Thomas R. Cutler suggests that manufacturers are rethinking lean. Before investing in more technology, manufacturers are making sure the processes in place are working at, or close to, capacity. The January issue of Management Magazine contains more of Cutlers assertions.
Lean processes are introduced in companies to eliminate waste. Considering how effective the process has been for many companies, its somewhat surprising to learn that only about 61% of Canadian manufacturers have introduced a lean process into their operations. Of that 61%, many confess that the effort has been cursory, managing to deal with only surface issues at best.
According to Cutler, The road to fulfilling a lean initiative begins with a willingness to do some serious housecleaning. Some do this cursorily, derive quantifiable improvements, and suggest that they have achieved their lean objective. However, a lean process has to be a continuous process of improvement if it is to succeed. After cleaning a section of the manufacturing house, its time to ferret out the dirt and dust throughout the rest of the enterprise. The bottom line is that if a lean program doesnt touch all areas of the business, it wont succeed.
Cutler, who founded the Manufacturing Media Consortium in 1999, has grown the participation from 300 journalists to more than two thousands key clients, journalists, editors, trendsetters, and key business leaders worldwide. Cutler has authored more than 1000 articles for a wide range of manufacturing periodicals, industrial publications, and business journals including most of the leading monthly trade publications. Cutler is the author of The Manufacturers Public Relations and Media Guide. Cutler was voted #1 Manufacturing Journalist for the third year in a row. The firm has forty-two employees worldwide.
TR Cutler, Inc., (http://www.trcutlerinc.com), is the largest manufacturing marketing and public relations firm worldwide and is based in Fort Lauderdale
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CAD & ERP in ETO Manufacturing According to Roger Meloy of ETO ERP leader Encompix, based in Cincinnati, OH, If you ask design engineers what an ERP system means to them, you are likely to hear something like nothing or more work. To most design engineers, an ERP system is either irrelevant or it is perceived as something that requires additional time and effort, often providing little or no value. One reason for this perception is that most ERP systems are not integrated with the design engineers drawing tool.
Traditional ERP systems were developed for the repetitive, make-to-stock manufacturer, where there ..
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Time Compression Technologies Magazine Chooses TR Cutler, Leading Manufacturing Journalist TR Cutler named contributing manufacturing journalist to Time Compression Technologies Magazine
Thomas R. Cutler, President and CEO of the largest manufacturing PR and marketing firm, TR Cutler, Inc. ( www.trcutlerinc.com ), recently became a regular contributing industrial journalist to Time Compression Technologies magazine.
Time-Compression Technologies ( www.timecompress.com ) continues its editorial commitment to valuable rapid product development information, by having Cutler provide articles and special features that focus on strategies and technologies for reducing a products ti ..
Thomas R. CutlerTR Cutler: Rethinking Lean Manufacturing
