Excess Motion tends to hide problems on the workshop floor, which must be identified and resolved in order to improve operating performance. This waste is related to physically moving and is seen in all instances of bending, stretching, walking, lifting, and reaching. These are also health and safety issues to be considered by steel businesses. […]

Innovation can be defined as “the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. This idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need.” We have found the process of innovation requires 3 key enablers – comprising: […]

Transporting product between processes is a cost – which adds no value to the product. Excessive movement and handling cause damage and are an opportunity for quality to deteriorate. Moving product can hurt your business and can be difficult to reduce due to the perceived costs of moving equipment and processes closer together. It is […]

Over Processing tends to pose major challenges with steel businesses involved in manufacturing, fabrication and building. Many businesses use expensive high precision equipment where simpler tools would be sufficient. This often results in poor warehouse layout because preceding or subsequent operations are located far apart. In addition they encourage high asset utilisation (over-production with minimal […]

Australia’s manufacturing industry has experienced continuous growth for 13 months, according to the AiGroup’s Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). In the wake of closure of the nation’s automotive sector, the move from traditional to advanced manufacturing is evident and forcing the government and the industry in general to rethink and repurpose their machinery and people. […]

“Australian manufacturing in a global sense hasn’t been this good for more than a decade. Just last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgraded global growth for this year and next. Global growth is back and it is synchronised. That means quality Australian manufactured goods – priced right and with the currency exposure managed appropriately – […]

Rework tends to pose major challenges with steel businesses involved in manufacturing, fabrication and building. Having a direct impact to the bottom line, quality defects resulting in rework or scrap are a tremendous cost to steel businesses. Associated costs include quarantining inventory, re-inspecting, rescheduling, and capacity loss. In many steel businesses the total cost of […]

The future of the Australian manufacturing industry was examined relevant to innovation and technology recently. Some manufacturing businesses are taking strategic risks and pushing for more technological integration on the factory floor. Whilst others remain cautious not yet financially capable of industrial change, according to Mark Dingley, CEO for Matthews Australasia – as published in […]

Excess inventory tends to hide problems on the workshop floor, which must be identified and resolved in order to improve operating performance. Excess inventory increases lead times, consumes productive floor space, delays the identification of problems, and inhibits communication. By achieving a seamless flow between machines and production lines, many steel businesses involved in manufacturing, fabrication […]