TR Cutler: Rethinking Lean Manufacturing

Thomas R. Cutler suggests that manufacturers are rethinking lean.  Before investing in more technology, manufacturers are making sure the processes in place are working at, or close to, capacity.  The January issue of Management Magazine contains more of Cutler’s assertions. 

Lean processes are introduced in companies to eliminate waste. Considering how effective the process has been for many companies, it’s somewhat surprising to learn that only about 61% of Canadian manufacturers have introduced a lean process into their operations. Of that 61%, many confess that the effort has been cursory, managing to deal with only surface issues at best.  

According to Cutler, “The road to fulfilling a lean initiative begins with a willingness to do some serious housecleaning. Some do this cursorily, derive quantifiable improvements, and suggest that they have achieved their lean objective. However, a lean process has to be a continuous process of improvement if it is to succeed. After cleaning a section of the manufacturing house, it’s time to ferret out the dirt and dust throughout the rest of the enterprise. The bottom line is that if a lean program doesn’t touch all areas of the business, it won’t succeed.” 

Cutler, who founded the Manufacturing Media Consortium in 1999, has grown the participation from 300 journalists to more than two thousands key clients, journalists, editors, trendsetters, and key business leaders worldwide.  Cutler has authored more than 1000 articles for a wide range of manufacturing periodicals, industrial publications, and business journals including most of the leading monthly trade publications.  Cutler is the author of The Manufacturers’ Public Relations and Media Guide.  Cutler was voted #1 Manufacturing Journalist for the third year in a row.  The firm has forty-two employees worldwide.  

TR Cutler, Inc., (www.trcutlerinc.com), is the largest manufacturing marketing and public relations firm worldwide and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.