These are strange times for the workforce. Disney, the picture of stability, recently fired the CEO they had groomed for the job, and brought back prior CEO Bob Igor to set the ship straight again. At the same time, Elon Musk used the power of email to summarily fire 1,000s of employees as he told those who remained that hard work and long hours would be the only way they retain employment. More quit after receiving that threat. And of course however many employees FTX had found themselves amids...
Nov 23, 2022•6 min
In 2019 manufacturers were struggling to onboard and retain important workers, to obtain supplies when needed, and to meet the level of performance that customers demand. And then Covid hit. “It’s the supply chain” became the phrase to indicate the problems are out of our control. It meant “don’t expect a good answer from us” and “don’t expect on-time in-full deliveries.” Packaging, whether plastic or metal or even treated cloth, was in short supply. At least in the size and configuration some n...
Nov 09, 2022•7 min
My computer is running slow today. They keep moving things around here. Someone called off so I’m doing it all myself. And now, it’s the supply chain. The computer excuse shouldn’t have been accepted since about 2010, the moving things around excuse since hand-held devices, and the someone called off — well, that one will likely be with us for decades to come. But the supply chain excuse? It’s just like the computer running slowly. It was true at one time, but is rarely the case now. Yet, people...
Nov 02, 2022•5 min
In manufacturing we constantly talk about continuous improvement to move ever closer to excellence. But if we increase productivity by 5% per year, are we excellent? That, by itself, cannot answer the question. It says we’re pretty good at reducing labor-related costs, but it tells us nothing about how well we meet the needs of the market. Most lean activities in most companies are focused on that reduction in labor content. Many also target a reduction in cash invested in inventory and delivery...
Oct 19, 2022•5 min
The coal industry did not change for decade after decade. Being forced to improve safety demanded exhaust systems, better lighting, and a bit more, but nothing too dramatic. That industry long believed that arguments for cleaner energy were a fad. After a while it became clear that was a trend. But was that enough to require any real change? Would there be a seismic shift? Yes. The current decade has hosted a seismic shift in the view of non-renewable sources of energy in general, and coal in pa...
Oct 12, 2022•8 min
Maximizing current profits by definition sacrifices the long term investments that attaining your mission requires. My concept of “strategic profits” addresses how to think about profitability in a way that ensures you can always invest in the muscle instrumental toyour organization’s long term success. First, can you identify those company muscles that are required now, and will be next year, next decade, and likely next century? If not, it’s impossible to build strategic profits. And without s...
Sep 28, 2022•7 min
Do you ever say “what was she thinking!” in exasperation? Most of us do. And if we’re honest, we also ask “what was I thinking?” No one bats 1000 in making great decisions, but all of us can improve the quality of the decisions we make. And we can help others do the same. As leaders, we need to do both. A few easy-to-implement steps include asking these simple questions: 1) what happens if you are wrong? 2) what alternatives did you consider and reject? 3) what are the downsides of this decision...
Sep 21, 2022•7 min
Following the inflation, high interest rates, and economic downturn of the late 1970s and early 1980s, American manufactures felt significant price pressures. They, wrongly, believed that offshoring production and sourcing to low wage rate countries was the only way to remain competitive. As they complicated the supply chain and extended lead times, they also began to listen to select parts of the Toyota Production System. Select, as in they chose to see Just-in-Time as reducing inventories rath...
Sep 14, 2022•6 min
Could your manufacturing company utilize a retiring Brigadier General who has led small and large international groups in theaters of war and in standing up government infrastructure in countries in turmoil? The typical immediate response is “wow! what a background. But what could he do for us with no experience in manufacturing?” Hiring someone because they look different, or come from somewhere else is too often an effort to hit a target rather than hire the best. When I was in the corporate w...
Sep 07, 2022•8 min
We all know we have to be innovative. Many of us demonstrate that by introducing new products regularly. Do they all make sense? Should we simply add to the number of offerings without subtracting? The process of ensuring that the products and services offered by a manufacturer are optimal for the company and its customers is call product rationalization. Too many of us don’t do that, don’t build it in to our new product development/introduction process, and waste time trying to determine the pr...
Aug 31, 2022•8 min
Not all markets are good markets for you. Not all customers are good customers for you. And not all orders are good orders for you. How do you recognize the distinctions beforehand? And how do you fire a customer once you’ve already accepted them? A good customer for you is not the same as for others, and cannot be based solely on top line potential. Sadly, too many get sucked into that revenue potential and make commitments later regretted. Examine these six attributes before deciding a potenti...
Aug 24, 2022•7 min
Every one of your employees must clearly see how his actions and decisions impact execution of the business strategy. This is accomplished through a line-of-sight deployment process. It is not enough to describe the strategy at an all-hands meeting, or even add to that the down-one-level strategy. Stopping the formal deployment process at that points leaves entirely too much to false assumptions and bad guesses. You are familiar with the 5-Why problem solving process in which we keep asking why ...
Aug 10, 2022•6 min
No manufacturer can afford to ignore the concept of Digital Transformation. Yes, there continues some small need for manual lathes, but don’t plan your future on that. In the past several editions of this podcast I discussed several business-side categories of digital transformation, from machine health to connected employees to using blockchain to create and maintain internal quality records. That information was intended to help you envision the future you are trying to create through digital....
Aug 03, 2022•8 min
It is always smart to start with a business case before deciding to move forward with a specific technology in your digital transformation. The same is true with blockchain. In prior podcasts I’ve described several categories of business benefit to consider in creating your digital transformation roadmap. We’ve considered machine health, connected employees, and more, without focusing on the technologies that make those things possible and effective. In blockchain, it is important to understand ...
Jul 27, 2022•8 min
Prior podcasts have introduced the digital transformation business categories of “machine health” and “connected employees.” In this episode we discuss “smart products.” Some manufacturing products are easy to visualize as electronic sources of volumes of data; others, not so much. Yet a significant portion of the products developed, manufactured, sold and/or serviced by manufacturers have great stories to tell, if only we’ll listen. The two primary reasons to consider smart products are: (1) to...
Jul 13, 2022•6 min
Connected employees is a phrase that can intimate workers and confuse leadership. When clarified, it becomes an integral part of your digital transformation. Connected employees simply means that as employees move around doing their jobs, they have the information they need where they are at that moment. It requires mobile devices because employees are mobile. An understanding of the types of mobile devices available and the types of information various employees need in what format will help yo...
Jul 06, 2022•7 min
In manufacturing, reliable healthy equipment is a fundamental requirement. Yet so many of us struggle with unplanned downtime due to equipment failures. Digital transformation often has as its first arena in manufacturing machine health. Initial efforts at machine health have revolved around preventive maintenance executed on the schedule recommended by the manufacturer of the equipment. Some of us are better at that than others. Another step is knowing if equipment is running at the speed it wa...
Jun 29, 2022•7 min
If you can’t lead change, your company cannot succeed. The rate and types of change that success requires continue to expand. Digital Transformation is a buzzword, but more importantly it is a genuine requirement of any manufacturing business that will succeed over the next several years. Imagine the manufacturer that considered electricity an irrelevant newfangled technology. Imagine the manufacturer that considered computers an irrelevant newfangled technology. The same fate will befall those ...
Jun 22, 2022•8 min
Why are our supply chains in such a mess? While Covid made it much worse, it merely reflected the weakness in how most companies view their supply chains. There are two primary causes of our current woes, and Covid is not one of them. The first is that leadership failed to comprehend the importance of supply chain expertise and thinking in ensuring that we can get what we need and thereby get our customers what they need when they need it. The second is the decision to outsource high labor jobs ...
Jun 08, 2022•6 min
“Round up the usual suspects” — a line from Casablanca — unfortunately describes the hiring strategy of many manufacturers. Don’t be one of them! If you’re looking for the same people you’ve always hired, and through the same sources you’ve always used, why on earth would you expect better results? How many felons have you interviewed in the last year? Afraid of them? Yes, some may still be dangerous, but many have paid their debt and turned their lives around. Why would you assume they are all ...
Jun 01, 2022•6 min
Practice makes perfect. We all know that to be largely true, so let’s use that axiom to prepare our businesses for change. Your organization likely assigns people to departments based on their incoming skill sets, and then to specific roles. Most rarely stray from that initial assignment. The average employee can become expert in a small window of knowledge and skill using that method, but your organization is then filled with people who only know one small area and one historical methodology. I...
May 25, 2022•4 min
Most of us believe we know training when we see it, and many of us think we know what coaching is. But all too frequently succession planning is poorly done, if at all, because of using the wrong process at the wrong time. When is training appropriate and who should provide it? Often your best performer is the wrong person to train. When is managing appropriate? Is succession planning part of managing? Yes, it is. Is being assigned a coach a bad sign? Not at all. Coaching is used when you and yo...
May 18, 2022•6 min
“Didn’t used to be!” That was my grandmother’s reply to my screaming “there’s a stop sign there!” as she barreled through an intersection years ago. We all struggle with change, primarily that initiated by others but impacting us. We thought the internet would provide an open and fully visible marketplace for goods, services, and employees. It has failed miserably in all of those. It is easy to research a topic, or a company, or a person, but it is not easy to discern fact from fiction. The inte...
May 11, 2022•6 min
My grandfather was involved in two very serious accidents as a farmer. In the first, his little brother was killed as the two of them rode the wagon to do chores. In the second, his tractor blew up, burning his entire body. My grandmother couldn’t figure out who that dark man was walking through the crops straight to her. Luckily, he recovered. Farming was very dangerous, much less so then. Farm accidents still happen, and many are fatal. As people left farms to move to the city, they took jobs ...
May 04, 2022•6 min
In last week’s podcast I suggested any effort to reduce lead time start with the obvious (not to all, sadly). Define it. And I encourage you to define it from the viewpoint of your customer. Then measure it. Then break it down into component steps and look at elapsed time for each of those. Your metrics must reflect the truth, not excluding the miracle you pulled off or those orders that took forever but it wasn’t your fault. Your customer expects you to be reliable, and faster over time. Now it...
Apr 27, 2022•5 min
Leadtime is either a competitive advantage, or a competitive disadvantage to your manufacturing business. Most of you want to improve it, i.e., reduce it. That will also reduce your cost structure. So how do you start? First, you must have a clear definition of leadtime. It means different things to different people. To improve something, you must first define it. I encourage you to think of your leadtime as your customer does: from when he decides he wants it to when it is actually in his hands...
Apr 20, 2022•5 min
Think about bowling. The American kind. Where we, hopefully, roll the ball down the lane to knock over a set of 10 pins. As children, the bowling alley manager would kindly place bumpers in the alleys on each side of the lane to keep our balls from all falling in there and never hitting a pin. As we get better, the bumpers could be removed. We still put the ball in the alley every now and then, but at least most of our balls hit a pin — or several! The lessons from children’s bowling are rich. W...
Apr 13, 2022•5 min
It’s easy to become enamored with a product concept. The concept of the possible is exciting. But if you want to make a difference, or profitably provide your product to the world, a strategy must come first. What problem does it address? What potential does it create? Who cares, and how fast will they care? How will you source it, produce it, and get it to market? How will the part of the world you intend to sell it to even find out about it? There are very few cases of “build it and they will ...
Apr 06, 2022•5 min
Industry 4.0 is all about the wise capture, analytics, and use of data. Typically companies seek to improve the speed and quality of decision-making, often automating the implementation of rules-based decisions, in their IIoT efforts. Digital transformation uses data for those, and even more forward looking scenarios that currently are impossible or very time consuming to consider. As always, the first and most important question is “why?” Why do we want to begin collecting and using more data? ...
Mar 30, 2022•7 min
Industry 4.0 is the topic of conversation in manufacturing today. But most of us have not yet figured out all we can and should do with Industry 3.0. What’s the difference, and do we need to wait? Simply put, Industry 3.0 refers to automation, and Industry 4.0 refers to data — the collection, analysis and improved, faster decision-making it can enable. But does anyone really care what we call it? Likely your manufacturing business can benefit from both, even today. In deciding what to automate i...
Mar 23, 2022•5 min
