JACKSON, MN--Farmers never take a day off. Nor do their tractors. Growers rely on their machines to plow, plant, till, spray, bale and harvest a wide variety of crops in all sorts of conditions.

Manufacturers of complex products, such as engines and transmissions, have long been using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to error-proof their processes, document quality, and deal with high-mix production.

A Fortune 500 manufacturer of electromechanical products previously operated six separate indexing assembly machines, each producing one of a family of products at about 40 parts per minute.

Ray Berst is the founder and president of Components Express Inc. (CEI), a Woodridge, IL-based manufacturer that specializes in custom machine-vision cables.

There is a big difference between being part of an industry and being an industry participant. Little Humtown Products (based in Columbiana, OH) has followed the latter path for many years as a full-service supplier to the foundry industry.

Contract manufacturer Electronic Technologies International Inc. (ETI) has been in business for more than 25 years. With approximately 75 employees working in two shifts, the company provides printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, wire harness assembly and box build services at a 32,000-square-foot, ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facility in Fort Atkinson, WI.

Mixed-model assembly lines present numerous opportunities for manufacturers, but they also create headaches for engineers. Lean manufacturing guru, Drew Locher, offers some tips.