Sometimes unplanned downtime is unavoidable. Many times, it is not. Hear what several manufacturers and reliability experts advise to keep your machinery operating optimally. Robots at work are a good thing. Robots at rest when they are supposed to be working are a bad thing. The latter is what... Continue Reading
Written by: Mark Cotteleer and Brenna Sniderman for Deloitte Insights. Industry 4.0 signifies the promise of a new Industrial Revolution—one that marries advanced production and operations techniques with smart digital technologies to create a digital enterprise that would not only be... Continue Reading
Your spare parts deserve some maintenance TLC to ensure they’re ready to run. We think of routine care and maintenance of a system to stave off failures as standard practice, but what about preventive maintenance of the replacement parts used when the system does fail? It’s easy to... Continue Reading
Despite the constancy of change in today’s global marketplace, the environment for change in many organizations is unfriendly at best. Few organizations have the appetite for change found at Facebook, Google, Amazon, and other innovative firms. I work extensively with CPAs, CFOs, and other... Continue Reading
Machine failure can be a tremendously costly problem in the manufacturing industry. Fortunately, new technologies, sensors, and big data machine learning can now offer insight that may help better predict failures and reduce downtime. According to data from the Bureau of Analysis, the average age... Continue Reading
Here is your quick guide to the evolving supply chain software market. With the growth of AI, IoT, and data analytics, supply chain management software capabilities are exploding. The large ERP vendors are continually designing and incorporating new capabilities into their suites, but... Continue Reading
GE the latest company to bet big on the technology. Additive metal manufacturing is a “disruptive technology,” that will change a lot of the manufacturing landscape, according to Mark Meyer, leader of GE Additive. Just as taxi service often improves when Uber and Lyft move into... Continue Reading
Bloomberg News (2/1, Chandra) writes that the January report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), released on Thursday, found that “US factories expanded more than forecast in January and near the fastest pace in more than 13 years, indicating manufacturing was still powering... Continue Reading
HIRING THE RIGHT PERSON CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN EFFICIENT PLANNING AND SCHEDULING PROCESS AND ONE THAT WASTES TIME AND MONEY. Why do maintenance departments need to “invest wisely” when hiring for a maintenance planner position? Consider this: A skilled maintenance... Continue Reading
Despite productivity gains made during recent decades, the financial pressure remains for manufacturers. Increasing global competition, greater consumer choice, unpredictable resource pricing, and tighter margins have them searching for strategies to become more productive and efficient. The good... Continue Reading
Machine-learning algorithms used by remotely connected computers. Autonomous robots with vast libraries of data at their metallic fingertips. “Smart factories” where sensors detect and repair problems before managers are even aware. These are not science-fiction tropes; they’re... Continue Reading
In today’s fast-paced and highly-competitive economy, it is not good enough to compare your company simply against last year’s metrics. It may look great that your energy costs are down 5%, but what if your competition is down 10%? It may look great that your labor costs are down 4%,... Continue Reading
