Entries by Tim Smith

Addressing Industry 4.0 Concerns with MERLIN Tempus EE

 Implementing Industry 4.0 solutions like MERLIN Tempus Enterprise Edition (EE) can raise concerns among production and plant managers. By leveraging insights from recent MEMEX articles and highlighting the platform’s core features, this response demonstrates how MERLIN Tempus EE effectively addresses these concerns while driving cultural transformation, operational efficiency, and innovation. Shop Floor Adoption of Technology […]

Effective Shop Floor Management: Key Issues and Solutions

✨ Managing a shop floor effectively requires a focus on real-time visibility, operational efficiency, and product quality. These goals hinge on addressing critical performance metrics: production progress, machine utilization, and quality indicators. This article explores these metrics, the factors influencing them, and strategies to identify and address root causes for continuous improvement. ✨ Key Performance […]

An approach to Cultural Change on the Shop Floor

The topic is quite extensive, so, for this short article I will touch on an approach to and a high level action plan to effect successful cultural change. Explanation and Action Steps Explanation: When attempting to initiate organizational change, it’s essential to recognize that both technical and psychological components are involved. The first two questions, […]

  The Current State of Manufacturing in the USA

Manufacturing in the United States is at a pivotal juncture. Over the past decade, efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing have intensified due to geopolitical shifts, trade imbalances, and the economic repercussions of over-reliance on global supply chains. Key drivers of this renewed focus include the strategic application of tariffs, incentives to re-shore production, and a […]

Revolutionizing Manufacturing: Embracing Efficiency and Innovation

The cost of manufacturing is a complex equation that integrates the labor burdened rate and inventory burdened rate. For every dollar spent on wages, an additional twenty-five cents or 25% is incurred as the burdened cost. This figure reflects the comprehensive expenses of employing workers, encompassing not only their wages but also benefits, taxes, and […]