Manufacturing Excellence

Manufacturing in America Again

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I looked into national voices for manufacturing and visited the NAM (National Association of Manufacturers), which has about 14,000 member companies employing around 13 million people. NAM advocates for manufacturers at the government level and has been focused on bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. since 2020.

Making Made in USA Great Again!

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Outsourcing began due to a lack of skills and the desire to handle tasks internally. To bring manufacturing back, we need to ensure top quality and manufacturing in America. Find out what we need to focus on.

Reaping Benefits of Evolving ISO 9001 Standards

Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Looking back at my quality career since 1984, I remember contributing to a quality manual of a Motorola Division in 1987-88 for ISO 9001 certification.

Leadership for Manufacturing in the 21st Century

Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

In 1984, I joined the wafer quality group at Motorola Semiconductors Sector in Austin, TX. My first quality act was to join the American Society for Quality.

Trends in Management

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 09:00:00 -0400

In early stages of industrialization, products were simpler, factories were smaller, most processes were manual, and process flows were shorter. Contact with customers was direct between production and customer.

Manufacturing Excellence: Old Dog, Same Tricks

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:06:00 -0400

Everyone believes that process is a simple thing to manage and there is nothing more to learn about it. Our work environment inspires us to do what is needed.

Manufacturing Excellence: A Foundation for Improvement and Excellence

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:05:00 -0400

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the ASQ Automotive Division’s annual conference. There were excellent speakers throughout the day, but one who garnered a lot of attention was Ford Motor Co.’s Bennie Fowler, group vice president, global quality and new model launch. He gave an excellent presentation on the One Ford Program. One Ford is the mission set forth by Ford-One Team, One Plan, One Goal-to deliver profitable growth for all.

Manufacturing Excellence: The Art and Sense of Good Audits

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:09:00 -0400

To design a good internal quality audit system, one must clearly define and communicate the intent of the audits.

Manufacturing Excellence: Barrier to Excellence: ISO 9001 Deployment

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:14:00 -0500

ISO 9001 systems were designed to help business gain from the cumulative experience of best-in-class companies.

Manufacturing Excellence: The Role of ISO 9001 Standards

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:44:00 -0500

It has been more than 20 years since the ISO 9000 series of standards was launched.

Manufacturing Excellence: Manufacturing Perfection in 2010

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:13:00 -0500

Make a resolution to be perfect and creative in everything you do in 2010.

Manufacturing Excellence: Still the Best

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:31:00 -0500

American manufacturing has been taking flack for more than 20 years. The funny thing is that nothing has changed, and there may even have been some improvement. Still, our problems remain the same.

Manufacturing Excellence: Can Sustainability be Sustained?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:08:00 -0400

We are at the same stage where the environment is overworked, and in order to move toward sustainability, we need to cut personal consumption of everything. I mean everything.

Manufacturing Excellence: On the Edge and Out of the Crisis

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:00 -0400

The manufacturing crisis began in the mid-80s with international competition in the automotive industry. Instead of being recognized as a technical supremacy, experts attributed the competition to cost. In reality, it was the competitor’s superior performance, rather than cost, that challenged the manufacturing capabilities of the 1950s and 1960s.

Manufacturing Excellence: A Prerequisite for Innovation

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:06:00 -0400

Large corporations in the United States must do something differently. For more than 25 years, manufacturing corporations tried to improve operations irrespective of their size-be it GM, Ford or a small company in a remote area. However, outsourcing of manufacturing continued and was followed by outsourcing of non-manufacturing operations.

Manufacturing Excellence: World War III

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:22:00 -0400

I am sure everyone at General Motors (GM) is thinking about how everyone else is using GM’s misery as an opportunity. It is okay to learn from others’ mistakes. Does that mean GM is the only one that made mistakes? Absolutely not.

Manufacturing Excellence: Employee Revolution in the 21st Century

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:04:00 -0400

We cannot wait for managers to fix things for us. We should not wish for a better CEO to lead us to the magic land. We cannot expect our president to give us a vision and bail us out from the economic mess. It is time for us to wake up, see how deep a hole we are in, try to climb out and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Manufacturing Excellence: Missed Opportunities

Wed, 27 May 2009 18:14:00 -0400

Anytime I try to analyze why U.S. businesses appear to be losing their competitive edge, I look not just at manufacturing, but also at opportunities throughout the organization.

Manufacturing Excellence: Massive Mismanagement

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:26:00 -0400

It is a given that U.S. corporations are struggling-be it manufacturing, finance or service organizations-with multiple diseases because of innumerable bacteria. The business bacteria strain keeps getting bigger and so do the business diseases.

Manufacturing Excellence: The Bailout...Will it Work?

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:49:00 -0400

There is a new methodology for improving business performance called the bailout.

Manufacturing Excellence: Lean and Sick

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:35:00 -0500

Just in time (JIT) gave a new name to the Toyota Production System (TPS) and a set of good tools. However, I feel that the word lean undid all of that. Look what our economy has become: We are lean and we are sick.

Manufacturing Excellence: Sensationalizing Excellence

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:25:00 -0500

In a recently organized Zagreb Economic Forum, I had the opportunity to give a keynote about our Breakthrough Innovation (Brinnovation) framework. During my talk, someone asked, Why isn’t innovation sensational, sporty or sexy to attract more people and executives?

Manufacturing Excellence: Bailing Out Auto

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:35:00 -0500

The most recent government assistance given to financial institutions has created a perception that the U.S. government has unlimited amounts of money to help U.S. corporations clean up their messes.

Manufacturing Excellence: Letter to the President

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:11:00 -0500

If I were to write the new president of the United States a letter, it would go something like this:

Manufacturing Excellence: Lighting the Innovation Fire

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:11:00 -0400

It occurred to me that most talk on innovation has been about culture change or product development. The real-life stuff happens in manufacturing where we are losing our livelihood faster than we can imagine.

Manufacturing Excellence: 10 Killers of Manufacturing Excellence

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:50:00 -0400

In the second of a two-part series, more obstacles that keep many manufacturers from achieving manufacturing excellence are explained.

Manufacturing Excellence: 10 Killers of Manufacturing Excellence

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:55:00 -0400

Many experts, including myself, give advice on how to improve operations and achieve excellence. In order to figure out how to overcome challenges to manufacturing excellence, first we must be able to identify what obstructs us from achieving excellence.

Manufacturing Excellence: Excellence in Supervision

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:13:00 -0400

Most quality programs-actually management initiatives-have been credited for failures at the middle management level. Middle management is the process owner, or the first level of supervision, irrespective of its official glamorous titles in various organizations.

Manufacturing Excellence: Excel in the Quality Department

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:28:00 -0400

Quality is a measure of excellence in manufacturing. A typical quality department in manufacturing is engaged in designing inspection plans, control plans and setting up control charts. Does it ensure quality? Does it help in achieving manufacturing excellence? Does it make the company more profitable? We need to challenge each department by asking its value proposition.

Manufacturing Excellence: Excellence in National Leadership

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:38:00 -0400

Manufacturing excellence, or lack of it, has affected employment levels in the United States.