. In a purely physical sense, these processes are what keep us in business, and each of those processes has a finite amount of capacity to serve. Do you keep tabs on how much total capacity exists […]
