David Marshall
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The Importance of Data Analytics in Decision-Making for Manufacturing
- July 26, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Measurement
No CommentsIf you’re going to make smart decisions, you need to make smart measurements. If you’re not measuring everything all the time right now, and if you haven’t given thought to what the most important things are, then you will just move from crisis to crisis with no way of ever figuring out how to fix
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Three Steps to Streamline the Hiring Process in the Digital Manufacturing Era
- July 19, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Management, Productivity
Hiring workers, regardless of the era, has been all about people. Too many companies are trying to streamline the hiring process and automate it, and they’re missing some real gems. You can’t walk away from the interpersonal parts of hiring, but companies are trying, and they’re losing out on the possibility of hiring a superstar
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How to Improve Your Workers’ Skills in the Digital Manufacturing Era
- July 12, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Productivity
A friend once told me a story: He worked for a software company as their sales and marketing director. This was a small company serving a small niche audience. The owner of the company insisted that my friend enhance his skills to cover different roles at the company. So he wanted my friend to learn
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How Has Manufacturing Leadership Changed In the Last 40 Years
- July 5, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Manufacturing
The more leadership changes, the more it stays the same. This is true for manufacturing leadership, if not leadership in general. In a lot of ways, the things it takes to be a leader now are not the same things it took back in the 70s, but in some ways, they’re exactly the same. Back
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Why You Should Provide Cross-Training to Your Employees
- June 28, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing, Productivity
Cross-training is going to be a critical function of the work you do in your factory. Not only does it help your workforce and their mental health, it increases their skills and makes them more valuable to your organization. But more importantly, it also reduces the risk of injury. Years ago, when I was at
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When Should You Do Maintenance and Repairs On Your Machines? Why?
- June 21, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Manufacturing, Productivity, Safety
Your factory’s maintenance program should be ongoing, not as a repair-as-needed reactive process. You need to be as proactive and preventative as possible. Basically, there are two kinds of maintenance you should be doing: 1) Heavy maintenance and 2) Running maintenance. Heavy maintenance:Once a year when you check everything and do all the heavy stuff
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Increasing Productivity Doesn’t Always Mean Working Harder
- June 14, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Innovation, Management, Manufacturing, Productivity
As much as I hate to say it, the key to increased productivity really is “work smarter, not harder.” But it’s more than just finding little tricks and hacks that help people do their job much faster, or having people start working a little faster than they were before. If you really want to increase
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You’re Not Always Right: Why Leaders Should Not Be the Smartest People in the Room
- June 7, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Leadership
Being the smartest person in the room is not all it’s cracked up to be. And if you’re the leader of an organization or department, you absolutely should not be the smartest person in the room. You would think that was self-evident, but oftentimes it’s not. It’s a function of ego, although it’s understandable. We
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Your Associates Should Be Your Safety Experts, Not Your Managers
- May 31, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Manufacturing, Safety
Safety should be the number one priority in any manufacturing plant, but your managers should not be the ones establishing the safety rules. Your associates should be your safety experts, and they should be the ones making the rules and running the safety training program. After all, they’re the ones performing the tasks, and they’re
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Who Is Responsible for an Individual’s Safety?
- May 24, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Manufacturing, Safety
When it comes to deciding who’s responsible for an individual’s safety, there’s only one right answer. EVERYONE Anyone near them. Anyone on the other side of the room or the other side of the building. Anyone who happens to be walking by. It’s no one person’s job, it’s everyone’s job. Everyone is responsible for everyone