Written by Jason Haines So, what is Lean management? What are the key ideas behind it and why is it so hard for companies to implement into their businesses? The definition of Lean Management is as follows: a technique developed with the aim of minimizing the process of waste and maximizing the value of the product or…

Written by Jason Haines Often when people hear the term Lean, they believe it applies strictly to manufacturing and no other type of industry. When a place is told that Lean is being introduced, the first thought of many is to think it will not work. Most of the time it won’t work, but that…

Written by Jason Haines Over the years many companies have started to eliminate wastes from their processes with a mixed bag of successful and unsuccessful attempts. Many times, the unsuccessful attempts have been due to the misunderstanding of how to eliminate wastes from the process the correct way. It is not typically that people do…

Written by Jason Haines “The slower but consistent tortoise causes less waste and is more desirable than the speedy hare that races ahead then stops occasionally to doze. The Toyota Production System can only be realized when all the workers become tortoises,” Taiichi Ohno Over the years I have learned many things about manufacturing and…

Written by Jason Haines “Without standards, there can be no improvement.” -Taiichi Ohno There are many ways to get your Lean journey started, but one of the areas that will help you with immediate results is by starting with Five S. Five S is a method of getting your company cleaned and organized to make…

Written by Jason Haines Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, we have learned how to cope with a lot of unknowns. We’ve learned right now nothing is our standard normal, but that we will be able to push through this current struggle. The one thing that has been difficult to understand is the uncertainty that the future…

By Mike Kennedy The use of pipe & connector systems within your manufacturing, assembly or distribution operation significantly changes the way you look at your work floor.  Normally, catalogs are called upon to search at length for various structures used to make improvements and changes to your processes.  This involves endlessly searching for structures page-by-page…

C TEK Lean Solution’s NEW YouTube Channel was designed to showcase a variety of typical structures you can make on your own utilizing C TEK’s Modular Systems for Kaizen and Continuous Improvement. Various playlists were created to organize these structures, making it easy for viewers to identify the types of structures they want to create…

by Mike Kennedy What is your cost per square foot in your current facility? Are you running out of floor space for your manufacturing, assembly, or distribution operation?  Are you considering moving into a larger facility with more floor space?  What are the costs associated with such a move in today’s economic environment?  Is there…

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable,”– William Pollard The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced businesses and individuals to change routine processes. We cope with social distancing by communicating via different platforms including Zoom, Skype,…

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”– Benjamin Franklin Now is the time to take advantage of all the items on our to-do list, the items we put off when too busy. It is also the perfect time to address past complications, the processes we haven’t had…