Taylor Power Systems Inc. manufactures service generators for the oil and gas, agricultural and other industries. Located in Clinton, MS, Taylor Power's headquarters and assembly plant includes more than 300,000 square feet of office, training and production space.

If you have been around for a while, you may recall the "Parts is Parts" commercial from the Wendy's fast-food chain. As bad as the "parts is parts" idea is for chicken sandwiches, it's equally bad for manufacturing.

In an earlier article, we dissected the project scope and explored the work breakdown structure (WBS). The WBS is the disaggregation of the scope into the work products that are required to meet the defined scope. Now, we are going explore setting about doing the work, from a schedule, or perhaps we will not even build a schedule.

Waste, in lean terms, is any activity that does not add value to the product while costing a manufacturer money and resources. From active losses to missed opportunities, these wastes are so common in manufacturing operations that they are often overlooked.

Refrigerators are one of the only appliances found in nearly every type of home, whether it's an apartment in suburban Atlanta, a high-rise condominium in downtown Chicago, a beach house in Hawaii or a trailer in Texas. The humble refrigerator is also the hardest working household appliance. Day and night, it's constantly running to keep all types of food and beverages cool, fresh or frozen.

A linchpin of any lean manufacturing effort, 5S programs help to reduce waste and optimize productivity through better work-place organization.

Optimizing flow and minimizing waste are two of the basic elements of lean manufacturing. Those concepts also play a critical role in laying out assembly lines.

President Roosevelt stunned millions of listeners when he announced during a May 26, 1940, fireside chat that government must "harness the efficient machinery of America's manufacturers" to produce 50,000 combat aircraft over the next 12 months to confront the "approaching storm" of global war.

Carlisle Brake and Friction is 101-year-old company that manufactures braking products for construction, aerospace, agriculture, military, racing, mining and highway uses.

When lean tools are used effectively every day, manufacturers eventually arrive at a destination: lean culture. All the continuous improvement efforts along the way will drive a cyclical culture that's sustainable.