In the last installment of "Lessons from the Road," I focused on waste elimination. I explained that with the common definition of lean -- "do more with less" -- we should focus as much on the "do more" as the "with less." What does "do more" really look like?
The supply chain is a great place to use analytic tools to look for a competitive advantage, because of its complexity and the prominent role supply chain plays in a company’s cost structure and profitability....More
It may sound like sacrilege to hear someone say that continuous improvement may not always be the right answer. Of course, it is the core process of lean management. But, there are times when more significant and more rapid change is required – sometimes revolution rather than evolution is called for....More
If you missed the 2013 IndustryWeek Best Plants conference, you missed a lot. Fortunately, we are working on articles, video and photos to tell the tale of this annual event. Here are the very first fruits of our efforts, but not the last....More
For more than a century, the team behind Mobil™-branded industrial lubricants has been delivering premium products and services that help companies boost productivity and efficiency.
Standing before an sPro selective laser sintering system from 3D Systems in the NAMII headquarters, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) explains how Youngstown transformed itself a rust belt relic to the center of the 3-D printing revolution....More
Dialogue introducing new forecasting study on what the economy might look like in 2025 with a manufacturing resurgence. Video from the Aspen Institute....More
Manufacturing makes America strong. It makes families and communities strong. It provides national security. It gives us energy security. And for the 12 million men and women who work in manufacturing, it gives us pride....More
Christopher Barnatt of ExplainingComputers.com demonstrates how Big Data is transforming the business and industrial worlds and enabling new technologies and new breakthroughs that will help manufacturers work more efficiently than ever before....More
Beyond an initial novelty, 3-D Printing could have a game-changing impact on consumer culture, copyright and patent law, and even the very concept of scarcity on which our economy is based....More
Christopher Barnatt of ExplainingTheFuture.com illustrates the inner workings of additive manufacturing machines and provides some real-life examples of how 3-D printing technology could dramatically change the manufacturing and retail industries as we know them today....More
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab break down the engineering and design challenges they faced during the Curiosity rover's complicated landing near the Martian equator on Aug. 5, 2012....More