The spoken word can be powerful but also misunderstood. Visual tools help minimize the confusion, especially when striving for continuous improvement in metal fabrication and manufacturing facilities.

Many companies focus on the hard side of improvement—the 5S, the standard work, the workcells—but ignore the soft side, including the behaviors that drive people to improve.

On any lean manufacturing journey, follow-through in continuous improvement is a must for metal fabricators and manufacturers. It’s not complicated, just common sense. And it’s ignored far too often.

Any continuous improvement initiative requires successful, effective improvement projects. However varied they may be, effective projects share several traits in a lean manufacturing journey.

Business has been rough, but now that demand is returning, is your manufacturing operation ready? Lean tools, including an analysis of cycle and takt times, can help your shop floor find out.

Avoiding improvement overload is an odd topic for an improvement column, but it’s important for any manufacturing shop floor manager. Push too hard without focus, and even the most positive work environment can turn toxic.

Hoshin Kanri Catchball is an effective, compelling lean manufacturing technique when managers deal with serious floor issues in a fabrication shop, need to have confidence that employees are aligned, and want to get the best out of everyone in the organization.

Lean manufacturing can be a stabilizing force metal fabricators and other manufacturers during disruptive times—and the pandemic certainly qualifies.

A wise manufacturing facility manager once said, “Well begun is half done.” Design principles are a key component to beginning well. But what exactly qualifies as a design principle? Lean guru Jeff Sipes breaks it down.

Metal fabrication and other manufacturing business leaders make countless decisions to weather a crisis. Here's how lean thinking will enhance, not hinder, response if weaved in properly.

Leadership can make or break the lean manufacturing journey, and it starts at the very top with the executives.

Lean manufacturing needs lean leaders. Now is the time for metal fabricators and other manufacturers to take inventory to see who has what it takes to to spearhead those operations.

A lean environment is a marketable asset for metal fabrications and other manufacturers. Not treating it as such could put your company at a big disadvantage.

The pandemic, along with any other major disruption, can be an enormous distraction. Good lean manufacturing and operating principles can help metal fabricators maintain focus to weather the storm.

Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma can help manufacturers and fabricators strip away the emotion, focus on the facts, and adapt to challenging times.