Blog

  • The Best Time to Kick Off a Continuous Improvement Initiative

    The Best Time to Kick Off a Continuous Improvement Initiative

    Prosperity is perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to continuous improvement in manufacturing. When things are going well, we don’t feel the need to make improvements quite as keenly. For example, instead of focusing on removing waste in our factories to become more cost competitive, we might opt to add capacity so we can keep…

    Read More

  • IT/OT Convergence in the Factory of the Future

    IT/OT Convergence in the Factory of the Future

    Since the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), experts and enthusiasts have been talking about the coming together of IT (information technology) and OT (operational technologies). Some call it an integration, while others call it a convergence. I call it a good thing. In this post, I’ll talk a bit about the convergence/integration…

    Read More

  • Kaizen vs. Kaikaku

    Kaizen vs. Kaikaku

    Kaizen vs. Kaikaku: 2 Approaches to Lean Manufacturing That Can Transform Your Factory   The Lean Manufacturing world is littered with new terminology, and given the discipline’s origins, it’s not surprising that some of these words and phrases are Japanese. Being “fluent” with these words to the point that you can bring them up in…

    Read More

  • Why Data-Driven Manufacturing is Not Enough

    Why Data-Driven Manufacturing is Not Enough

    Occasionally, someone will mix up DDM (Demand-Driven Manufacturing) with another DDM acronym in our industry: Data-Driven Manufacturing. There are similarities. For example, executing demand-driven principles relies heavily on data and shop floor visibility. However, it doesn’t stop there. In this post, we’ll take a look at Data-Driven Manufacturing and why it’s useful but not enough…

    Read More

  • Kanban Series White Paper: Gain a Competitive Advantage for Bottom-Line Results

    Kanban Series White Paper: Gain a Competitive Advantage for Bottom-Line Results

    In this white paper, we look at the competitive edge Demand-Driven Manufacturers gain by not only being devoted to driving flow and eliminating waste, but also in enabling their organizations to become best-in-class by using Pull and eKanban software technology. These manufacturers provide valuable opportunities to their customers and, because of their Lean Manufacturing approach…

    Read More

  • Kanban Series White Paper: Gain a Competitive Advantage for Bottom-Line Results

    Kanban Series White Paper: Gain a Competitive Advantage for Bottom-Line Results

    In this white paper, we look at the competitive edge Demand-Driven Manufacturers gain by not only being devoted to driving flow and eliminating waste, but also in enabling their organizations to become best-in-class by using Pull and eKanban software technology. These manufacturers provide valuable opportunities to their customers and, because of their Lean Manufacturing approach…

    Read More