World Class Manufacturing (WCM) and Lean Manufacturing are vital for successful manufacturing in the United States, especially in the fabrication of electronic components like printed circuit boards. Implementing concepts like low WIP (Work in Progress), low backlogs, high quality with problem-solving at the operator level, and continual improvement can often take years and require a paradigm shift in the organization’s culture.
Calumet Electronics is working to adopt the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and employee empowerment at a much faster rate. Therefore, departmental teams are adopting the concepts found within 2 Second Lean, by Paul Akers. The guiding concept of this book is that “waste is the enemy.” To tackle waste, the book provides insight into guiding employees to engage in two-second improvement projects on a continual basis from the shop floor to purchasing to the warehouse.
In the first few months of adoption, Calumet Electronics has been working with all levels of operators to adopt the “fix what bothers you” concept. This book has begun to change the conversations while empowering all levels of employees to engage deeper within their jobs and the company in general. These projects have included streamlining retention of information, cleanliness of bathrooms, and evaluation of product movement to reduce waste. Waste permeates many aspects of business and manufacturing; each two-second project is working to eliminate waste and develop more lean practices.
This is a great book to include in reading circles for manufacturing in the United States. Calumet Electronics extends a shout out to Tentcraft for introducing us to the 2 Second Lean.
