Category: Productivity

Good times ahead for packaging machinery

July 20, 2010

As more and more companies report increased earnings along with disappointing sales, this says to me that good times are ahead for packaging machinery companies and others who facilitate automation. Why? Because the only way to increase earnings on weak sales is through gains in productivity. These hard times are providing proof positive that there is another wave of productivity gains that can be achieved even by those who were...
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What grinds my gears!

July 22, 2009

I like to keep OnTheEdgeBlog focused on issues that directly affect packaging, but sometimes we need to go off on a tangent when we discover something remarkable, innovative or disturbing. This time, it is the latter. I don't remember anything in recent months that has ground my gears like the report of Goldman Sachs earning $3.44 billion in profits in the second quarter....
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Higher wages: one solution to cheap labor

June 29, 2009

We often hear about cheap overseas labor destroying the US manufacturing base. The response of threatened manufacturers is often to pull in, cut spending and try to beat the foreign competition at their own game by squeezing labor costs. But, you can't save your way to prosperity. A better solution might be to reinvest in people and advanced technology....
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OEE - Still a blur on the radar screen

May 29, 2009

Among the key performance indicators (KPI's) that grocery manufacturing executives think are most important, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is number four on the list after quality, cost and safety. Yet compared to the first three, there is little understanding of how to implement the OEE measurement. I believe this is yet another indication of the suits and the geeks failing to communicate....
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The importance of geek leadership

April 30, 2009

Lack of geek leadership is crushing American business. The inability of "suits" to relate to and motivate geeks denies business of needed innovation. The lack of will by geeks to hone skills to exercise leadership stifles careers and further erodes geek influence on business. If you are a packager, packaging machine builder or converter, you need geeks and geek leadership to drive your business into the future. Geeks and suits...
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Getting beyond irrational exuberance

January 23, 2009

Over the last few weeks, we've been witness to some significant events of history. The public, buoyed by the press, has been on a binge of irrational exuberance. That energy now needs to be directed to practical solutions that will rebuild real confidence and move the economy forward. Perhaps some engineering thought process will help....
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Handlungskompetenz: Fahrvergnugen for packaging?

August 18, 2008

Many of us will remember the American advertising campaign of almost 20 years ago in which Volkswagen introduced us to the German word Fahrvergnugen, meaning driving pleasure. Pre-dating my memory, the German word Kindergarten introduced new and unique meaning regarding childhood education. Today the Germans have another new word for us to learn: Handlungskompetenz. Mastery of Handlungskompetenz along with developing skills in mechatronics will be enablers of taking our packaging...
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OEE is like sailing

February 13, 2008

The story goes that for sailors, life is about the journey; while for power boaters, life is about the destination. According to OEE expert Paul Zepf of Zarpac Inc., OEE is also about the journey....
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Customer-focused innovators make the best customers

January 28, 2008

If you are a packaging machinery company prospecting for customers, my recommendation is to look for those who are leaders in customer-focused innovation. They make the best customers....
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It's 2007: Do you know where your drawings are?

September 24, 2007

There may be one piece of intellectual capital that packagers value less than their aging workforce (see Packagers undervalue intellectual captial) and that is their equipment documentation. Lack of good documentation is one of the greatest contributors to poor productivity in American manufacturing. All too often, management finds it easier to point fingers at their employees for lack of skills rather than pointing at themselves for lack of a coherent...
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About Keith Campbell

Leaders learn from the past while looking to the future - and bring both to bear on the here and now. This is the philosophy that has steered Keith Campbell's 30+ years in manufacturing. It has worked for him in operations, maintenance, engineering, R&D, education, consulting and professional organizations--and now he's putting it to work for you--taking you to the edge of his thoughts on packaging operations.

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