There’s one more quarter left in 2013 – one more opportunity to ensure that your annual plan for maximum productivity and product value is on target. Now is the time to take a good, hard look at your value chain, maximize and reinforce its strong links, and repair the weak ones. Strengths & Weaknesses Your… Read more »
Never underestimate the power of our nation’s mid-sized businesses – the 197,000 companies whose revenues range from $10 million to $1 billion, as defined by the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM). In its 2Q 2013 Middle Market Indicator, NCMM reported that middle market companies could account for up to 70 percent of U.S…. Read more »
When your company introduces a new policy, it generally produces positive results. But at first, it may be a hard thing for people to accept. And unless you ensure buy-in from every stakeholder, right from start, ensuring the effectiveness of a new policy may be a tough challenge. Some people thrive on change. Others, not… Read more »
Reading up on safety standards that apply to topics like floor and wall openings resulting from construction or maintenance work may seem mundane – but compliance with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates on these potential hazards can be a very serious matter; in fact, in the most extreme cases, it can mean… Read more »
Remember the old adage: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? It’s thought-provoking and maybe just a little scary. When it comes to your Facebook page and social media presence, it’s also pretty critical to keep it in mind. To ensure your professionalism in the eyes of current and potential employers, you need to… Read more »
Pioneered by the likes of Eli Whitney and Henry Ford, perfected by auto industry leader Toyota, and applied across myriad industries, lean manufacturing means “manufacturing without waste” – from the Japanese term “muda.” While specific methods for implementing lean manufacturing vary from industry to industry and even factory to factory, there are basic core principles… Read more »
A visit to your plant by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known by its acronym OSHA, can be the best of times – or the worst of times. Often, when OSHA arrives at your worksite, there has been an accident or injury that requires federal investigation. OSHA is the arm of the U.S…. Read more »
Customers in the custom plastics industry chose quality as the top criteria for selecting their manufacturer of choice, according to a newly-released survey conducted by plastics manufacturer Ray Products Co. Inc. More than 90 percent of respondents to the May 2013 survey listed quality as the number one attribute they were looking for in a… Read more »