Anything that you do well is worth doing better over time. The term "continuous improvement" describes a process practiced by quality engineers but it speaks to something that every conscientious ...

Most CEOs say they believe in continuous improvement. Very few actually have time to do it. Here is the uncomfortable truth: if improving your operations requires stopping your operations, your ...

Small businesses often have difficulty competing with larger competitors that are able to mass produce products at low costs. Continuous quality improvement is a business management system that ...

With the need for constant innovation, creating systems that meet customer expectations demands continuous improvement within a complex design process. The American Society for Quality defines ...

In my last article, and the first in our series on metrics, I made three key points: Embrace the notion that most factories are cost centers. Create the mindset of CI/lean, i.e., there is always a ...

The performance-punishing nature of poor workplace design is a persistent issue filled with musculoskeletal injuries and rising medical care costs. Many manufacturing and industrial companies attempt ...

Building agility into your team’s approaches can help your organization adapt to fast-changing conditions from within or even external ones. A key part of this that has benefited many of my consulting ...

With the right approach to continuous improvement, printing companies can thrive if they’re willing to make the investment. To be successful, a company must recognize that processes are the central ...

Five years ago the editors of IndustryWeek invited a stock analyst to come in and tell us how his company identifies value when evaluating manufacturing companies. He was a very nice man, and we sent ...

Continuous Improvement (CI) is a term we hear a lot lately. Sadly, despite knowing the term and possibly even applying CI principles to some aspects of operations, CI principles are infrequently ...