So you’ve been successful at implementing your own lean initiative, but now you’re being squeezed by your customers, who want lower prices and higher quality, and your shareholders who want higher profits. How do you satisfy both stakeholders? Generis thought leaders from Navistar, Under Armour, Toyota, the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Wabash Corporation share how they have worked with their suppliers to implement lean throughout the supply chain to decrease cost and improve product quality.
Read More →E2M: Taking Engineering to Manufacturing for the Aerospace & Defense Industry
Many organizations face challenges associated with resource constraints. They may have engineering teams that are overstretched due to working on multiple programs simultaneously, while new programs rely heavily on recent graduates who don’t have especially strong manufacturing resources and budget available for IRAD (Internal Research and Development). When it comes to bringing their products to market, many organizations find it challenging to identify a suitable manufacturer that understands engineering concepts and demonstrates problem-solving skills to help resolve issues. It can also be difficult to find manufacturing companies that can take projects from initial concept sketches to prototype, test verification, and through to full production quantities. Some smaller companies may be quick to react with a few samples, but are unable to supply product with stable manufacturing processes, while large suppliers typically are unable to offer the flexibility required by many organizations. Development time often takes a few years before production launch. In the meantime, the organization’s team may change, which emphasizes the importance of continued stability at the supplier level. This ebook by Generis Group, in partnership with Domaille Engineering, tackles the biggest challenges aerospace & defense manufacturers face when taking a concept from engineering to manufacturing. It provides information on the E2M (engineering to manufacturing) process, how it goes above and beyond DFM (design for manufacturability), and what criteria an organization should consider when assessing suppliers to help take their product from engineering to manufacturing.
Read More →Reaching the Manufacturing Talent of Tomorrow
The issue of how to build a steady pipeline of manufacturing talent is one that our thought leaders continually address. The problems are well-established: we are living in a mature economy, and within the next 10 years, the baby boomer generation, on which our manufacturing sector was built, will retire. The generation coming into the workforce is less interested in a career in manufacturing. On top of these shifting demographics, the technical landscape in manufacturing is evolving so much that there is a tremendous skills gap. “By 2024, we will have three generations on the shop floor with completely different value sets, interests, abilities… and this is a huge challenge for leadership, team dynamics, and incentives,” says Dirk Hilgenberg, VP, Assembly at BMW Manufacturing. How do our thought leaders propose we address these problems?
Read More →Engineering Services for the Automotive and Aerospace Industries
With a shortage of skilled engineering resources and an increase in domestic manufacturing, most manufacturing companies will have the need at some point for outside help. TPT employs hundreds of full-time Industrial, Quality, and Manufacturing Engineers with extensive experience in optimizing manufacturing processes and quality and makes them available to serve their clients long or short-term needs. Find out how TPT has lent their expertise to Orbital Sciences, International Automotive Components, and Ford Motor Company to reduce costs and increase productivity. Click through to Access the ebook.
Read More →Smart Factory Transformation: Tips from Arconic, Raytheon, DARPA and Forcam
At the 2016 American Aerospace & Defense Summit, Forcam’s Director of Business Development, John Mack, discussed the Smart Factory Transformation Checklist with our panel of aerospace & defense thought leaders, who have witnessed transformations in their own organizations. Read on to hear the lessons they have learned along the way, including how to achieve buy-in, what to automate, how to start your transformation, aligning your smart factory transformation to your business goals, and what metrics to pay attention to. Panel: John Mack, Director of Business Development, Forcam Jan Vandenbrande, Program Manager, DARPA J. Wade Keith III, Quality & Mission Assurance Staff Executive, Raytheon Missile Systems Markus Heinimann, VP, Engineered Product & Process Technology, Arconic
Read More →Supply Chain Visibility in Pharmaceutical Outsourcing
While pharmaceutical companies are ultimately responsible for assuring the control and review of outsourced activities and the quality of purchased materials, many struggle with supply chain visibility due to the complexity of multi-tiered supply chains, inadequate IT systems, limited experience, and resource constraints. The supply chain has gotten increasingly complicated over the past decade. The complexity arises from the entrance of vendors from many countries into the marketplace; vendors that previously played a small or limited role. Mergers and acquisitions have also complicated the supply chain, particularly around quality.
Read More →Excellence Across the Board: MPI Fact Sheet & Case Studies
Microboard Processing Inc (MPI) has delivered excellence in circuit card assembly and box build Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) to the Aerospace and Defense industry since 1983. As a woman-owned and AS9100 certified contract manufacturer specializing in RF technology, you can count on MPI to deliver on mission-critical systems. To meet the needs of demanding clients in the aerospace, defense, and healthcare industries MPI offers best-in-class process capabilities and responsiveness along with the ability to manage highly complex, high reliability and strictly regulated requirements on behalf of their customers. Explore case studies and learn more about what MPI can do for you – check out this fact sheet produced by Generis Group!
Read More →The Spindle Optimization System: A Guide for Manufacturers Looking to Optimize CNC-Machine Tooling and Increase Productivity by 10 to 40%
CNC Manufacturers operate in competitive markets. In order to be successful in these markets, they need to control costs wherever they can. An often-overlooked area is tooling. Many do not recognize the need to adopt a Spindle Optimization System until they have experienced a catastrophic failure, higher than normal rejections, or are unable to produce parts economically. When issues surface, such as tolerancing issues, skilled machinists will make adjustments to the process without looking at possible causes. Every adjustment adds cost in terms of time and lost production. Reducing variables that impact spindle performance can extend tool life significantly and increase productivity by 10 to 40%.
Read More →Siemens’ White Paper: Product Realization For A Collaborative Approach in Aerospace and Defense
As the Aerospace and Defense industry experiences a drastic change, companies are now facing the challenge of keeping a competitive advantage in the industry while maintaining customer priorities. With changes in regulatory requirements and a demand for high accountability on program performance, to stay highly competitive in the industry, aerospace companies must submit attractive bids. Aerospace and defense companies must enhance collaboration between design and manufacturing by implementing a process-driven product lifecycle management (PLM) approach to include manufacturing engineering at all levels of program development. To find out how aerospace and defense companies can drive profitability, reputation and successfully execute aerospace and defense programs, read Siemens white paper, here.
Read More →Why your lean initiative may not be working
At the 2016 American Manufacturing Summit, Byron Greene, former VP Manufacturing at FCA (now VP Manufacturing at Whirlpool), told us: “Over the last 20 years at Chrysler, we’ve had at least four versions of the Toyota Production System. Each started with fanfare, great enthusiasm, and intent, and they failed. The focus was on the tools, the technical side, without understanding the essence of the method as a whole.” He says that where many organizations go wrong is that they emphasize the technical aspects of TPS, “which totally misses the cultural change that is necessary to make it work over time.” To really implement lean properly, and bring about cultural change, you need to first understand the culture, then go slow, and build trust. Learn from our thought leaders about how they have done this in their organizations.
Read More →