Austin Weber

Little Lessons from the Big Boys

March 31, 2008

Recent quality glitches at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (Renton, WA) and Toyota Motor Corp. (Nagoya, Japan) have raised quite a few eyebrows in the manufacturing world.

Innovation Is Hot-Read All About It

Austin Weber

March 7, 2008

Five recently published books explain how manufacturers can harness the power of innovation to compete successfully in today's flat world.

Three Strategies for Effective Innovation

Austin Weber

March 5, 2008

Manufacturers that want to improve their product development process must be market readers, need seekers or technology drivers.

Man-Machine Allocation

Austin Weber

March 5, 2008

People are good at some things, and machines are better at others. It's important to distinguish between them when considering an automation project.

Glossary of Lean Manufacturing Terms

Austin Weber

March 5, 2008

Lean manufacturing uses many different words and terms. Click here to learn the difference between "kaizen" and "jidoka."

ASSEMBLY Planbook: Product Design for Greater Profits

Austin Weber

February 28, 2008

Innovation is one of the hottest buzzwords in the business world today. It can be applied many different ways in many different industries. But, no matter which way it's harnessed, innovation plays a key role in the product design and development process.

ASSEMBLY Planbook: Man vs. Machine

Austin Weber

February 28, 2008

Once upon a time, manufacturers attempted to automate everything and remove the human element with lights-out factories. But, people are still found on many assembly lines today because humans are still the most programmable, efficient "machines" for most assembly tasks.

ASSEMBLY Planbook: Lean Automation Is Not an Impossible Dream

Austin Weber

February 28, 2008

Many people believe that lean manufacturing principles only apply to manual assembly applications. But, lean initiatives work equally well with automated assembly systems.

Mind the Gap

Austin Weber

February 20, 2008

General Motors has offered to buy out all of its 74,000 hourly workers. Up to 56,000 workers could retire by 2011. That would help GM slash costs and catch up with its foreign rivals, but it would also create a huge knowledge gap on the plant floor.