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Evolving Excellence

  • Net Nonsense - hilarious commentary
    By Kevin Meyer My Net Nonsense post from a couple weeks ago on the evils of large companies trying to force long payment terms on suppliers received considerable coverage, including being reposted in Quality Digest this week. However the best...
    - 1 day ago, 18 May 13, 5:42am -
  • Net Nonsense
    By Kevin Meyer A few months ago I told you how, in my past life as president of a medical device company, I had two reliable leading indicators of a potential customer relationship. Basically if the customer demanded automatic annual...
    - 23 days ago, 26 Apr 13, 2:34am -
  • A Lesson on Leadership from Marrakech
    By Kevin Meyer My wife and I are currently in Marrakech, Morocco, on one of our increasingly frequent trips to explore new locales. Truly a remarkable place, and with the tall snowcapped Atlas Mountains only an hour away in one...
    - 40 days ago, 9 Apr 13, 7:53am -
  • The Last 100 Feet of Walmart's Supply Chain
    By Kevin Meyer I've written a lot about Walmart, in particular their supposedly glorious supply chain. To be honest, they execute a traditional supply chain exceptionally well. They source from cheap labor countries, put it on big ships, and distribu…
    - 54 days ago, 26 Mar 13, 6:15pm -
  • The Postal Service Forgets the Customer
    By Kevin Meyer A recent CNN article pretty much describes the problem at the US Postal Service, although that wasn't really its intent. You see, there's this new startup called Outbox that is working to digitize traditional paper mail, and...
    - 68 days ago, 12 Mar 13, 7:05am -

NAM Shopfloor

RSM McGladrey

    Green Manufacturing

    • Green and Frugal, Part II
      Broadly frugalIn the last post (an embarrassing long time ago!) the discussion centered on "frugal engineering" or, as it is sometimes referred to as "frugal innovation."  It was noted that frugal engineering usually refers to reducing the complexit…
      - 10 days ago, 9 May 13, 8:25pm -
    • Green and Frugal, Part I
      Frugal Innovation and GreenThe last posting centered on innovation and sustainability - or creating "new" value  - and the role of green innovation in product design and manufacturing. Recently I've been reading about, and hearing about, "frugal eng…
      - 54 days ago, 26 Mar 13, 10:34pm -
    • Innovation and Sustainability
      (Or creating "new" value)In one of my previous posts the subject of externalized costs was dealt with in some detail (see the posting of December 29th, 2012 to be specific.) The idea that we are not really paying for the true expenses associated with…
      - 80 days ago, 28 Feb 13, 1:35am -
    • Insourcing and green manufacturing
      Or how to win friends and influence peopleMy dad, as I mentioned in a blog some time ago, was a tool room supervisor for a large John Deere factory in Wisconsin. In his role, which he went into after becoming a journeyman machinist and toolmaker hims…
      - 29 Jan 13, 11:21pm -
    • The "S" word, Part V
      Who should share the responsibility for all this?Almost two years ago exactly, December 2010, this blog addressed the different changes in our collective thinking that might usher in a sustainable world. It was argued that this depended to a great ex…
      - 29 Dec 12, 11:25pm -

    Manufacturing Transformation

    The Fabricator

    • ALAW celebrates 20 years
      Mariana Forrest perhaps knows ALAW® better than anyone. The president of laser consulting firm LASAP Inc., based in Troy Mich., has attended all 20 conferences. She was there back when it was called the Automotive Laser Applications Workshop, and in…
      - 4 days ago, 15 May 13, 9:31pm -
    • Hey buddy … wanna buy a watch?
      Fake Rolex® watches, knock-off Armani® handbags, counterfeit Nike® shoes, pirated movies of all sorts—if you’ve traveled to any countries that have lax trademark, patent, and copyright protection, you’ve seen plenty of faked goods. It’s pa…
      - 6 days ago, 13 May 13, 3:51pm -
    • Changing attitudes to boost STEM career
      My wife works with some pretty smart people. She's a math teacher, which puts her in day-to-day contact with talented teachers and highly intelligent students in her advanced placement courses. On her staff is a former engineer who recently had recei…
      - 9 days ago, 10 May 13, 5:38pm -
    • A tragic reminder
      Can we write enough about safety in the pages of The FABRICATOR, its sister magazines, and thefabricator.com? Absolutely not. Do we actually execute that strategy in the media wepublish? No, we do not. And that's a shame. Fabricators might argue that…
      - 16 days ago, 3 May 13, 2:47pm -
    • I can do WHAT and get a raise?
      You want a raise; I want a raise; we all want raises. Even corporate heads who take pay cuts to show how much they empathize with their workers probably want and think they deserve raises, but that’s a topic for another day. What would you do for a…
      - 18 days ago, 1 May 13, 7:45pm -

    Toolmonger

    • It’s Just Cool: Chevy Stacking
      As a general rule, we like to think we’re getting a great deal more creative when it comes to transport than we were 40 years ago. As it turns out…nope. These rail cars stowed 30 Vegas per car, nose down, in the early 70′s, ya’ll. Some quick…
      - 26 days ago, 23 Apr 13, 7:24pm -
    • Put A Korky In It
      The term “builders’ grade” is often slapped on a piece of hardware you’re almost sure wouldn’t pass muster any other way new, much less after 6 or 7 years. Apparently such a term was appropriate for the riser in my toilet, which split fo…
      - 47 days ago, 2 Apr 13, 6:41pm -
    • Dremel 4200 with EZ Change
      We’ve seen every model of Dremel rotary tool and put most of them through the shop to test this or that feature, but we kept coming back to the old Dremel 100 that never failed us. The phaser-shaped Stylus was cool but underpowered; the Volt Max co…
      - 51 days ago, 29 Mar 13, 4:23pm -
    • The Boxer 320: Giant Power In A Tiny Package
      The Boxer 320 mini skid offers a number of badass features — but the most interesting is that for about $80, you can rent it for the afternoon at the local home center and fit it through the garden gate. At around 34 inches wide, the Boxer can get…
      - 55 days ago, 25 Mar 13, 1:43pm -
    • Video Friday: Golf Ball Drill Press Mod
      In a quest for better ergonomics, YouTube videographer pocket83 designed a simple and creative mod for the handles on his drill press by hollowing out a few golf balls. He removes the original plastic nubs on the rotating handle, drills out the rubb…
      - 65 days ago, 15 Mar 13, 2:48pm -

    Gemba Panta Rei

    • Kaizen in Logistics and Supply Chains
      If you are looking for a definitive technical guide to implementing lean manufacturing in discrete production, logistics or for improving end-to-end supply chain performance, Kaizen in Logistics and Supply Chains by Euclides A. Coimbra is the book…
      - 1 day ago, 18 May 13, 7:05am -
    • Review of Perfecting Patient Journeys
      Perfecting Patient Journeys by Judy Worth, Tom Shuker, Beau Keyte, Karl Ohaus, Jim Luckman, David Verble, Kirk Paluska, Todd Nickel and Sam Watson is the latest in a series of practical workbooks from the Lean Enterprise Institute. Think of this as…
      - 6 days ago, 13 May 13, 5:47pm -
    • Is it Worth the Time to Kaizen This?
      If you have ever wondered, "is it worth the time to kaizen this?" here is your guide to answer that question. It's from a strictly mathematical point of view, and keep in mind this is assuming five-year payback, so adjust the numbers accordingly for…
      - 14 days ago, 4 May 13, 11:34pm -
    • Ambiguous Visual Controls: Stamping Out Taxi Sheep Abandonment
      It's good to see the transportation authorities finally doing something about the problem of sheep abandonment in taxis. Hopefully this will put an end to the awkwardness of having to hand a lamb to the driver and explain that it is not yours, it w…
      - 37 days ago, 12 Apr 13, 7:43am -
    • Gemba Academy Anniversary Promotion: Ending Soon
      Month after month, year after year we have added new online learning content to Gemba Academy while keeping the prices low. Now celebrating four years and 400+ videos and 120 hours of Lean and Six Sigma learning, we are offering our best value prom…
      - 55 days ago, 25 Mar 13, 5:59pm -

    Mfg.com Mojo

    • newNuoyi Co., Ltd
      <p>El Nuoyi es una fábrica en zhongshan, somos el hornillo de gas de oferta, el extractor de aire, el horno eléctrico, el calentador de gas, el calentador de cuarto, hornillo de cerámica con la Iglesia Anglicana y SAA, nosotros especial en mercado…
      - 23 hours ago, 18 May 13, 11:29am -
    • newHunan yongheng heavy industry science & technology co.,ltd
      <p>湖南(ホナム)永远ロテム科技有限公司に位置しているため、山清水秀迷の江南(カンナム)の街の湖南省湘潭市だった。は、设计、制造コンクリートの機械や部品中心の民间企业、生産設…
      - 23 hours ago, 18 May 13, 11:29am -
    • newINDO-CHINA MARITIME LIMITED GUANGZHOU BRANCH

      - 23 hours ago, 18 May 13, 11:29am -
    • new大连富华钢结构工程有限公司

      - 23 hours ago, 18 May 13, 11:29am -
    • YiWu JingSheng Art & Craft Co.,Ltd
      <p>Our Factory is located in Yiwu ,Zhejiang Province - the most famous international commodity centre and the world's largest wholesale supermarket. We are a comprehensive company and a professional manufacturer specializing in Painting design, plann…
      - 2 days ago, 17 May 13, 11:19am -