John Murray’s article, “Benchmarking: Hitting the Bull’s-Eye,” in the December issue, really hit home. John is 100% right about benchmarking and “getting on the continuous improvement bus or getting clobbered.” I have been part of many kaizen and 5S events. Some of these efforts were for paint lines, but many were for other departments, especially those that are my internal customers.
An issue that is important for me is preventive maintenance. I know that we all have some type of regimen that we may, or may not, stick to. But, is it extensive enough? I find that in most places it isn’t. There is a huge difference between job shops and companies that have paint lines dedicated to their own products.