There’s an old expression that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s not always true in manufacturing. Each step in the manufacturing process is designed to output exactly what is needed to complete the finished product. It doesn’t matter whether it’s discrete, batch or process. The end result is supposed to be the sum of each of dozens of steps in the process. If you’re looking for new ideas to make various steps in that process work a little better, read on. PLANT ENGINEERING has pulled together some of the best ideas from suppliers and manufacturers in our annual look at Best Practices in Manufacturing.

What you’ll see on the following pages are ideas that can help direct you to new and better ways of doing things on your plant floor. They’re designed to be easily acted on and shared with others in your plant.

We start with an overview on an aspect of manufacturing improvement that requires no new equipment. It focuses on the most important tool any plant manager can call on each day — his people.

Examine these strategies to see if they make sense for your plant. Results of implementing these ideas will start to add up. In the end, it stills means the whole will be the sum of its parts — but it will be a whole lot bigger whole.

Inside:

50 The making of a Top Plant takes more than machines

52 Hydraulics

54 Infrared thermography

55 Direct part identification

56 Workforce development

58 Lubrication

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