Obeya – Introducing the Lean War Room
You Must Obeya Welcome to today’s dose of Lean, on the agenda is Obeya. If you haven’t heard of Obeya, you might still have used it, or you may know about the concept but never have put it into action. In any event, it’s best to know and to act, and that’s exactly what we’re going to…
Tony Ferraro | November 7, 2014 | Lean | Facility Efficiency, Lean, Lean Manufacturing, Obeya, Organized Workplace, Six Sigma | 4 min read
Quality, Value, & Grade – An Exploration
Is Higher Quality Always Better? You don’t have to be in the business world to feel that, intuitively, that better quality, is, well better. Phrases like “quality over quantity” and “you get what you pay for” drive this point home for just about everyone from a young age, but have we ever stopped to think…
Tony Ferraro | September 19, 2014 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing | 4 min read
Foam for Tool Boxes
Exploring the Benefits of Foam for Tool Boxes Most facilities have dozens, if not hundreds, of different tools that are used on a regular basis. In addition to being very valuable, these tools are also essential for getting work done in an efficient way. When the tools are not properly taken care of, it can…
Tony Ferraro | July 8, 2014 | Safety Products | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Labeling, Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Safety, Tool Organization | 5 min read
5 Tips for Reducing Downtime
How to Reduce Downtime in Your Facility When managing any facility, one of the biggest problems you need to overcome is downtime. Whether it is a full work stoppage where nothing is getting done, or just one machine that isn’t working properly, downtime can cause a wide range of different problems throughout the facility. Of…
Tony Ferraro | July 2, 2014 | Lean | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Lean Manufacturing, Reducing Downtime | 6 min read
Foam Tool Organizers in the Garage
Along with the flowers, and outdoor runners, the warmer weather of spring brings out all the car enthusiasts from their winter slumber. The cold weather of winter often puts car repair projects on hold. Each spring, however, millions of people regain their interest in vehicles of all types, and get back to work on their…
Tony Ferraro | April 18, 2014 | Safety Products | Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Tool Organization | 5 min read
Internet Usage – Does it Hurt Employee Productivity?
Internet and cell phone usage are to our most recent generations what smoking was to those in the past. You’ve got people getting hired left and right who use the Internet on a daily basis, and then are asked to completely abstain from such activity from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday (barring lunch breaks).…
Tony Ferraro | February 14, 2014 | Lean | Facility Efficiency, Lean Manufacturing | 3 min read
Five Steps to Starting LEAN Successfully
In LEAN methodology, businesses become more efficient, more profitable, and less wasteful through a plethora of time-tested strategies. However, many of the strategies might not be immediately intuitive, and may therefore not have made their way into your original business plans. Many people find themselves in this position, and want to figure out how they…
Tony Ferraro | February 6, 2014 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Kanban, Lean Manufacturing | 3 min read
8 LEAN Tools You Should Already Be Using
LEAN tools and strategies focus on improving production efficiency and reducing waste, both in terms of time and physical inputs. While the term LEAN and the thinking behind it is fairly well-known, there is still a natural (though somewhat perplexing) resistance to change that keeps business owners from implementing these strategies once they’re set in…
Tony Ferraro | January 21, 2014 | Lean | 5S, Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Kanban, Lean Manufacturing | 3 min read
5S Supplies Improve Safety and Organization in Auto Repair Shops
A few months ago Creative Safety Supply donated a variety of 5S supplies to an auto shop at Portland Community College. CSS also worked with the college to help make their facility safer and more efficient. You can read more about the changes made here. After I seen the success of this project I decided…
Tony Ferraro | January 16, 2014 | 5S | Facility Efficiency, Facility Marking, Labeling, Lean Manufacturing, Organized Workplace, Rack Labeling, Safety, Safety Signs, Tool Organization, Workplace Safety | 5 min read
Kaizen Event Reduces Transport Waste & Optimizes Efficiency
I was recently brought in to assist in a Lean event for a large manufacturing facility, with the goal of eliminating waste, and completing the implementation of Lean strategies. The facility had already begun the process over the past 18 months, and had done quite an impressive job. When they consulted with me, I was…
Tony Ferraro | January 2, 2014 | Kaizen | Facility Efficiency, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing | 5 min read
Lean Manufacturing in a Nutshell
Lean manufacturing is a topic which has been talked about a lot over the past few years, and it continues to get more attention almost every day. While there can be no doubt that lean strategies in manufacturing and other industries are extremely important, and effective, they can also be confusing. It is impossible to…
Tony Ferraro | November 15, 2013 | Lean | Lean, Lean Manufacturing | 5 min read
Chaku Chaku & Other Lean Terms You Should Know
We’re constantly told that change is a good thing, and, depending on the details of your current operation, most lean experts would also agree with that sentiment. Take the concept of Kaizen, for example. Kaizen is the environment of constant improvement and elimination of waste – in both time and materials – that lean operations…
Tony Ferraro | November 11, 2013 | Lean | Chaku Chaku, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma | 3 min read
Yokoten: From In Theory to Implanted
Most of the Japanese terms that have arrived in the American business world have their roots in lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing sprouted up out of Toyota’s re-tooling of it’s operations some decades ago and continues to be adopted by more and more companies today. “Yokoten” is no different. A lean term meaning “horizontal deployment,” Yokoten…
Tony Ferraro | October 24, 2013 | Lean | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Temporary Consequences of Making the Change to Lean Manufacturing
The concept of lean manufacturing is no longer a new one. It’s been around, tried and tested, for several decades now, improving production output and minimizing waste, as its principles were designed to do. It’s odd, then, that there are still so many businesses who have yet to streamline their workspaces and policies to reflect…
Tony Ferraro | October 22, 2013 | Lean | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Changeover: Streamlining Your Business
When it comes to streamlining your business and following the principles of lean manufacturing, it’s important to think about changeover. In most assembly-line type work floors there are significant amounts of changeover that occur on a daily, weekly, monthly, or as-demanded basis. Changeover itself is the process of taking a machine or series of equipment…
Tony Ferraro | October 10, 2013 | Lean | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
