Advice from suppliers As businesses grow, one of the first places we turn for advice is machine suppliers. We buy a CNC and ...

The best way to reduce machining lead time is to establish a “flow” from one process to another, using cells to link, synchronize, and eliminate excessive material handling, excess inventory, and ...

Flow manufacturing is a production method used by makers of assembly-line products, such as auto manufacturers. It dates from the 1980s and is based on the principles of the Toyota production system, ...

“We are different. Every job is unique.” “We cannot expect teamwork from skilled trades. Their work is too specialized.” “We must keep our people busy at all times. That’s why inventory is so ...

In today's manufacturing environment, assembly work is routinely characterized by short production cycles and constantly diminishing batch sizes, while the variety of product types and models ...

One-piece flow (OPF) is axiomatic among lean practitioners. We’ve all seen the illustrations (like this one) that show the advantage of one-piece flow. There are several of this sort of animated ...

FlexNet Lean Material Flow software for global manufacturing operations management (MOM) was developed in collaboration with Accenture to support Lean Manufacturing. It is designed to better ...

Brush and Maritan write that flow manufacturing "allows a plant to develop its manufacturing capabilities of quality, flexibility and delivery speed with positive feedback on cost and efficiency.

Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma principals are used to improve processes and create efficiencies in the overall manufacturing process. Lean manufacturing is used to minimize waste, while saving costs ...

We’re living in a consumer’s world—everything they want, they get, and retailers are beside themselves trying to accommodate. Gone are the days of two clothing collections per year; now it’s multiple ...