Toyota Production System Highlights

TPS reviewed in this vid. ...

Think Lean Manufacturing Electric Vehicles

Think automotive initiates production of its electric vehicle using lean manufacturing methods. ...

... "Employing the leanest of lean manufacturing techniques, Think will do no body or parts production itself. " ...

Via Financial Times Deutschland: Race to go electric

Lean Automotive Is Relevant Today As 17 Years Ago

Lean manufacturing principles are as relevant today, as when introduced years ago. Ford, GM, Chrysler need a refresher course. ...

... " ... it seems fitting that The Machine That Changed the World, the seminal 1990 book on lean manufacturing as practiced by Toyota Motor Corp., is now being reissued. " ...

Via Detroit Free Press: Automotive Challenge

Visteon Lean Supply Chain

The lean supply chain at Visteon and its automotive customers can be impacted by any workforce events. ...

... "Stoppages at Visteon could bring big headaches for British car plants. ... Lean manufacturing techniques mean carmakers rarely keep large stocks of components. " ...

Via Times UK: Visteon ...

Continuous Improvement Project: Automation Complements

Automotive suppliers leverage automation and continuous improvement to remain competitive. ...

... "The Schrader story is an enlightening one demonstrating that, with investment in automation (brought about by a rigorous pursuit of lean manufacturing techniques and continual improvement), Western European manufacturers can compete ... " ...

Via ProcessingTalk: Link

Manufacturing Leader: Lean Roll-Out Experience ...

American Woodmark appoints manufacturing leader with Lean Six Sigma implementation experience. ...

... "Dunston brings a broad range of experience in manufacturing and supply chain management to American Woodmark. He comes to American Woodmark from Diamond Innovations, a leading industrial supplier to the automotive, electronics and aerospace industries, where he was vice president, Global Operations. In this position, he was tasked to significantly reduce operating costs within China, Europe and the U.S. Prior to this, he worked as vice president of operations for BBA Fiberweb, a complex fabric and laminate manufacturing company. Here he instituted the roll-out of a continuous improvement program with training in both 6-Sigma and Lean Manufacturing. " ...

Via American Woodmark: Cary Dunston Named Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, American Woodmark

Manufacturing Excellence Keynote at Engineering Conference ...

Lean manufacturing expert will keynote upcoming engineering conference. ...

... "Izzy Galicia, Vice President of Client Services for The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) will keynote Collaborate 2006 being held October 10th – 12th in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference is hosted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) in partnership with the Alabama Aerospace Industry Association and the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association. Mr. Galicia and Manex are well known for their work helping enterprises transform their organizations through Lean Manufacturing. As part of a panel of industry leaders, Mr. Galicia and executives from Toyota, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman will kick off the event by sharing an industry perspective on innovative technology applications and processes, including Lean Manufacturing, supply chain integration, and workforce development. " ...

Via Manex: Shingo Award-Winning Lean Expert, Izzy Galicia, to Keynote SME Collaborate 2006 Conference ...

Lean Manufacturing Renovation Enables New Automotive Component Launch ...

GKN implements lean at renovated facility in preparation for new product launch, such as its new power transfer unit. ...

... "GKN Driveline's Torque Technology Group is introducing a new power transfer unit (PTU) for all-wheel-drive vehicles in North America and Japan that is lighter and stronger than previous designs, while providing customers with reductions in noise, vibration and harshness. The new PTU is the result of a two-and-a-half-year development programme with DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi. In North America, the new unit will be available on three new 2007-model DaimlerChrysler vehicles and will be manufactured at a GKN Driveline facility in Bowling Green, Ohio. The company recently completed a multi-million-dollar renovation of the Bowling Green plant to prepare for the PTUs production launch and to optimize lean manufacturing at the facility. There are plans to add a second shift to the plant's PTU assembly line early next year. " ...

Via GKN Driveline: GKN Driveline's New Technology Saves Weight and Fuel ...

Lean Pharma Evolution ...

Survey shows pharma industry implementation of lean six sigma is evolving slowly. ...

... "Despite its huge popularity in the automotive and high-tech industries, Lean Manufacturing hasn't experienced the same high success rate in the pharmaceuticals industry, where complex process manufacturing processes are used. This is according to the results of a recent survey of more than 1,500 pharmaceutical manufacturers conducted by Invistics, a developer of manufacturing performance optimization solutions for complex, asset-intensive industries.


The recently conducted 2006 survey showed that while more than half of the respondents said their companies have implemented Lean, Six Sigma or Operational Excellence, less than half of those Lean initiatives have produced satisfactory results. This is due to the fundamental complexities of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, which produce challenges not found in simple high-volume manufacturing plants that can dedicate production equipment to specific product lines, such as automobiles and computers. " ...

Via Invistics: Traditional Lean Manufacturing May Not Be Rx for Pharmaceutical Companies ...

Lean Six Sigma Training AIAG ...

Partners will provide Lean Six Sigma training to AIAG ...

... "Omnex, Inc. and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) announced the formation of a global training partnership offering Lean/Six Sigma training to AIAG members. As part of the agreement, Omnex will represent AIAG in India. With offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, and Delhi, Omnex has earned a solid reputation throughout India as a provider of Lean/Six Sigma and automotive consulting solutions. " ...

Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and Omnex announced global training partnership offering Lean/Six Sigma training to AIAG members.

Lean Manufacturing Automotive Industry ...

Robin Roberts sees Mazda MX-5 as a lean exemplar. ...

... "Engineers often talk about lean manufacturing but the Mazda MX-5 is the best example I know of putting the principle into production and watching it pay off. " ...

Lean Manufacturing Automotive Industry: Via icLiverpool: Mazda MX-5 1.8i ...

Lean Software: Visteon SAIC China JV ...

QAD software enables the lean manufacturing success of the Visteon SAIC joint venture in China. ...

... "QAD Inc., a leading provider of enterprise software solutions for global manufacturers, announced that Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Trim Systems LTD has deployed enterprise software applications from QAD to enable lean manufacturing operations and achieve exceptional inventory and manpower efficiencies. The implementation of QAD's Global Enterprise Edition. QAD GXE has enabled Yanfeng Visteon to gain dramatic reductions in material inventory, substantial reductions in stock space and enhanced data for logistical support and personnel savings. Yanfeng Visteon, a joint venture between SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, one of China's largest automotive manufacturers, and Visteon International Holdings Corporation, one of the world's preeminent automotive component manufacturers, is the leading supplier of spare parts for cars and trucks within China.

Like North American auto and truck manufacturers, the joint-venture company has been faced with the need to change its business processes to reduce inventory costs, enable higher productivity, and meet the requirements associated with sequencing assembly projects. The company's streamlining of operations using QAD provides cost as well as competitive benefits. QAD's software and expertise in lean systems has allowed Yanfeng Visteon to gain a critical advantage over other Chinese companies. Using QAD GXE, Yanfeng Visteon has cut materials inventory, reduced stock area, and cut logistics staff, enabling the company to achieve efficiencies that are unmatched by other enterprise solutions available today, as noted by company executives. Based on Toyota standards for lean manufacturing that are widely accepted by the automotive industry, QAD's Lean Manufacturing solution helps manufacturers effectively use Kanban systems to align inventory with demand for pull-based replenishment. It integrates electronic representation of Kanban processes with core ERP functions to provide comprehensive level loading, tracking and visibility of production, and supports electronic Kanban as well as physical card-based visual systems. " ...

Lean Software: Visteon SAIC China JV: Via QAD: Visteon-Shanghai Joint Venture Turns to QAD to Enable Lean Manufacturing ...

Lean Manufacturing Plant: New Facility for UPG ...

UPG readies its third plant in Mexico ...

... "United Plastic Group's newest Mexico plant will be ISO 13485 certified and FDA registered. The plant will service a diversified group of products, as do UPG's plants in the US, Europe, China and Monterrey, Mexico. Customers in the medical, consumer, automotive and electronics industries will be able to take advantage of the advanced processing, engineering and lean manufacturing capabilities provided by the new facility. " ...

Via Yahoo! Finance: United Plastics Group Inc. Announces Plans for Contract Manufacturing Facility in Baja Region of Mexico ...

Kaizen Creator Addresses Conference ...

Masaaki Imai addresses Logistics Conference ...

... "Mr Imai is the globally renowned lean guru and a pioneer in leading the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement which has it roots in the automotive manufacturing industry. " ...

Via Ferret: Father of Kaizen visits Australia

Lean Software Replaces Purchase Orders ...

Timken implements Ultriva lean software to eliminate purchase orders and pull materials into the production process. ...

... "The implementation follows the Timken Kunsebeck plant's successful pilot with Ultriva's lean software across three of its suppliers, which began in May 2005. Implementing Ultriva's lean manufacturing software, which replaced traditional purchase order processes, has already resulted in lead-time reductions of more than 30 percent, the elimination of many stock-outs and significant inventory reductions. Based on pilot results, Timken's Kunsebeck plant is targeting a 20 percent reduction in inventory and inventory carrying costs in 2006. The company also anticipates significant reductions in expediting, storage space, lead times, and overtime, as well as increased buyer and planner productivity. " ...

Lean Software Replaces Purchase Orders: Via Ultriva: Timken Deploys Ultriva Lean Manufacturing Software In Its European Automotive Division ...

Lean Manufacturing: Software Identifies Production Constraints ...

Manufacturing firm uses software to find production constraints. ...

... "Onbelay Automotive Coatings based in Chatham, Ontario, installed Plantnode on both their E-coating and Power Coatings lines to identify production bottlenecks in their manufacturing process. " ...

Lean Manufacturing: Software Identifies Production Constraints: Via Shoplogix: Onbelay Automotive Coatings Increases Operational Efficiency with Shoplogix Plantnode ...

Plantnode is a hybrid web-based software application designed on an open platform to integrate with existing production equipment, analyze real-time performance, and evaluate machine productivity. Plantnode's built-in intelligence goes beyond raw data collection to provide a fully integrated production and performance management application; differentiated by the ability to compare real-time data against planned estimates. Plantnode is proven to increase Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and enables machine level visibility on a 24x7 basis with automatic escalations and interactive processes to drive higher levels of operational efficiency, quality, and performance.

Lean Manufacturing Streamlines Workflow and Repair Operations ...

Metro Toyota embraces lean manufacturing principles in its repair operations to streamline the workflow ...

... "The DCR repair process utilized at the Metro Toyota facility employs lean manufacturing principles that involve task-specific, highly trained technicians working with cutting-edge equipment and tooling. The model is designed to streamline workflow and enable the repair operation to become dependable and offer a high-level of consistency in guaranteed quality and vehicle delivery ... " ...

Lean Manufacturing Streamlines Workflow and Repair Operations: Via ABRN (Automotive Body Repair News: Metro Toyota grabs top Toyota certification for new collision repair center ...

SixSigma Efficiency Model in the British Automotive Industry ...

Terry Murden explores the methods of Stuart Ross, a veteran of Six Sigma and Kaizen ...

... "Toyota claims to have developed the principles after the war and Nissan adopted them, introducing the concept of minimum waste and maximum efficiency to its new plant in Sunderland in the 1980s at a time when the British car industry was plagued with over-manning and underperformance. Kaizen and lean manufacturing are similar in concept, while Six Sigma, another efficiency model is driven more by technical improvements. " ...

SixSigma Efficiency Model in the British Automotive Industry: Via Scotsman Business: The man who would save Scottish industry ...

Solectron LeanSixSigma Enables AS9100 Certification ...

Solectron leverages its Lean Six Sigma discipline to enable AS9100 quality certification ...

... "Solectron Corporation, a leading provider of electronics manufacturing and integrated supply chain services, announced successful certification for Solectron FinePitch to AS9100 Rev B, the quality management system specific to the aerospace industry. AS9100 certification is a strategic milestone for Solectron showcasing our comprehensive quality management system that enables us to deliver world-class quality products and services to our customers, said Misha Rozenberg, senior vice president and chief quality officer, Solectron. Solectron Production System, or SPS, our proven and industry leading Lean Six Sigma methodology, facilitated the AS9100 certification. We are very proud to add aerospace quality assurance certification to our growing list of manufacturing quality compliance standards worldwide. First published in May 1997 by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) as AS9000, the AS standard is currently known as AS9100, Rev B, and is recognized by all major aerospace OEMs. " ...

Solectron LeanSixSigma Enables AS9100 Certification: Via Solectron: Solectron Announces Successful Aerospace Manufacturing Certification to AS9100 Rev B ...

Executive and Manager Overview: ISO 9001:2000/AS9100 Rev. B: "ISO Joe's Executive and Manager Overview: ISO 9001:2000/AS9100 Rev. B provides and expands uponthat foundational knowledge, and examines and compares today's commonly used quality programs and systems. "

Lean Six Sigma Maintains Tenneco Margins ...

Tenneco maintains its profit margins with help from Lean Six Sigma programs ...

... "The company's gross margin was 18.7%, relatively flat quarter-over quarter, despite the negative impact from higher steel costs and fuel surcharges on transportation costs. These factors offset savings and improved efficiencies from Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and other cost reduction initiatives.

Total steel cost increases in the fourth quarter were $35 million, which were largely offset by the company's cost reduction efforts, including SGA&E restructuring savings, material cost savings, Six Sigma program savings and Lean manufacturing efficiencies as well as partial steel cost recovery from OE and aftermarket customers. Based on the company's efforts to offset increased steel costs and trends in the steel market, the company doesn't currently anticipate a significant year-over-year impact on operating results in 2006. " ...

Lean Six Sigma Maintains Tenneco Margins: Via Tenneco: TENNECO REPORTS SOLID FOURTH QUARTER EARNINGS AND STRONG OPERATING CASH FLOW: Company Forecasts $1 Billion in OE Business Growth in 2007 ...

Tenneco is a $4.4 billion manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois and approximately 19,000 employees worldwide. Tenneco is one of the world's largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of emission control and ride control products and systems for the automotive original equipment market and the aftermarket. Tenneco markets its products principally under the Monroe, Walker, Gillet and Clevite Elastomer brand names. Among its products are Sensa-Trac and Monroe Reflex shocks and struts, Rancho shock absorbers, Walker Quiet-Flow mufflers, Dynomax performance exhaust products, and Clevite Elastomer noise, vibration and harshness control components.

Lean Automotive Production Manager ...

... "The role of the successful candidates will be to implement the production plan ensuring time cost and material efficient use of resources. Due to the heavy emphasis on the production line improvements, the successful candidates will have knowledge of lean manufacturing methods and 5S. A strong working knowledge within ISO 9001 standards will be expected. " ...

Lean Automotive Production Manager: Via jobs.telegraph.co.uk ...

Lean Manufacturing: Ford Continues Transformation ...

Ford made early progress on lean manufacturing, emulating Toyota's quality success, however market shifts continue. Isaac Cheifetz explores the challenges of the automotive industry to adapt to market forces and balance short-term profitability with long-term organizational design, as Ford announces its restructuring transformation. ...

... "Among U.S. auto companies, Ford has done the best job of changing to meet the future, embracing lean manufacturing techniques in the 1990s and producing the first hybrid SUV (the Escape). Yet it still finds itself cutting manufacturing capacity to reflect shrinking market share. " ...

Lean Manufacturing: Ford Continues Transformation: Via Minneapolis-St.Paul Star-Tribune: Focus on short term hurt U.S. carmakers ...

Kanban: Software Enables Lean Flow ...

Glovia International, Fujitsu subsidiary, introduces additional Electronic Kanban (eKanban) functionality, that enable manufacturers to have greater control and flexibility over managing inventory levels as well as the ability to establish triggers to automatically replenish inventory when predefined minimums for each inventory level have been reached. ...

... "eKanban controls the flow of parts and inventory levels so that material is delivered to a location only when it is needed so that no excess inventory is created. This is an important step in lean manufacturing as it provides two of the greatest financial impacts, reducing inventory and shortages. eKanban takes this process one step further by extending the system beyond the four walls of a factory and allowing electronic communication with suppliers, customers and trading partners. By enabling the same auto triggers for additional material from outside sources as it would internally, inventory and shortages can be further reduced providing even greater financial savings. This means the trigger of a sales shipment or notification of customer consumption could generate a series of material pulls throughout the multi-levels of an items bill of materials. These series of material pulls end up with not only material moves being generated but also demands to manufacture and buy without the need to run MRP. This process is capable of reducing the lead time required to react to change and the amount of stock holding required in high volume responsive industries such as automotive. " ...

Kanban: Software Enables Lean Flow: Via Glovia : FUJITSU: Glovia Expands Electronic Kanban Functionality: Product Enhancements Provide Greater Control of Automatic Materials and Inventory Replenishment ...

Lean Manufacturing: Software Enables Waste Reduction ...

Oracle software enables lean manufacturing transformation at Asia automotive parts manufacturer. ...

... "AAPICO Hitech Plc, an automotive parts company based in Thailand, implemented Oracle applications and technology to enable lean manufacturing operations, Oracle announced. AAPICO will soon be ready for fulfilling complex customer requests while reducing waste in its supply chain. AAPICO wanted to move towards a demand-driven supply chain to accommodate the just-in-time manufacturing schedules of its customers to reduce inventory and fulfillment times. The company, a progressive jig, die and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts vendor with facilities in Thailand, Malaysia and China, supplies parts to all major car manufacturers in Thailand including Toyota, Honda, Isuzu, Ford, Mazda and Nissan. AAPICO began its migration to lean manufacturing through a pilot program with the support of Auto Alliance Thailand and Toyota. The program brought about quick success, as AAPICO received Toyota's coveted TPS (Toyota Production System) Championship Award in 2004 and again in 2005. After the conclusion of the program, the company decided to implement an enterprise software system to provide the platform for lean manufacturing and integrate the network of facilities.

After a careful evaluation of several vendors' offerings, AAPICO chose Oracle to support lean manufacturing using Oracle Database and the Oracle E-Business Suite, specifically the Oracle Supply Chain Management (SCM) suite, which includes Oracle Discrete Manufacturing, Oracle Flow Manufacturing and Oracle Order Management applications. AAPICO also selected Deloitte Consulting LLP to lead consulting services and additional software from A-Host, a Certified Partner in the Oracle PartnerNetwork. " ...

Lean Manufacturing: Software Enables Waste Reduction: Fastest-Growing Automotive Parts Company in Thailand Implements Oracle E-Business Suite to Enable Lean Manufacturing: Company Moves to Lean Manufacturing To Eliminate Waste and Reduce Risk in the Supply Chain for Thai, Malaysian and Chinese Facilities ...

VP Operations: Lean Manufacturing Career ...

VP operations has career path in lean manufacturing. ...

... "He also served as vice president in charge of stamping and components operations and vice president of stamping and general manager of lean manufacturing. During his career at DaimlerChrysler he held several other leadership positions including plant manager of DaimlerChrysler's Sterling Stamping and Warren Stamping plants. Corrington earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Kentucky and a master's degree in business administration from Central Michigan University. He also attended the Executive Development Program at Harvard University. " ...

VP Operations: Lean Manufacturing Career: Via Tower Automotive: Craig Corrington Joins Tower Automotive As Vice President of Operations for North America

Lean Program: GROWTTH ...

Dr. Mohsen Sohi, president and chief executive officer of Freudenberg-NOK, was named to the board of directors of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). He is executive champion of the lean program, GROWTTH. ...

... "Named to his current position at Freudenberg-NOK in 2003, Sohi oversees all divisions of the $1 billion company, which is part of the global Freudenberg Group. With more than 16 years of engineering and management experience in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and retail sectors, Sohi is committed to the company's lean benchmark program called Growtth (an acronym for Get Rid of Waste Through Team Harmony). He has worked to integrate lean principles, Six Sigma practices and information technology to extend continuous improvement across the entire Freudenberg-NOK enterprise. " ...

Lean Program: GROWTTH: Via Freudenberg-NOK: Freudenberg-NOK President & CEO Named to OESA Board of Directors ...

Leverage Lean Manufacturing Capabilities: Growth through Acquisition ...

General Cable grows through acquisition as it leverages lean manufacturing capability to new facilities. ...

... "Beru brings to General Cable a profitable, low cost assembly operation and available capacity to support this growth, said Roger Roundhouse, Vice President and General Manager of General Cable's Wire Harness and Assembly business. We look forward to working closely with our new associates at the Cuernavaca facility to further enhance the profitability and regional growth of this business through the application of our industry leading assembly processes and the leveraging of our world class lean manufacturing capabilities, he concluded. General Cable (NYSE:BGC), headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky, is a leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. " ...

Leverage Lean Manufacturing Capabilities: Growth through Acquisition: Via General Cable: General Cable Corporation Acquires Mexican-Based Automotive Aftermarket Business ...

Lean Manufacturing: Chrysler Doing It Right ...

Lean manufacturing implementation at Chrysler Group positions it for success as its sister division must make hard choices. ...

... "New DaimlerChrysler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche defended job cuts at the company's Mercedes division, saying in an interview made available Saturday that the division could learn something about lean manufacturing from Chrysler Group. " ...

Lean Manufacturing: Chrysler Doing It Right: Via The Charlotte Observer: Zetsche defends cuts, says Mercedes could learn from Chrysler

Additional resources on Chrysler lean manufacturing progress:

Lean Manufacturing, Kaizan, Kanban, Just In Time Articles: "Chrysler Group is moving up the rankings quickly, helped by a 9.5% improvement in engine productivity. Since 2001, the company has gained 19% in productivity across assembly, stamping and powertrain measures."

The Daimler-Chrysler Collision - Another merger in search of that elusive synergy By James Surowiecki: "And there is the hope that Chrysler's lean manufacturing style will help Daimler shake up a company that is still heavy with layers of middle management. Chrysler makes four times as many cars as Daimler with fewer than half the workers ... "

The Tale of a New Manufacturing Economy: "This adverse downturn was significant in another way. After years of denial, it drove many manufacturers, such as the US automotive industry, to become more productive by embracing the Toyota Production System (aka, lean manufacturing). After implementing lean, Chrysler raised its total productivity by over 7% last year ... "

Automotive Lean Manufacturing Focus

Automotive industry still needs to focus on lean manufacturing to sustain its competitiveness. In addition, internet buying is shifting the dynamics to a make-to-order model. ...

... "Key efforts needed include techniques to reduce inventories of parts, work in progress and finished vehicles; encouragement of independent suppliers; and focusing on lean manufacturing such as strict scheduling, small-batch production, even production throughout the work week and just-in-time shipments. " ...

Via IndyStar: U.S. auto's bumpy road ...

SixSigma OpExcellence Exec Appointed President ...

Six Sigma Operational Excellence executive is appointed president. ...

... "Bender joins Crane Co. with a broad functional skill set and background and a consistent record of successes in his past roles. He has spent a major portion of his professional career at Aerojet General Corporation, a division of GenCorp. He worked in various positions, including assignments in Engineering, Defense and Armaments, Automotive, Manufacturing, Business Development, Quality and most recently, Operations. He also has experience in functional leadership and implementation for Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma Operational Excellence at all of the major locations within GenCorp. " ...

SixSigma OpExcellence Exec Appointed President: Via Crane Co.: Crane Co. Appoints David Bender, President of Electronics Group ...

Lean Manufacturing: Production Area Manager Position Open ...

... "Degree qualified in an engineering, industrial management or related discipline. 5 to 10 years management experience preferably within the automotive manufacturing sector. Must be able to demonstrate an ability to set and achieve targets in areas of cost, production and quality. Also possess a record of continuous improvement through application of lean manufacturing techniques. " ...

Lean Manufacturing: Production Area Manager Position Open: Via icWales - Hot Jobs - Production Area Manager ...

Operational Excellence Initiative: Six Sigma Implementation ...

Material Sciences must place emphasis on operational excellence initiatives to remain competitive in its industry. ...

Operational Excellence Initiative: Six Sigma Implementation: Via Material Sciences Corporation: Material Sciences Corporation Announces Preliminary Second Quarter Fiscal 2006 Results Of Operations ...

... "Chief Executive Officer Clifford D. Nastas said, Customer interest in our Quiet Steel business continues to gain momentum; however, the near term holds a number of challenges, including increased competition for Quiet Steel and our decorative laminate products, volatility in automotive builds and higher costs related to energy. As these factors test our ability to improve margins, we will continue to look for ways to offset higher costs through the implementation of both lean manufacturing and six sigma operational excellence initiatives. " ...

Lean Software Supports Manufacturing Transformation ...

QAD has delivered new product enhancements and a production scheduling tool, that supports a lean manufacturing transformation. ...

Lean Software Supports Manufacturing Transformation: QAD Enhances Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities, Introduces QAD Production Scheduler for World-Class Operations, Local Performance: Solution Expands GXE Portfolio of Software and Service ...

... "QAD software’s advanced manufacturing capabilities are completely scalable, simple to implement and easy to use in established manufacturing centers, new markets or new ventures. Enhancements reflect world-class production system principles and best practices for transmitting data to achieve lean manufacturing and supply visibility. " ...

QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. Manufacturers of automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products use QAD applications at approximately 5,300 licensed sites in more than 90 countries and in as many as 27 languages.