“Is that bolt from a production part?” I asked. My colleague said, “No, some maintenance guy must have dropped it.” The bolt looked common enough, lying there under the conveyor, and the impulse of ...

The factory was incredibly clean. This maquiladora in northern Mexico was machining and assembling oil pumps, normally a very dirty process. Powered conveyor lines moved products from station to ...

CHICAGO — During recent visits to bakery and snack production facilities, I noticed that more of them seem to be successfully implementing a 5S program. The five S’s are to sort, set in order, shine, ...

If your business operations sometimes (or always) feel chaotic and inefficient, your company may benefit from implementing a 5S program. This organizing and streamlining process can be used in any ...