The Top 5 Ways To Implement & Improve Lean Efforts in the Workplace
Since you’re reading this, you probably have some notion, however small, as to what lean strategies are, but you might be struggling with implementing them into your workplace for the first time. For others, you might be seeking a lean-based solution to a specific problem you’re noticing in your place of work. Whatever your case,…
Tony Ferraro | April 23, 2014 | Continuous Improvement | 5 min read
Money may not be the Only Motivation for Employees
Keeping employees motivated is one of the most important thing managers and leadership teams can do for their business. Motivated employees not only contribute more to the company in the way they work, but they also come up with innovative new ideas, inspire others and provide many other important benefits. While it is obvious that…
Tony Ferraro | January 2, 2014 | Continuous Improvement | 3 min read
How to Get Employees More Involved
It is commonly said that the employees of a company are its most valuable resource. This is true on many different levels. Of course, employees are necessary for getting the day to day work done in any business, and without them, the company would quickly have to be shut down. What is perhaps more important,…
Tony Ferraro | December 31, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | 3 min read
What is an Incident Management System?
The term “incident management” is thrown around a lot in almost all types of industries today. While most people will have a general understanding of what type of thing it is used to describe, most don’t really understand exactly what an incident management system really is. Incident management is a term that has been used…
Tony Ferraro | December 23, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | 3 min read
Is OSHA’s proposal for E-Reporting going too far?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has put forth a proposed rule that will require many employers to track injuries and illnesses electronically on a new system. If approved, the rule will require this type of reporting take place at least every quarter. For employers with 250+ employees, the website where the data will be sent…
Tony Ferraro | December 19, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | OSHA, Regulations & Compliance | 3 min read
2014 Regularity Priorities from OSHA Announced
Each year the US department of Labor, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announces a list of their priorities for the following year. In fact, they often release updates throughout the year, but the one that comes out at this time of the year typically gets the most attention. All companies would be wise to…
Tony Ferraro | December 16, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | OSHA, Regulations & Compliance | 3 min read
How Unified Communications and Collaboration can Improve Your Business
A unified communications and collaboration system can help improve just about every type of business in a variety of important ways. Before getting into the specifics of how this type of system can help, it is important to understand what is meant by a unified communications and collaboration program. This type of system will vary…
Tony Ferraro | December 6, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | 3 min read
Are Workplace Homicides Growing?
Violence, or even homicides, in the workplace are something we all hear about from time to time, but never really think it could happen to us. The violence is sometimes directed at an individual (such as an overbearing boss or abusive co-worker) but sometimes it seems random. As much as we’d all like to think otherwise,…
Tony Ferraro | December 1, 2013 | Safety | Workplace Safety | 3 min read
Importance of Proper Respiratory Protection in the Workplace
Everyone knows that when working directly with toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials, it is essential to wear proper respiratory protection. What most people don’t realize, however, is that in many different environments, this same type of protection is still a good idea. In many different work environments, there is often dust, vapors, mist, fumes,…
Tony Ferraro | November 26, 2013 | Safety | 3 min read
How to Hire a Safety Consultant
Hiring a safety consultant is an important task for any growing organization. Whether the position is being opened up because of specific safety concerns, or strictly as a preventative measure, it is important to take the time to make sure you’re hiring the right person for the job. While there are many things that need…
Tony Ferraro | November 25, 2013 | Safety | 3 min read
How do you make a Factory Culture Embrace Lean?
Several years ago, I was working as a project manager for a local manufacturing company. The owner asked me how much I knew about lean, and I told them I had about three years experience working on a lean transformation in upstate New York in which we had to completely change the factory climate from…
Tony Ferraro | November 17, 2013 | Lean | 2 min read
Lean Is More Than Its Tools
I talked with a guy yesterday about 5S and how well it would work at his office. I asked him what the problem was, and he said, “Oh, you know, it’s messy and I want people to be tidier.” I didn’t laugh or anything, but I let him know that 5S, under the larger lean…
Tony Ferraro | November 3, 2013 | Lean | 1 min read
OSHA and Continuous Improvement
Any organization doing business in the United States should be familiar with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, or OSHA. They are a branch of the US Department of Labor and are tasked with helping to ensure all working environments are safe and healthy for those working in them. They were established in 1970, and have…
Tony Ferraro | October 25, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | Continuous Improvement, OSHA, Regulations & Compliance | 2 min read
Practice Running Projects
Projects are a big part of almost every type of business. Most organizations break up different types of work into projects to help ensure they get done in the most efficient and economical way possible. A project is a set of tasks that is interconnected and designed to help achieve a specific goal. Projects should…
Tony Ferraro | October 24, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | 2 min read
Understanding Lean Principles
The lean manufacturing philosophy centers around five guiding concepts which are used to drive the behaviors of an organization. These five principles can help people at all levels of a company to understand what it is they should be doing and how it should be done. Of course, these lean principles aren’t going to layout…
Tony Ferraro | October 23, 2013 | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
