All Features
Chet Marchwinski
One of my favorite value-stream walks is with the senior managers of several organizations who share and jointly manage a value-creating process that stretches all the way from raw materials to the end customer. I’ve been taking walks of this sort for more than 20 years and I usually see the same…
The Un-Comfort Zone With Robert Wilson
Until I was 30 years old, I wasn’t much of a fisherman. I’d take a rod and reel along on a camping trip, but I never expected to catch much of anything. In my mind, fishing was a relaxing pastime you enjoyed with friends and beer. Then my buddy Brian asked me to go fishing. I took him to a lake…
Ben Marguglio
What are the root and contributing causes of the accident in the Gulf? What could have and should have been done to prevent the accident? If the potential for the accident could not have been absolutely prevented, what could have and should have been done to mitigate the consequences of such an…
R. Eric Reidenbach Ph.D.
How loyal are your customers? That’s a question I bet many companies can’t answer with any specificity. Yet, it’s a critically important question. If you haven’t heard by now, loyal customers are profitable customers—an annuity, if you will, with recurring payments.
Customer retention is an…
Angelo Lyall
When so many managers and businesses have access to virtually the same tools and information, it seems peculiar that two similar businesses can operate so differently, one being a success story while the other fails. To induce needed changes rather than superficial ones, managers must first accept…
Oriel STAT A MATRIX
The status of nuclear power in the United States is finally changing. As of last month, there were 18 proposals under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 28 new units in 14 states. This renewed interest in building nuclear power plants can be attributed in large part to the…
Tom Pyzdek
In this four-part series, we take an in-depth look at how to design an effective work environment. Part one discusses the elements of continuous-flow work cells. Part two considers how to enhance the efficiency of such work cells. Part three explores the 5S methodology. In this, the last part of…
LRQA Business Assurance
There is no doubt that the mixed and incomplete messages coming from regulators, markets, competitors, and stakeholders on how to address climate change make investment decisions for business more challenging and uncertain.
Nevertheless, many businesses are forging ahead with innovative and…
Regan Arndt
As the push to alternative energy technologies continues, the demand for photovoltaic modules is expected to increase exponentially. This article describes the specific performance tests found in IEC 61215:2005—“Crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules—Design qualification and…
Brothers Jürgen and Andreas Hellgeth are entrepreneurs with a passion. Their interests, both business and leisure, center on motor sports and off-road vehicles. Their successful business designing and building off-road vehicles began by creating special vehicles for their own use. A converted…
When the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) develops a new guideline or updates an existing one, it is often accompanied by the availability of new training. In the case of the second edition of Consumer-Centric Warranty Management Guideline: A Guideline for Industry Best Practices (product…
Donald J. Wheeler
Evidently Steven Ouellette did not like my June column, “Is the Part in Spec?” The adjectives he used were “complicated,” “unhelpful,” “backward,” “confusing,” “unnecessary,” “crazy,” and “disastrous.” (Ouellette’s response, “Know the Process Before Altering Its Specifications,” can be read here…
ANDREA LAHOUZE
John Berger is no stranger to the benefits of training within industry (TWI). In 1995, when Berger was working for global manufacturing giant Emerson, he was challenged to move an entire product line of electro-mechanical sensors from Minnesota to Singapore.
At Emerson’s Minnesota plant,…
Tom Pyzdek
In this four-part series, we take an in-depth look at how to design an effective work environment. Part one discusses the elements of continuous-flow work cells. Part two considers how to enhance the efficiency of such work cells. Part three explores the 5S methodology. In part four of the series…
Tom Pyzdek
In this four-part series, we take an in-depth look at how to design an effective work environment. Part one discusses the elements of continuous-flow work cells. Part two considers how to enhance the efficiency of such work cells. Part three explores the 5S methodology. In part four of the series…
Environmental Quality Corner with Ken Appel
For quite some time, polls have indicated that public approval for Congress remains at an all-time low. Congressional gridlock is difficult to watch for U.S. citizens who care about any issue and how our legislative process resolves the problems of our time—no matter what their party affiliation…
Should companies take different approaches to managing employees of different generations?
This question has been top of mind for managers in recent years. For example, younger workers were a key focus during the 1990s, when a youth culture characterized many of the IT companies that were…
Tom Pyzdek
In this four-part series, we take an in-depth look at how to design an effective work environment. Part one discusses the elements of continuous-flow work cells. Part two considers how to enhance the efficiency of such work cells. Part three explores the 5S methodology. In part four of the series…
GKS Global Services
A major manufacturer of high-tech bicycles with a worldwide distributorship and many professional endorsements to its name used 3-D laser scanning to maintain its competitive edge. Its mission is to promote bike riding through innovative products, and exceptional care for its dealers and…
Pierre Gouvin
Moles are invading Seattle. Not the small, furry mammals often reviled for destroying lawns, but the specialized boring machines used to excavate tunnels in urban environments. As part of its long-range capital investment plan, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, known simply as “Sound…
What can you do when your organization has a critical mission—e.g., to help more transplant patients live longer, healthier lives—and you know your processes desperately need improvement?
This was the dilemma faced by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).…
Xia Enyu
Industrial organizations face numerous compliance regulations such as management system certification, information security, corporate social responsibility compliance, and limiting the content of hazardous substances in products. Now they can add carbon management to the list. This task is one…
Willie L. Carter
Higher customer expectations, cost-cutting pressures, thinner margins, and shorter lead times are some of the daily challenges that organizations face. A management system built around lean processes enables companies to achieve operational excellence, while providing flexibility in the way…
David L. Westphal
Ideas for quality and continuous improvement can come from the most unconventional sources. As an automotive supplier, improving competitiveness, quality, and productivity are always top of mind. Put simply, in this industry, companies live and die by continuous improvement. As the only tier-one…
Scott Paton
You’ve just been to a big conference (or small one, more likely these days) and you’re psyched. You’ve heard a couple of great keynotes, sat in on some terrific sessions, and maybe spent a day in a workshop that really got your juices flowing. These people were speaking to you. They understand how…
