Creating sustainability throughout a product's entire life cycle is an increasingly important consideration for manufacturers, given the rising emphasis on environmental protection. With this in mind, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) incorporated the critical element of sustainability into its three-pronged Lean and Sustainable Product Design (LSPD) service, which
Continue reading »The East African country of Tanzania is planning to kickstart national economic development by using Kaizen to enhance its manufacturing sector, the Daily News reports. Joyce Mapunjo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, recently noted that Tanzania is already reaping the benefits of Lean healthcare and has successfully integrated Kaizen into its
Continue reading »United Kingdom-based truck manufacturer Leyland Trucks, which delivers its products under the DAF brand name, currently has a 15 percent share of Europe's new truck registration market. As Business Case Studies reports, the company's current goal is to expand this market share to 20 percent by increasing its production capacity and embracing the Japanese continuous
Continue reading »A company with an engaged workforce is likely to see greater productivity, lower retention rates and higher employee satisfaction. In a recent article for Business 2 Community, business strategist and management consultant Maz Iqbal writes that employee engagement must be cultivated within organizational contexts in order to truly become part of the fabric of a
Continue reading »There are dozens of potential wastes that could plague a manufacturing company – material wastes from unused components, energy waste from poorly used utilities and employee waste from potentially redundant processes are among some of the top concerns. But, as Henry Ford puts it, time waste is perhaps the worst, because there is nothing that
Continue reading »When businesses develop and launch training programs, the concepts of these educational courses tend to be abstract. Managers and leaders want to bestow the skills and knowledge that new hires or recently promoted employees need to succeed in their new jobs, but they don't always know the best way to achieve these end goals. “Training”
Continue reading »When you think of banks, seldom does efficiency come to mind. Instead, they are frequently characterized by their poor customer service and slow operations – you're likely to think of long lines of people waiting for tellers, transactions that take days to post and getting passed around to different call centers while trying to take
Continue reading »Heathrow, the United Kingdom's largest airport, is utilizing Kaizen to maximize efficiency and improve the general traveling experience. Colin Matthews, chief executive of Heathrow, spent many of his business years at an auto manufacturer in Japan, where he first learned about Kaizen integration. In particular, he is fond of the notion of continuous improvement. “I
Continue reading »The onboarding process is integral to the successful integration of new employees. The first few months of employment often set the tone for the rest of an employee's time with a company, so an engaging and valuable onboarding program can make the difference between satisfied workers and disillusioned ones. Few companies realize how important online
Continue reading »Most companies are notoriously short-sighted, always looking for ways to improve business today rather than tomorrow. This approach makes sense, especially given how slavish corporations are to their shareholders – they need to show notable improvements each quarter to ensure their investors and backers don't lose faith in the products and services they provide. Unfortunately,
Continue reading »
