Factory Operations Enjoy Momentary Rise

•Factory Floor Operations Improve Thanks to Efficiency System
Processing Talk, which covers the latest news for engineers in the process industries, recently addressed the topic of how an “Efficiency system improves factory operations.” More specifically, the publication detailed how a factory floor efficiency system was “helping to ensure smooth running” at a U.K. ice-cream plant. But indeed, a real-time data collection system that provides job tracking and factory floor control can “bring improved control, visibility and efficiency to key parts” of...

•Factory Floor Management Going Virtual
If your business operates in the online realm, you might not think of it as having a factory floor. Whether it’s an actual one or a virtual one, however, every manufacturer has a factory floor. How do you get your virtual floor up to snuff? To answer that question we turn to the advice of Managing Automation, which recently addressed the topic in an article titled “Deep Dive: Technology Directions – Building the Digital Factory Piece by Piece.” To stay competitive in today’s economic downturn,...

•Lean Manufacturing A Solid Start But Not the Finish Line on the Factory Floor
Some factory floor managers are making the mistake of assuming that lean manufacturing is the end all be all of their factory floor control. Warehouse and Logistics News begs to differ with that logic in a recent article titled “Modular lean is the start not the end” [of factory floor oversight]. Today, many factory floor managers talk about implementing lean manufacturing with too little knowledge about the overall concept and goal. In trying to implement the process, many U.S. manufacturers...

•Boosting Shop Floor Confidence With Lean Manufacturing Technology
Shop floor managers are taught from early on that believing in themselves is an important trait in their personal success—and in instilling that same belief in their team members. In these troubled economic times, however, self-assuredness won’t buy you as much mileage as it used to. At least that’s the conclusion of a recent Birmingham Post article titled “Confidence can take those on factory floor only so far.” Citing the case of an expensive, elite British car design that is actually built...

•Factory Floor Innovation For Today s Lean Mean Success Machines
Open innovation—it’s the business strategy buzzword of the decade according to a recent “Management Issues” article titled “Business strategy: the lessons of the ‘big ideas’.” And, “Enlightened companies are actively seeking innovatory ideas wherever they can be found.” Nowhere is that more true than on the factory floor, where innovative shop management software is enabling better scheduling, work in process tracking, data collection and time and attendance labor management, just to name a few...

•Factory Floor Management System Bridging the Executive Pay Gap
When the Investment Director of Money Morning/The Money Map Report recently published an article titled “U.S. CEOs Could Learn From Their Asian Counterparts,” he took a major stab at executive salaries: “The pay gap between the boardroom and the factory floor – already a longtime topic of controversy here in the United States – has widened to the point that it’s become absolutely staggering.” According to statistics cited in the report, “CEOs of large [U.S.] corporations made an average of...

•Shop Floor Management System Putting Striking Workers Back on Track
After nearly two months of contention, it’s back to work and business as usual at Boeing. The aeronautical giant recently agreed to a four-contract with its engineer and technical workers, putting an end to an extended strike. On the heels of the new contract’s approval, the Associated Press reported, “Customers and suppliers should achieve more stability in their dealings with Boeing with ratification of a four-year contract with machinists.” The new contract, which expires on September 8,...

•Shop Floor Management Systems Helping To Fuel Growth
When Advanced Tool, Inc. recently decided to expand its offerings beyond precision cutting tools for the automotive and aerospace industries, it implemented changes that have already started to see results. In a recent press release, Advance Tools’ CEO said, “We are on a path of large growth.” What has led to such measurable results for this 33-year-old company? “An important tool to spur that growth is another of the CEO’s changes at the company. Along with diversifying the company’s tool...

•Shop Floor Management Software Helping Retailers Survive the Ecomonic Downturn
A recent U.K. “TimesOnline” article declared in its headline, “We cannot stand still on the shop floor.” The subheadline gave further insight into this call for action: “You change or you die: a leading retailer describes his strategy for surviving the downtown.” Of what downturn does this article speak? The one that’s led to the recent closing of big-brand retailers like Circuit City. Oh yeah, that one. When even well-established retail kings are perishing under the recession’s stranglehold,...

•Clearing Up a Shop Floor Management Debate
Members of the manufacturing industry who are looking to secure their success might want to make one important objective: linking shop floor to top floor. That’s verdict according to a recent “Manufacturing and Logistics IT” article titled “MES vx. ERP – is it all in the jargon?” What do those pesky acronyms mean anyway? MES refers to Manufacturing Execution System while ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and never the twain shall meet. That’s because sellers of specialist MESs claim...