Productivity
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We’re Missing the Water Cooler Conversations
- August 3, 2022
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Productivity
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The American workforce has been largely working remotely for the last two years, and for the most part, everyone has loved it. (Well, almost everyone. I’m not a fan of it.) They love working at home, they don’t miss the commute, and many people are even leaving their jobs (without another one in the wings)
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Is There Still a Place for Old-School Manufacturing?
- October 13, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Innovation, Manufacturing, Productivity
In these days of digital manufacturing and additive manufacturing, there’s still a call for old-school manufacturing with hydraulic presses, forging and extruding metal products, stamping and punching, and so on. There’s still a call for old-school manufacturing because there are some things that you just can’t automate. One reason is that you don’t have scale,
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Automation Makes Work (and Life) Better For Workers
- August 18, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Manufacturing, Productivity
Automation is changing the face of manufacturing. It may be taking away some of the low-paying jobs, but it’s also taking people away from the heavy, backbreaking work on the floor. It’s giving people new opportunities to do much easier work and to even learn new skills and gain new knowledge. That leads to higher-paying
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Apply the “Touch It Once” Productivity Principle to Manufacturing
- June 9, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Manufacturing, Productivity
I often hear about the “Touch It Once” principle from productivity experts. The idea is that as soon as you pick up an item — say, an email or a piece of mail — you deal with it immediately. You don’t set it down to do later, you deal with it at that moment. That
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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
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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What It’s Like Working With Just-In-Time Manufacturing
- March 3, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Manufacturing, Productivity
One of the things manufacturers often come up against is the issue of just-in-time manufacturing. You find it with large manufacturers that mass producing a lot of products for larger projects. Just-in-time manufacturing means that your products or parts show up at another manufacturer’s plant or a project site just in time to be used,
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How Can You Increase Revenue Without Increasing Orders?
- January 20, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Measurement, Productivity
Your orders have leveled off and hit a plateau, but your operating costs are on the rise, which is cutting into your profitability. How can you increase revenue even while your average number of orders processed and units moved are remaining flat? One of the ways you can do that is just by increasing your
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Working Remotely Can Stifle Professional Development
- January 13, 2021
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management, Productivity
I’ve said over the past few years that I’ve never been a big fan of working remotely. And even though current circumstances have forced most office workers to work from home or work from socially-distant coworking spaces, I still think it’s essential that we return to the office as soon as it’s safe to do
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Invest In Your Associates to Help Your Company Thrive
- October 21, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Innovation, Leadership, Productivity
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how you can win your associates’ loyalty by involving them in the decision-making process when it comes to new technology and equipment. Another way you can invest in your associates is to give them an opportunity to participate in the business. For example, at Robroy, I instituted
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How Can You Adapt to Change During a Weird Time Like This?
- October 14, 2020
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Management, Productivity
I’ve been asked, during the pandemic-induced recession, how companies can and should adapt to change and keep up with everything that’s going on in the world. How can they pivot? How can they evolve? How can they morph into something that can take advantage of this “new normal.” Believe it or not, there is a