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

Heijunka – Creating Flow

The word Heijunka is often used in the manufacturing industry, and it means sequencing, or smoothing of production. The idea behind this term is to help absorb sudden fluctuations or changes in the demand of the market. This is often done by producing several different models of a product, in smaller production batches. In practice,…

Tony Ferraro | October 9, 2013 | Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read

Changeover – Creating Flow and Eliminating Waste

For those in the manufacturing industry, changeover is a term which is used when talking about converting a particular machine, or a line from creating one product to another. The most well known example of this would be in the automotive industry where it is necessary to do a changeover when updating to a new…

Tony Ferraro | October 7, 2013 | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read

How to Organize Your Shop: Try 5S

Are you needing some organization in your workshop?  Do you spend more time trying to find tools and supplies and less time actually working? Are you hoping to improve your efficiency and cut your waste down?  Would doing all of this help to improve quality to the customer and possibly even reduce prices? Well, you…

Tony Ferraro | October 1, 2013 | 5S, Lean, Lean Manufacturing | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Lean, Lean Manufacturing | 3 min read

Manufacturing Infographic

Manufacturing Day is on October 5.  I hope they can fill all of these jobs they say they have just waiting for the right candidates. I’m not sure if all of that is because pay scales for some of these positions are only attracting less qualified applicants or if there truly is a line of…

Tony Ferraro | September 23, 2013 | Lean Manufacturing | 1 min read

Taking a Look at Company Culture

When getting ready to interview for a new position, most people focus their efforts on getting themselves ready to impress the people who they will be interviewed by. While this is certainly important, one should also take the time to try to figure out whether or not the company culture is a good fit for…

Tony Ferraro | September 20, 2013 | Continuous Improvement | 2 min read

Why Use a Checklist for Your Inspections?

Performing inspections is one of the most important jobs of a safety manager. Even in cases when the actual inspections aren’t directly performed by the safety manager, he or she will still be responsible for reviewing the results and taking action where necessary. Unfortunately, for many facilities, an inspection ends up being little more than a…

Tony Ferraro | September 9, 2013 | Safety | Continuous Improvement, Facility Efficiency, OSHA, Regulations & Compliance, Workplace Safety | 3 min read

What is 5S and How Should We Implement It?

5S is, in the simplest terms, a method of creating, maintaining and improving a workplace which is clean, orderly, and has methods for detecting waste and errors built in. When used properly, it will help to identify areas where things are being done inefficiently, and come up with solutions for improvement. It will help to…

Tony Ferraro | September 4, 2013 | 5S, Lean, Lean Manufacturing | 5S, Facility Efficiency, Lean, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read