We have a tool chest in which we keep a set of general tools for various different general uses around the shop. However, it was a mess. We have too many of different tools and everything was just thrown in the drawers. The first step of lean is to do what is called 3S. Your […]
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We did another improvement to the drill table to save even more time. If you look back, you will notice that we’ve done many small improvements to this table and they’ve added up to a HUGE timesaver. This operation is no longer a constraint anymore and we can tackle the next problem area, box making.
UPS offers free pouches for labels printed on standard paper. We would print out the label on a standard 8.5″x11″ sheet and slip in the plastic pouch. We got the pouch for free but we still had to pay for paper and toner. Not only that, but it was a real hassle to put labels […]
If you are watching this video and thinking “this is obvious” then you are correct. Even though it was obvious, we just lived with it because everything was always a mad rush to fill orders. Sorted, Swept, and Standardized. Now if I could only get 8020 to ship the extrusions without wrapping each one in […]
We are using FastCap’s ChopShop saw hood to save up clean up time at the miter saw station. The hood has saved us 10-15 minutes each day in clean up time and allows us to easily separate aluminum chips for recycling. In addition, the hood solved a minor safety problem; anyone walking behind the miter saw when […]
When you start on your lean journey, most often it’s the simple, cheap things that save a bunch of time. For $16 a bit, we save 30 minutes per kit or 50+ HOURS a year. Not only does this 2 Second Improvement save a ton of time, but it’s an example of Poke Yoke as […]
Sometimes you make that purchase because it’s an incredible deal and you think you can “make it work”. Well, if we factor all the wasted time in, this gantry crane has been one of the biggest money sinks we’ve had. Now, we had to spend a little money for the forklift, but it’s hardly what […]
Today I spent 8 minutes looking for a particular blueprint for one piece a kit. I never did find it… I had enough and spent 10 minutes making this holder. I will never have to spend time looking for these papers again!
On Friday, we went to a manufacturing method called one piece flow. With our shop being so small, processing batch kits was a bear but we did it because we thought it saved time. Boy were we wrong! For a 4’x4′ kit, we were right around 6-7 hours per kit. Not terribly bad, but not […]
Today we went back and examined our box cutting process. We eliminiated a bunch of processing time to our process of cutting boxes with one simple change…