FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR
Blog
Notes, lessons and field-tested thinking on offsite manufacturing, lean operations and building businesses that last.
Constructing a Roadmap to Operational Excellence Part 1: Beginning a Journey of 7 Steps
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC We all aspire to have a state of operational excellence in our organizations, but it is often much easier said than done. Although it’s often conceptualized as merely tweaking the current way of doing things, operational excellence is about much more than that. For component manufacturers, LBMs, and millwork companies,...
The Relationship Between Lean and Safety
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC In my experience and with the work I do with hundreds of component manufacturers, I find that many companies will tell me Safety is important, but, in practice, safety is treated as a burden on the company. Good managers will always have an attitude that they want all of their...
How Does Your Company Performance Measure Up? The Importance of Benchmarking
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC I read a book recently that discussed the term “benchmark” and its origins as relates to business. Surprisingly, the term originates within the history of guns and ammunition. In fact, with the same aim we use it today— comparison and improved performance. The book talked about the continuous improvement...
Moving From Best to Next Practices
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC As an industry, there are many times I believe we have been behind the curve in adopting/taking on new technology or hardware in our operations. Over the past 15 years or so, we have seen incredible growth in the use of automation, software, etc., but other industries have far exceeded...
Emerging Pillars for Business Success
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC As companies grow and change, we should ask ourselves—what are the essential pillars of support that help companies succeed? While making changes that will transform their businesses, successful companies will rely on core pillars that form the foundation of who they will be in the future. The characteristics that I...
Change Your Dynamic By Investing in Your Team
By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC What is the difference between companies which are stuck in the status quo and those which are transforming themselves into the leader in their industry? One significant difference is their focus on Continuous Improvement. By focusing on making things better—People, Projects, and Process—these leading companies are increasing annual revenue and...
Break Through Your Box
How many times have you seen your competitor or other businesses in your area copy what you produce or offer? Maybe it is the kind of company that takes a photo of some trusses, puts themselves in front of it, and says, “Look at me, I am the same kind of company they are.” Flattery is great, but is it...
Disruptive Innovation with LBM/Component Companies
Over the years, our industry has seen a lot of innovation in how we handle materials, how we manufacture, and how we take a house from an idea to a component using the computer. But, over the past few years, we have seen an acceleration in big ideas, disruption, and we we can do using technology developed in ours and...
Continuous Improvement Culture
While speaking at a recent conference, I was asked a really good question from one of the executives of a Component/LBM company. His question prompted me to think about how I would start 2018 off in my articles. The question was: “Our company does not have an incentive program in place though we arbitrarily reward performance at the end of...
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