David Marshall

  • How Can You Embrace the Green Manufacturing Movement?

    • May 19, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Manufacturing
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    Photo of a green manufacturing worker in the Landmark Homes manufacturing plant in Edmonton Alberta.

    We’re hearing so much about green manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing, and while they may not be required yet, they’re going to be. Even now, companies are no longer allowed to pollute and dump hazardous waste with the same impunity as they used to, and as more people learn to care about the environment — or

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  • A Person Who Feels Appreciated Will Do More Than What Is Expected

    • May 12, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Management, Productivity
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    Photo of a woman holding a broom in a factory. She looks like she is appreciated for her hard work.

    If you ever want to get extra work and effort out of someone, plus earn their loyalty and dedication, you should never do it through fear, intimidation, or even monetary reward. (Although that last one can be effective for a short while. And that’s as a bonus for their work, not their regular salary.) The

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  • The Importance of Cross-training and Succession Planning in the Days of COVID

    • May 5, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Leadership, Management
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    Two workers discussing a building that's being built. It's an illustration for cross-training workers to create positive redundancies in the factory.

    When companies are running short of employees and can’t find people to fill the vacancies they do have, they run into all kinds of problems. In the everyday world, we can see it in fast food restaurants that can’t find enough people to fill their openings. They’re closing their stores an extra day per week

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  • Three Lessons Manufacturers Should Have Learned from the Pandemic

    • April 28, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Management, Manufacturing
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    A factory worker examining his machine during a production run.

    The COVID-19 pandemic certainly brought the world to a crashing halt, especially manufacturers. Companies that continued working were either considered essential manufacturers or they had pivoted and were making things like ventilators. We weren’t able to start working from home or working remotely. We had to be onsite, working in wide-open spaces, and trying to

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  • Want to Be Lean? Improve Customer Value

    • April 21, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Leadership, Manufacturing
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    A factory worker checks his equipment for problems. This is how you run a lean manufacturing operation.

    So many companies have bought into the Lean philosophy, which can be downright silly at times. Not that the idea of streamlined operations is silly. Not at all. When I think of all the money companies have wasted over the years with bloated operations and “that’s the way we’ve always done it thinking,” I imagine

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  • Why You Need to Hire Outside Experts

    • April 14, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Management, Safety
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    A dirty looking factory. When you run a place like this, you probably need outside experts to help with waste remediation.

    When I got involved with Robroy back in 1995, they had many environmental problems. They had just gotten out of the galvanizing business, which has an awful lot of hazardous waste to deal with. It’s an environmental nightmare. I had (and still have) zero experience in environmental matters and environmental rules change on a minute-to-minute

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  • Why Do We Need More Women in Manufacturing?

    • April 7, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Business
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    Women working on a bomber during WWII. We need more women in manufacturing.

    People have a tendency to stereotype and it has always aggravated me when they do. There’s been a long-time myth that manufacturing is only for men, and that women are incapable of doing the kind of hard work involved in a factory. You only have to know the story of how 6 million American women

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  • A Crisis Really Determines What Kind of Leader You Are

    • March 24, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Leadership, Management
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    Sir Winston Churchill. Whatever else you could say about him, he had a cool head in a crisis and he made sure he was seen by the British public during WWII.

    “In a crisis, don’t hide behind anything or anybody. They’re going to find you anyway.” — Bear Bryant, former Alabama football coach. The way you handle a crisis shows what kind of leader you are. Are you like many other executives who are afraid and hide in their office? Do you send out your PR

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  • Quality is a Function of Attention to Detail

    • March 17, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Leadership, Management
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    A worker inspecting a ship's anchor chain. Quality starts in the smallest details, and is found everywhere.

    How do you drive quality in an organization? If you believe in the old business adage that a fish stinks from the head down, then you know where it has to start. It starts with your vision, your philosophy, and your commitment to quality. It requires that you make it a priority and then drive

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  • How Do You Deal With Supply Shortages? How Can You Prevent Them?

    • March 10, 2021
    • Posted by: David Marshall
    • Category: Management, Manufacturing
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    An empty industrial hall. This is what a supply shortage looks like.

    Here’s a scenario. Let’s say you’re expecting a shipment of needed parts in order to fill an order of your own. Maybe you’ve got a customer who’s waiting on you, or you’ve got a big installation that you’re working on. Your supplier calls you and says, “I’m sorry, we’re out of this part you need

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