Too often, manufacturers think of safety only in terms of compliance. Its easy to understand why. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires companies to observe a wealth of rules and ...

More than likely you’ve heard the term kaizen or kaizen blitz, but what is kaizen? Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning change for the better or incremental improvement. Continuous improvement can take ...

Environmental, Health & Safety Managers are faced everyday with organizational objectives that seem to compete for their time. Today you likely work in an organization that has embraced the concepts ...

How does "production" apply to healthcare? Patients are not cars, of course. Yet both manufacturing and healthcare are filled with complex production processes. In healthcare, these include admitting ...

Six Sigma is a widely used, data-driven, quality improvement process. Manufacturing uses a discipline called “Lean” (lean manufacturing) that focuses on process speed and efficiency. This process has ...

Lean manufacturing, by its very nature, requires cooperation from all employees from management to the shop floor. Driving process improvements through lean processes can only be achieved with ...

As Toyota Motor Corp. embarks on what many experts believe will be a long journey toward rebuilding its reputation for top quality, the company's status as the model for lean manufacturing also has ...

Lean manufacturing isn't just a trendy concept; it's a strategic framework designed to streamline processes, slash costs and boost productivity. By minimizing waste and focusing on value-added ...

It’s not another "flavor of the month" or one more program that senior management tries in the quest for greater efficiency. Instead, lean enterprise offers significant company and customer benefits ...

The terms lean manufacturing and "just in time," or JIT, are often used as if they're the same thing, but they aren't identical concepts. Just-in-time manufacturing is focused on efficiency, while ...