A few months ago, I drew a flow chart for buyers to follow when a problem is detected during an in-process inspection. But the very best would be for factory operators themselves to notice defects and to solve the problem immediately, … [Read more...]
How to reduce costs in a factory? The lean approach.
The number one challenge of Chinese suppliers is price, as revealed by a recent survey. Their costs keep rising, but price competition is stronger and stronger. Factory owners spend a lot of time trying to reduce costs. Unfortunately, … [Read more...]
Is it expensive to increase the quality level in a factory?
Does it necessarily cost more to reduce the number of defects? That's a good question in the sense that it brings up different responses from different people. I am going to expose a few very different mindsets about the whole "quality" … [Read more...]
Lean, 6 sigma, etc.: comparison of process improvement approaches
Michel Baudin, a Lean consultant whose blog I follow with great interest, published an extremely interesting article that compares different approaches for process improvement in manufacturing organizations. I have read a lot of attempts … [Read more...]
6 tips to design products to be made in China
I have been in contact with a number of "inventors" over the years. They have an idea for a cool/useful product that currently doesn't exist. And they want to get it made in China, which has a reputation for getting things done fast. I … [Read more...]
The benefits of a factory’s lean turnaround
Tell Chinese manufacturers that you can help them achieve substantial reduction of costs, and they will listen. They might not believe that it is possible without applying new technologies, but at least that's a topic they are interested … [Read more...]
Lean transformation: how it drives costs down
Whenever I am in front of a Chinese factory owner, the dialogue goes like this: Me: "you know, you can drive your costs down significantly simply by re-organizing your production." Chinese boss: "Hmmm... I don't know what you are … [Read more...]
Design and engineering should be close to production
From time to time, a journalist writes a really insightful article about recent development, and we all take pause and reflect. Charles Fishman did just this. If you haven't read The Insourcing Boom on The Atlantic, it is worth 10-15 min … [Read more...]
Ensuring product traceability through China production
Traceability is like genealogy, but for production. It allows you to know the origins of each batch of finished products. It is very useful when a few products are found to have serious problems: You can investigate, try to find the … [Read more...]
Conducting factory audits for continuous improvement
Factory audits are a very standard service offered by all third-party quality control agencies. They are typically used by buyers who want an evaluation of a manufacturer, before they start a business relationship. Different aspects of a … [Read more...]