Manufacturing

What is Shop Floor Software and Why Does It Matter?

Introduction

Manufacturing today is more complex than ever. Factory floors are filled with moving parts—machines, materials, and workers—all of which must work together seamlessly to keep production running smoothly. Without the right tools in place, even the most well-planned operations can face costly delays, unexpected downtime, and inefficiencies that impact the bottom line.

Manufacturers relied on manual processes, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems to track production and monitor performance for years. While these methods worked in the past, they no longer meet the demands of modern manufacturing. Real-time data, automation, and seamless communication between machines and teams are now essential for staying competitive.

This is where shop floor software plays a crucial role. By providing real-time insights into production status, equipment performance, and worker productivity, these digital solutions help manufacturers reduce waste, increase efficiency, and make better decisions. Whether tracking materials, scheduling jobs, or preventing machine failures, having the right system in place can transform a factory’s operations.

In this article, we’ll explore how these solutions work, their key features, and why they are becoming an essential tool for manufacturers looking to optimize performance, reduce costs, and improve overall output.

What is Shop Floor Software?

Shop floor software is a digital solution designed to help manufacturers track production, monitor equipment, and manage workflows in real-time. It provides visibility into daily operations, ensuring that machines, materials, and workers are aligned to meet production goals efficiently.

Unlike enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, which focus on business-wide functions like finance and supply chain management, shop floor software is specifically built for factory operations. It collects and analyzes data directly from machines and workers, offering real-time insights into productivity, equipment status, and potential bottlenecks.

These systems can operate as standalone solutions or integrate with manufacturing execution systems (MES) and ERP platforms to create a fully connected production environment. By streamlining data collection and reducing reliance on manual tracking, shop floor software helps manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and maintain high-quality production standards.

Key Features of Shop Floor Software

A well-designed system provides manufacturers with the tools needed to optimize production, reduce downtime, and improve overall efficiency. Below are some of the most important features to look for when choosing shop floor management software.

1. Real-Time Data Collection

Tracking information as it happens allows manufacturers to make quick, informed decisions. By capturing data from machines, sensors, and operators, businesses can identify inefficiencies and take corrective action before small issues turn into costly problems.

2. Production Scheduling & Planning

Effective scheduling ensures that jobs are completed on time without overloading equipment or workers. Automated planning tools help allocate resources efficiently, reducing bottlenecks and improving workflow.

3. Inventory & Material Tracking

Managing raw materials and work-in-progress (WIP) inventory is critical for avoiding shortages and delays. With built-in tracking capabilities, manufacturers can monitor stock levels, automate reorders, and ensure materials are available when needed.

4. Machine Monitoring & Maintenance

Unplanned downtime can be one of the biggest cost drivers in manufacturing. Monitoring machine performance in real-time helps detect early warning signs of failure, allowing maintenance teams to schedule preventive repairs and avoid costly disruptions.

5. Quality Control & Compliance

Ensuring products meet quality standards is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance. Digital tracking of inspections, defects, and process deviations makes it easier to identify and resolve quality issues before they impact production.

6. Worker Productivity & Safety

Keeping employees safe and productive requires clear visibility into workloads and performance. Digital checklists, safety alerts, and performance-tracking tools help businesses maintain high operational standards while protecting workers.

7. Integration with Other Systems

To maximize efficiency, shop floor software should seamlessly connect with ERP, MES, and IoT devices. This integration ensures that production data flows across departments, eliminating silos and improving overall decision-making.

By combining these features, manufacturers can gain full control over their operations, reduce inefficiencies, and drive continuous improvement on the factory floor.

Why Shop Floor Software Matters

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing environment, efficiency and accuracy are critical for staying competitive. Without the right tools, factories can struggle with production delays, equipment failures, and data silos that slow down decision-making. This is why shop floor software is becoming an essential investment for manufacturers looking to optimize operations.

1. Boosts Operational Efficiency

By automating data collection and providing real-time visibility, manufacturers can eliminate bottlenecks, reduce downtime, and optimize production schedules. This leads to faster order fulfillment and improved resource utilization.

2. Improves Data Accuracy

Manual data entry is prone to errors, leading to inaccurate production reports and inefficient decision-making. Digital tracking ensures that information is captured correctly, reducing costly mistakes and increasing overall reliability.

3. Enhances Quality Control

Ensuring consistent product quality is a top priority for manufacturers. Software solutions make it easier to track defects, monitor compliance, and implement corrective actions, helping businesses maintain high standards and reduce waste.

4. Supports Lean Manufacturing

Reducing waste and improving efficiency are key principles of lean manufacturing. A digital system helps companies identify inefficiencies, minimize overproduction, and streamline workflows, leading to cost savings and higher profitability. It also allows improved communication, making priorities visible, and this helps close the loop of key initiatives.

5. Increases Worker Productivity & Engagement

Providing workers with real-time data and automated workflows allows them to focus on high-value tasks rather than administrative work. Mobile-friendly tools and digital checklists also improve communication and accountability on the factory floor.

As manufacturers continue to embrace automation and data-driven decision-making, implementing the right software is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity for driving long-term success.

Challenges in Shop Floor Management Without Software

Manufacturers who rely on manual tracking methods or outdated systems often face inefficiencies that slow down production and increase costs. Without a manufacturing software solution, several challenges can arise, making it difficult to maintain smooth operations.

1. Manual Tracking Errors and Inefficiencies

Relying on spreadsheets, paper logs, or verbal communication can lead to inaccurate data entry, misplaced information, and delays in decision-making. These inefficiencies make it harder to identify and resolve production issues in real-time.

2. Lack of Real-Time Visibility

Without a digital system, manufacturers lack instant access to production data, making it difficult to monitor machine performance, track work-in-progress (WIP), and address potential bottlenecks before they escalate.

3. Difficulty Maintaining Compliance and Documentation

Many industries require strict documentation for safety, quality control, and regulatory compliance. Manual record-keeping increases the risk of missing critical information, leading to potential fines, recalls, or production delays.

4. Increased Downtime and Equipment Failures

Predictive maintenance relies on real-time data to detect potential equipment failures before they happen. Without automated tracking, maintenance teams must rely on reactive repairs, leading to unexpected breakdowns and costly downtime.

5. Disconnected Systems and Poor Communication

Manufacturing operations involve multiple departments, from production and quality control to logistics and maintenance. Without integrated systems, teams struggle to share information efficiently, leading to miscommunication, delays, and unnecessary rework.

Over time, these challenges can significantly impact profitability and customer satisfaction. By adopting a digital solution, manufacturers can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and create a more connected and agile production environment.

How to Choose the Right Shop Floor Software

Selecting the best system for your manufacturing operation requires careful consideration. The right shop floor software should align with your production needs, integrate with existing systems, and provide real-time insights to improve efficiency. Here are key factors to evaluate when making a decision.

1. Scalability

Manufacturing needs evolve over time, so the software must be flexible enough to grow with your business. Look for a solution that can handle increasing production volumes, new product lines, and multiple facilities without requiring a complete system overhaul.

2. Ease of Use

A complex system can slow down adoption and reduce overall effectiveness. Choose software with an intuitive interface that allows shop floor workers, supervisors, and managers to input and access data with minimal training.

3. Integration Capabilities

To maximize efficiency, the software should integrate with existing ERP, MES, and IoT systems. Seamless data sharing across platforms ensures better decision-making and eliminates redundant data entry.

4. Customization Options

Every manufacturing operation has unique processes and requirements. A flexible solution should allow you to configure dashboards, reports, and workflows to match your specific needs.

5. Cost and ROI Considerations

While upfront costs are important, the long-term return on investment (ROI) is even more critical. Evaluate how the system will reduce downtime, improve productivity, and enhance quality control to justify the investment.

By focusing on these key factors, manufacturers can select a solution that enhances operational efficiency, minimizes disruptions, and drives long-term success.

The Future of Shop Floor Software

As manufacturing continues to evolve, digital transformation is becoming a necessity rather than a competitive advantage. Advancements in automation, artificial intelligence, and real-time data analytics are reshaping how factories operate. Shop floor software is at the center of this shift, enabling manufacturers to increase efficiency, reduce waste, and improve overall production quality.

1. The Rise of AI and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how manufacturers analyze production data. Machine learning algorithms can predict equipment failures, optimize scheduling, and even suggest process improvements based on historical trends. Instead of relying on reactive maintenance or manual adjustments, factories can now use predictive insights to make proactive decisions that improve productivity.

2. The Growth of IoT and Smart Factories

The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting machines, sensors, and workers like never before. Smart factories use IoT-enabled devices to collect real-time data from production lines, providing instant visibility into equipment performance, material usage, and workflow bottlenecks. When integrated with software solutions, this data allows manufacturers to automate responses to inefficiencies, reducing downtime and improving operational efficiency.

3. Increased Use of Cloud-Based Solutions

Traditional on-premise software requires significant infrastructure investments and ongoing maintenance. Cloud-based solutions eliminate these challenges by offering scalability, remote accessibility, and automatic updates. Manufacturers can monitor and manage production from anywhere, ensuring seamless coordination across multiple facilities. Additionally, cloud-based systems enhance security by offering encrypted data storage and built-in compliance features.

4. Real-Time Data for Instant Decision-Making

Manufacturers are moving away from static, after-the-fact reporting toward real-time analytics. Immediate access to production data allows teams to adjust operations on the fly, minimizing delays and maximizing efficiency. Whether tracking machine performance, monitoring work-in-progress (WIP), or identifying quality issues, instant insights empower manufacturers to respond quickly to changing conditions.

5. Enhanced Workforce Collaboration and Automation

As automation expands, human workers remain a critical part of manufacturing. Future software solutions will continue to improve collaboration between teams by offering mobile-friendly interfaces, digital checklists, and automated task assignments. These tools help workers stay informed, reduce errors, and maintain high levels of efficiency without being bogged down by manual processes.

6. Sustainability and Waste Reduction

Environmental concerns and regulatory requirements are pushing manufacturers to adopt more sustainable practices. Digital tools help companies reduce material waste, optimize energy consumption, and track their environmental impact. By implementing software that monitors usage patterns and identifies areas for improvement, manufacturers can lower costs while meeting sustainability goals.

7. Customization and Modular Solutions

No two manufacturing operations are identical, which is why flexibility is key to future shop floor management. Many software providers are offering modular solutions that allow businesses to customize their systems based on specific needs. Instead of purchasing a one-size-fits-all platform, manufacturers can choose individual features such as predictive maintenance, quality control, or workforce training to create a solution that fits their unique processes.

8. The Role of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

As digital technologies advance, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are being introduced to improve training, maintenance, and troubleshooting. AR-powered glasses and mobile applications can overlay real-time instructions on machinery, allowing workers to perform complex tasks with greater accuracy. VR simulations are also being used for workforce training, reducing the learning curve for new employees and improving overall efficiency.

9. Stronger Cybersecurity Measures

As manufacturing becomes more digitally connected, the risk of cyberattacks increases. Future software solutions will prioritize security with advanced encryption, multi-factor authentication, and proactive threat detection. Protecting production data from cyber threats will be just as important as optimizing efficiency and reducing downtime.

10. Seamless Integration with Enterprise Systems

The future of manufacturing lies in fully connected operations where all business functions—from production and inventory management to sales and customer service—work together seamlessly. Software solutions will continue to evolve to integrate more effectively with ERP, supply chain management, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, creating a unified ecosystem that improves decision-making across the entire organization.

Looking Ahead

As factories continue to embrace digital transformation, shop floor software will remain a critical component of operational success. The future will bring smarter, more connected, and highly efficient manufacturing environments that leverage AI, IoT, and automation to drive continuous improvement. Investing in the right tools today will help manufacturers stay ahead of industry changes and maintain a competitive edge in the years to come.

Conclusion

Manufacturing is becoming increasingly complex, and companies that rely on outdated tracking methods risk falling behind. To stay competitive, manufacturers need real-time visibility, streamlined workflows, and data-driven decision-making. This is where shop floor software makes a difference.

By integrating real-time data collection, machine monitoring, production scheduling, and quality control, digital solutions help businesses reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and enhance product quality. Without these tools, factories face operational inefficiencies, disconnected systems, and costly errors that slow down production.

As technology continues to evolve, manufacturers that embrace automation, IoT, and AI-driven analytics will be better positioned for success. Implementing the right shop floor software today is not just about solving current challenges—it’s about building a smarter, more efficient factory for the future. Now is the time to assess your operations and explore solutions that can drive long-term growth and profitability.

To stay ahead in today’s competitive manufacturing landscape, real-time visibility and data-driven decision-making are no longer optional—they’re essential. Thrive’s shop floor software empowers manufacturers to reduce inefficiencies, minimize downtime, and optimize production processes with seamless digital tools. Whether you need to track materials, improve scheduling, or enhance quality control, Thrive provides a flexible and scalable solution designed specifically for the shop floor. Take control of your operations and drive long-term success. Schedule a demo today to see how Thrive can transform your factory’s performance.

By |2025-02-13T16:29:02+00:00February 13th, 2025|Manufacturing|Comments Off on What is Shop Floor Software and Why Does It Matter?
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The Hidden Waste Lurking in Your Operation

The 8th Waste in Lean Operations

If you have spent any amount of time in or around Lean Manufacturing, you no doubt have heard of the Seven Waste originating from the Toyota Production System (TPS).
For those not familiar with those waste, the list looks like this (the order changes depending on your source but for the sake of using the TIMWOOD acronym we will use the following sequence)
1. Transporting
2. Inventory
3. Motion
4. Waiting
5. Overproduction
6. Over / Excess Processing
7. Defects
An internet search will return numerous good reads on the above list so I will turn the focus to a lesser known but oft included 8th waste. The additional waste category may take on differing names such as Human Potential, Not-Utilizing Talent, Non-Utilized Talent, Skills, etc. Regardless of the name, the waste stream is real and left unresolved can lead to frustration and disengaged employees. Examples of this category of waste include employees asked to follow blindly without empowerment, mismatching employee skill sets to the designated role, disregarding personality types, or asking employees to complete work with little perceived value. It is this last idea that will be explored below in the form of data administration.

Hidden Waste

Data administration can easily hide in the chasm between the manufacturing line and the front office. The manufacturing line gets plenty of attention to its waste: scrap rate, 1st pass yield, rework, downtime, etc. In the operations leadership and management environment data administration waste sometimes goes unchecked, though certainly not unnoticed by those suffering the consequences of processes with built in repetitive data administration. While at times necessary, data administration can lead to excess hours of non-value-added work, and generally becomes an anchor holding down the continuous improvement process.

Let’s address this form of waste with a fictional example of production data tracking.

 

Manual Data Tracking

ACME Cycles is a contract manufacturer of bicycles branded for small market bicycle shops. Business has been strong, and the backlog is growing. Pressure is starting to mount as the spring sales season is coming. Any missed delivery targets will become lost sales opportunities. Samantha is the Plant Manager and wants to track the number of units produced per hour, defects/issues observed on the line, scrap, and work stoppage (downtime). Samantha has created a form to track each category of information and assigned John, the tandem cycle assembly line leader, to ensure the form is completed and turned in at the end of the shift for his line. Each of the assembly lines has a similar process. At the end of the shift, the line leaders are tasked with entering the information into a spreadsheet for the next 30 minutes (or 60 if there are higher than normal downtime and defect issues for the day), except for the unicycle line as they always seem to be doing their own thing. Once the data is entered, the line leader then spends another 30 minutes updating charts and creating a summary for review by the operations team at their stand up meeting the next morning. Great, we have a well-defined process, each person knows their role, and information is made available the next day for review and follow up. But wait, we are going through a lot of paper and the customer doesn’t really care to pay for that cost. What about John? Would the customer be more willing to pay for his time pushing paper and updating spreadsheets or making defect free bicycles?

 

Transitioning to Electronic Data Submission – Leads to Shifting, Not Solving

Samantha finds the information valuable but recognizes the opportunity to improve the process. She really needs John present at the line to keep the team on track. The pressure to deliver on time continues to mount so she would also like to have the information available for review at the midpoint of the shift as well as the end of the shift. The team decides to change the process and have the operators enter their information directly into a spreadsheet (to eliminate paper and the data entry by John). The team goes full speed ahead by putting PC’s on the line for operators to input their data and creates spreadsheet templates and shared folder storage system for each line to maintain their respective information. John doesn’t have time to update the spreadsheets at the midpoint of the shift and is now working overtime to keep pace with the busy season. Ernesto, Operation Team Lead, is now tasked with extracting information from each assembly line’s spreadsheet and merging it into a master spreadsheet across all assembly lines. John is feeling better because he is no longer spending 30-60 minutes per day administering spreadsheets and charts and is back on the line leading the team where he feels most fulfilled. Samantha likes the twice per day updates which allows the team to make corrections to the process sooner. What about Ernesto? We have only managed to shift the data administration from one role to another, but it still exists, and we have started down the path of spreadsheet chaos. And the customer? The bicycle will take them somewhere and give them enjoyment such that they will gladly trade their hard-earned money for the expertly assembled frame, wheels, and pedals. However, they can’t ride a spreadsheet and therefore still not interested in paying for the time spent on data administration and creating charts.

 

Avoid Burn Out – Finding the Right Tool for the Job

Thankfully, Samantha is an experienced operations leader with a lean background. She is engaged with her team and recognizes that Ernesto is now thrust into a situation where he is burning repetitive energy collecting and collating information for the rest of the team. Ernesto is staying at work extra hours each week in order to keep up with the original workload and the newly added data administration requirements that shifted his way when the team made the move to twice daily updates. Samantha and her team have benefitted from the information they have been collecting and analyzing, yet she doesn’t want her team to suffer the burnout and frustration associated with spreadsheet chaos and the waste in the data administration of the process.
Samantha does her research and finds the perfect solution for her team. She has found a web-based tool that allows her team to configure the forms to enhance their process. They can now capture all the input at the source and bypass the spreadsheet. The team has already defined their KPI’s so they build report templates that can be used by each assembly line individually or rolled up at the plant level. The reports are then dropped onto a dashboard to be used by the team during the daily stand up meetings. No longer is it necessary for John, Ernesto, Samantha, or any other member of the team to spend an hour or two per day working on data administration. The data collected at the assembly line flows into the dashboards in real time. John is feeling supported by his management team because not only has the new real time analytics tool made data entry even easier, but he now has a tool that can provide real time notifications to his support network when his line is experiencing issues. His team has red/yellow/green visual indicators that help them see when they are falling behind the schedule. The real time visibility leads to seeking assistance sooner and there are no more surprises at the end of the shift. Ernesto is relieved to remove the repetitive data administration tasks from his job description and is back to leaving work on time and assisting with his daughter’s soccer practices that he has been missing for the past two months. Samantha not only has a happy and engaged team, she now has real time status tracking of the operations and doesn’t need to wait for the twice daily updates to find out if they are gaining ground on the delivery backlog.

While the story above may be fiction, similar situations are being played out in manufacturing operations all over the world. There is a somewhat typically maturation process that companies go through starting with paper, then hybrid, then fully electronic. There are even some lean practitioners in the school of thought that tracking on paper/white boards forces a better level of engagement and brings awareness to the information being collected and that electronic tracking is not beneficial. [That topic of debate is worth its own article in the future]

 

Spaghetti Systems

As a company attempts to improve their process over a period of years, maybe decades, it is commonplace to end up with different solutions for each department. Quality has a tool for nonconformance and defect tracking and possibly another software solution for gage and calibration management. The continuous improvement leader has a tool for tracking events and projects. Production uses a different set of tools to manage productivity and efficiency. Don’t forget about maintenance, someone needs to keep all those lines running and with that team comes their own CMMS to track work orders and planned maintenance activity. Somewhere in all this software spaghetti mess is the big CRM meatball.

Scattered Information

With all these systems in place, the organization might be feeling good about having electronic tools to track their key processes within each department. However, it is then that they find themselves back to the data administration frustration, albeit one layer up (i.e. shifted) on the org chart, because the systems do not talk to each other. At this point, the managers are extracting information from each of their respective systems and putting them into the top-level management presentation formats for review.

 

Thrive Software Platform for Operations

You may be wondering, what if that same tool that Samantha engaged for operations productivity and efficiency tracking also contained all the tools needed by the quality, continuous improvement, safety, and maintenance departments? Imagine the benefits to the management team if a single dashboard could show the KPI from each department in real time. Consider the training benefits for employees that transfer from one department to another and no longer need to learn to use a new software tool, but rather just adapt current skills to a new set of departmental processes and procedures. If such a system existed, wouldn’t that mean that facility work request that I entered on my mobile phone while walking into work this morning, the customer complaint call our quality team took a few minutes ago, and the five units that just left the assembly line headed for the shipping dock are already on my dashboard? The answer is an emphatic Yes!
The above scenario may sound like more fiction, but this is where Lean Technologies turns this story into reality using the Thrive software platform.

If you would like to hear from Thrive users experiencing this new reality, check out the videos page.

or want to talk to someone on the Lean Technologies team about transforming your reality, drop us a note

By |2019-09-24T17:30:52+00:00September 24th, 2019|Manufacturing, Productivity Tools, Thoughts|Comments Off on The Hidden Waste Lurking in Your Operation
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We Thrive. ASSA ABLOY EMS in Phoenix

At Lean Technologies, we are focused on solving customer problems and providing year over year value to client organizations. One such client is ASSA ABLOY where we work with a number of the North America sites. Although the name ASSA ABLOY may not yet be a household name in North America, you are likely to be familiar with one of their many popular brands of entry systems. In fact, you probably scanned an access card, turned a handle, or walked through one of their doors the last time you entered a school, hotel, hospital, or workplace. ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in door opening solutions and a market leader in most of Europe, North America, South America, China and Oceania. The EMS Division plant in Phoenix, AZ called upon Thrive Goal Boards to solve a particular need on the plant floor to monitor production activity, provide real time feedback to the operators, communicate performance to management, and track day to day performance gains.

The operations team leaders at ASSA ABLOY EMS were gracious enough to sit down with a video crew so we could share a little bit of their Thrive experience with the rest of the world. We are thankful for their willingness to participate in this video and continued use of Thrive throughout their organization.

 

For more information, contact the Lean Tech team at info@leantech.com or fill out the contact form on our website

 

By |2017-11-06T22:17:10+00:00November 6th, 2017|Business, Customer Service, Lean Tech, Manufacturing, We Thrive|Comments Off on We Thrive. ASSA ABLOY EMS in Phoenix
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Heads up, your business may be drowning

My friend Sam Duregger (@duregger) pointed me to an article about the obsessive-ness people have developed with their smartphones.

The article opens with a story about a man who was so engaged with his smartphone he didn’t notice the bathtub water he was filling for his daughter was overflowing onto the floor.  Why is this technology so engaging?  What is going on in peoples’ heads?  The article explains it with this:

It is because they are human, and human beings tend to repeat actions that are pleasurable and rewarding, particularly if they get our endorphins flowing. The complication is that we devalue delayed rewards — the feeling, for instance, of looking back on lovely moments with family — in favor of the immediacy of the new. In this case, it’s data. It makes us high.

Meeting short-term expectations of investors or the board is the smartphone of the business world.  The short term rewards feel good, and people want businesses to produce similar results time and again.  The reality is those short-sighted goals can lead to painful long-term results (and not always for the people setting those objectives, unfortunately).  This description at least gives me some perspective on why any business could possibly be short-sighted…this smartphone mentality simply transfers to their approach to business.

Hey, and for fun, the article even gives an example you can try out on your friends!

Get some friends together and tell them you will give them $100 now or $200 next year. Most of them, he said, will take the $100. Now tell them they can have $100 in 10 years or $200 in 11 years. Most will take the $200 because there is nothing immediate, or more exciting, fogging up their calculation about which is the greater reward.

Lean is for the long haul.  Lean focuses on building long-term value: for customers, for employees, for stake-holders.  You may not see the results in Q1 of implementation.  Endurance is needed.  But if you stick with it, the results will come and will be sustained long after the other guy’s bathtub is spilling onto the floor.

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By |2010-03-16T11:26:15+00:00March 16th, 2010|Business, Manufacturing|Comments Off on Heads up, your business may be drowning
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Don’t wait for recovery, lead the recovery

"We’re cutting R & D."

"We have money right now, we’re just not spending any of it." (something I heard from a potential client of mine in the last few months)

A VP I was speaking to at a large manufacturer said a mistake their organization made in 2001 was to not invest capital in the future, and they’re still recovering from that.

A client of mine I spoke to last week said a company he used to work for cut back spending in R & D about 10 years ago and never recovered from decision.

Mark Perry says recovery is on its way:

fedny

But I hope that if people hear this news, that they’re not just waiting for it to happen.  Recovery requires action, which won’t happen in the form of a handout.  And there’s no better time to take action than during a down economy.

Get back to work.

By |2009-02-03T13:42:31+00:00February 3rd, 2009|Business, Manufacturing|Comments Off on Don’t wait for recovery, lead the recovery
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Lean operations is like wingsuit base jumping

What?!  Yeah, okay, maybe it’s a stretch.  But bear with me.  Maybe I was desperately searching for a way to include this cool video, but if nothing else, you’ll get to see a really cool video.


wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

In lean manufacturing, people talk about "lowering the water level" by minimizing inventory.  This exposes the "rocks" of waste that exist on the shop floor.  You know who they are.  There are seven, right?  Oh wait, is it eight now?  Is it TOM D WIP or WORM PITT, TIMWOOD, or DOTWIMP?  I think And when your ship "S.S. Operations" starts encountering those rocks, it hurts!

But it’s all about risk/reward.  So you lower your inventory levels.  It may feel like greater risk because you’ll expose quality problems, excessive transportation, rework labor.  But the rewards can be so much greater.  Increase profitability.  Increase customer satisfaction.  Take market share.

The wingsuit base jumpers could ride safely away from the shear cliffs.  But where’s the reward in that?  They have chosen to decrease the space between them and problems, and have increased the reward of having a significantly better experience.

Not the best analogy?  Okay.  Whatever.  Enjoy the video.

By |2009-01-22T11:50:32+00:00January 22nd, 2009|Fun, Manufacturing|Comments Off on Lean operations is like wingsuit base jumping
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2009 will be the year of lean

John Shook at Lean Enterprise Institute says lean is “just what the doctor ordered” for 2009 and is hoping for a better year.

Brian Buck expects creativity and innovation to arrive on the scene.

Jon Miller talks about how Tom Vilsack might bring lean to the federal level (hooray!).

Kevin Meyer suggests Toyota could use some of its lean knowledge to energize the rest of the automotive industry.

In the lean software arena, “Mastering the Recession with Lean, Agile, and Scrum.”

And have you seen all the lean people that are now on Twitter?  Brian Buck and I surmised it must be some kind of New Year’s resolution.  Regardless the cause, there’s any obvious effort to get the word out about the value of lean, and Twitter is another tool to spread the word.  Here are the lean tweeps I’m currently following (I’m sure there are more): @brianbuck, @evanjmiller, @GembaPantaRei, @gerrykirk, @giladl, @GotBoondoggle, @leanblog, @lssacademy, @matthewemay, @mglombard, @Paulflevy, @RalfLippold, @Rwilliard, @shmula, @superfactory, UPDATE: @lizguthridge

If you aren’t creating value for customers…if you aren’t eliminating waste…if you aren’t respecting your people, this won’t be your year.  This is true now more than ever, as consumers and business get more picky about where they’re going to put their resources, and as the personal savings rate has actually gone up (this is a good thing since it had gone negative, but indicates spending will be tighter!).

Don’t think lean is drawing attention?  Check out the search terms people are using lately.  This is drawn from the Google Keyword Search Tool.  I just checked out “lean manufacturing” as an example.  In the month of December, there was an 18% increase in the interest in the term “lean manufacturing” over the average of the previous 12 months (the totals of the entire result set were 109,459 for December versus 92,808 for the average).

lean_keyword

And this is just the term “lean manufacturing”.  What about all of the other arenas like healthcare, software, and others?  Even just the term “lean” has a WHOPPING 50% increase (2,740,000 for December versus 1,830,000 prior 12-month average).  Granted, “lean” in this case might include people looking to improve their physical fitness, but regardless this is a huge jump.

Where are people conducting these searches?  For that info, check out this cool tool.  It gives you a “heat map” of where these searches are being conducted (US data only).

state_map

Principles that started in manufacturing have spread to so many different arenas.  And why not?  Look at how Tom and Mary Poppendieck describe the principles within software development:

The seven principles of Lean Software development are:

  • Respect people
  • Eliminate waste
  • Defer commitment
  • Create knowledge
  • Deliver fast
  • Build quality in
  • Optimize the whole

Sound familiar?  Manufacturing, healthcare, education, services, construction, government, and software development have all found how valuable these principles are.  Granted the tools and practices probably look different from one to the next, but the principles are constant.

(side note…I’m now going to use the phrase “deferring commitment” instead of “procrastinating”…it sounds a lot better! 🙂 )

Maybe we should organize a big “lean-fest” or lean tweetup to exchange ideas across industries and share best (or better, as some are now saying) practices (maybe the Lean Global Network is already doing this?).  A nice, central-US location might be nice.  Say…Pella, Iowa (street view from Google Maps)?

By |2009-01-09T16:01:49+00:00January 9th, 2009|Healthcare, Information Management, Manufacturing, People|Comments Off on 2009 will be the year of lean
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Lean people on Twitter, anyone up for FriendFeed?

Hopefully making for some more useful conversation, I’m starting to find some more lean people on Twitter.  I’m starting to connect with people around the world that I otherwise would never meet.  Here they are in no particular order:

Are there more?  I’m sure they’re out there.  We could get some groups going…would really like to do this on FriendFeed though (see below).

I can be found here: http://twitter.com/scottsorheim.  I try to stay on the manufacturing side of things, but am generally interested in all things lean.  I, of course, develop software (primarily for manufacturing, but even that scope has crept a bit) and am interested in what’s happening in that arena as well.

What I’d really like to get going, though, is some more active participation on http://friendfeed.com.  I think it’s a much better place to share information and have conversations.  Maybe there’s already some lean stuff happening there, and I’m just not aware of it?  Please let me know if that’s the case.  I’m here: http://friendfeed.com/scottsorheim.

By |2009-01-02T12:50:20+00:00January 2nd, 2009|Healthcare, Manufacturing, People, Technology|Comments Off on Lean people on Twitter, anyone up for FriendFeed?
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Friday Lean and Manufacturing Rundown

Lean Enterprise Institute has a blog now.  I was waiting for them to start one up.  John Shook is the primary author (maybe only?).  You can find it at http://www.lean.org/shook/.

Just before Thanksgiving, Kevin Meyer shared this great post (and I’ve been passing along to others) on how American Apparel continues to succeed.  On a related note, I mentor high school students and for some odd reason we were talking about favorite T-shirts earlier this week and one student commented, “I love American Apparel shirts.”  So, wow, not only do they run a good company, but they’re also hip (“hip” is really probably a very outdated term…I think we’re way past “dope”, “the bomb”, and “fly” too so I’m not sure what to call it)!

A few perspectives on the Big 3: one from Jon Miller of Gemba Panta Rei: “With Competitors Like These, Who Needs a Winning Business Strategy?” and another from Tom Peters entitled “Service?  Sacrifice?  Equity?  Honor?” and one final one expressed in the cartoon below:

cars

I guess this one isn’t necessarily directly manufacturing related, but I’ve been enjoying Mark J Perry’s economic analysis from his blog.  He’s a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan.  He also shares some amusing items, including this road map to “success” (shown below) and this bailout application.

cartooncars

Incidentally, I share a lot of this stuff on http://friendfeed.com/scottsorheim which is a great place to have a discussion about these items, and I would be glad to follow you on Twitter…you can find me at http://twitter.com/scottsorheim.  Hopefully see you there!

UPDATE: John Shook weighs in on the LEI blog on the Big 3 and provides this interesting insight: “GM wants to survive, all right, it wants to survive so it can continue to make money. Toyota on the other hand, wants to make money to survive.”

Also, I’ve often thought I’ve used my lean background in meeting customer needs with software, but beginning next week, we’ll see what I really know about lean methodology as applied to software as I start attending their Lean On-line Learning for Lean Software Development.

By |2008-12-05T15:53:21+00:00December 5th, 2008|Manufacturing, People|Comments Off on Friday Lean and Manufacturing Rundown
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