Is Manufacturing Dead in America?
August 30, 2012
I thought that this was an interesting show about the state of manufacturing in America today called “Made in the USA” on PBS’s America Revealed hosted by Yul Kwon originally aired May 2, 2012. Here’s a description from their website:
“American manufacturing has undergone a massive revolution over the past 20 years. Despite all the gloom and doom, America is actually the number one manufacturing nation on earth. Yul Kwon crosses the nation looking at traditional and not-so traditional types of manufacturing. “
Some of the things that I think were noteworthy included:
Topic |
Approximate Start Time |
Car manufacturing in the US |
8:15 |
Efficiency |
10:18 |
Old movie of the Ford Model T |
11:04 |
American Manufacturing |
12:42 |
Production Value |
13:15 |
Lean simulation training at the US VW plant |
14:03 |
Lean manufacturing |
18:47 |
USA is still #1 |
37:31 |
If you think manufacturing is dead in the USA, you might want to look again. It definitely doesn’t look like our father’s factories, but again they probably said that about their father’s factories. If you are a manufacturer and you do not think this applies to you see how they applied Lean concepts in a shipyard (didn’t Shigeo Shingo do that over 50 years ago?) and a steel mill. It is also worth pointing out that many of the high value-added jobs are still here. I’m not saying that everything is glorious in US Manufacturing, but it might not be as bleak as people make it out to be. Let’s get back to making stuff that matters.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2227791872
Watch Made In The USA on PBS. See more from America Revealed.
If you need help on your Lean journey, check us out at www.5Ssupply.com
5S Supply’s “One Good Ideal” Photo Challenge 2012
August 9, 2012
5S Supply’s “One Good Ideal” Photo Challenge
Show off your solutions and share with other Lean practitioners!
Yokoten
As part of “yokoten” – sharing best practices – 5S Supply would like you to share “One Good Idea” that showcases an improvement in your work area. A visual workplace is a great workplace and a picture is worth 1,000 words so show us your before & after photos of an improvement that you (and your team) created. For more information>> 5S Supply Photo Challenge
Reward & Recognition
To recognize the top achievers, 5S Supply is providing the following rewards:
- 1st Place (1) $500 gift certificate for merchandise from 5S Supply
- 2nd Place (1) is two DVDs from GBMP (approximate value $258)
- 3rd Place (1) is a Visual Workplace Color Standards Template from the Visual Workplace
- Honorable Mention (10) will receive a gift certificate for 20% off their next order with 5S Supply valid through October 31st, 2012.
The odds of winning depend on the number of valid entries received and the evaluation by the judges.
Criteria
Our distinguished panel of judges (see below) will select the top entries based on:
- Originality
- A focus on lean and visual principles
- Impact to your work-space or organization
How to Enter
Share your “One Good Idea”. You can use our Excel Template (that you can keep and use for your own Lean and Visual efforts) or create one that is similar. Please provide the following information:
- Problem (250 characters) – Briefly describe the problem you were trying to solve.
- Solution (250 characters) – Briefly describe the solution that was created
- Before State (upload image – if you have one) – upload a “Before” image (300 x300 pixels preferred)
- After State (upload image) – upload the new “After” image (300 x300 pixels preferred)
- Benefits (250 characters) – Describe the benefits achieved with this solution (this doesn’t just have to be monetary benefits)
- Photo Release – I agree to allow 5S Supply to publish and share these images
- Name
- Telephone
The Photo Challenge Starts August 1st, 2012 and the deadline for entry is midnight (CST) August 31, 2012. Winners will be selected and notified by September 28, 2012.
5S Supply Photo Challenge Judges
- Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth, Visual Thinking Inc. & The Visual-Lean Institute
- Pat Wardwell, LGC, COO, GBMP
- Rhonda Kovera, CEO, Visual Workplace, Inc.
- Chris Abrey, LBC Accurate Perforating
Any questions? Please contact Jennifer Molski, Manager Customer Care, 5S Supply 815-469-5687 or jmolski@5Ssupply.com.