Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom

"When I lay in bed at night as a young, hungry, naive entrepreneur, I could barely contain my joy at the thought of filing sales tax forms with a dozen states every month."—Andrew on the joy of state taxes, one of a few subjects he and Jay cover in this week's episode. Mostly, they talk about design. Good, intuitive design that takes into account the way real people think and work. And bad, terrible design that sometimes literally leads to death.Book mentioned:The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.

Andrew and Jay talk about whether they would ever purchase housing for out-of-town workers or clients, why most problems are math problems, how to inculcate company culture in remote workers, why you shouldn't hire too quickly, slips vs mistakes, design that you shouldn't notice, "Swiss cheese problems", and thoughtless outsourcing. In other words, there's plenty to chew on in this episode of Lean Built.Book mentioned:The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.Article mentioned:"Boeing and the Dark Age of American Manufacturing" by Jerry Useem.

Andrew and Jay continue to explore the challenges they're facing, including website woes, and brainstorming solutions for keeping customers in the loop about new projects and product releases.

Jay and Andrew talk the eclipse, the joys of 3d printing, and the thought process behind what machines they own.

The hosts reflect on personal losses and the legacies they wish to create. They emphasize the value of meaningful connections over material wealth. Humor meets honesty as they discuss fostering a culture of continuous improvement in manufacturing. Challenges in hiring amidst a competitive market are explored, alongside the intricacies of balancing remote work. The significance of personality alignment in hiring is highlighted, while discussions on accountability and team strengths in leadership wrap up their engaging dialogue.

How do you avoid decision fatigue? How many good decisions can you make in one day? How can you make your decisions ahead of time? How can you brainstorm effectively? These are a few of the important issues Jay and Andrew tackle in this episode of "Lean Built."

From discussing the merits of expanding quickly versus gradually to exploring the pivotal role of the shop floor in fostering career development, Andrew and Jay have a lot to talk about in this episode. They tackle the idea that anything repetitive should be automatable and ponder what it takes to build a company where employees aspire to retire from. They also examine the importance of assembling a diverse team with varied skills and preferences and the potential of gamification in enhancing productivity.But it's not all about speed. Andrew and Jay emphasize the significance of being careful with aligning incentives within the shop environment. They shed light on the concept of "sooner, not faster" and the utility of tools like Gantt charts in managing workflows effectively.Books mentioned: New Shop Floor Management: Empowering People for Continuous Improvement by Kiyoshi SuzakiHenry Ford: My Life and Work by Henry Ford

In this episode of Lean Built,  Andrew and Jay dive into the world of machining mishaps and shop space dreams. Andrew recounts the story of a wild thing that happened during vacuum workholding, which leads to some tips for safe vacuum hold-down machining—plus a discussion of other downright scary machine malfunctions.Plus Jay and Andrew begin to delve into the topic of planning for future shop expansion.

First up, Jay and Andrew dive into the art  of effectively documenting workflows. How do you avoid the pitfall of keeping everything in your head?Next, they explore the world of AI and how it can be used to address frequently asked customer queries.Then Jay shares a story of transitioning a process from digital to analog, prompting a discussion on the pros and cons of both digital and analog methods. When do you embrace digital tools and when do you stick to the tried-and-true analog methods?All that and more in this episode of Lean Built.

Jay and Andrew talk about the power of deletion and the joy of 3D printing. They discuss the importance of embracing the development process, even when it includes ideas that don't work out. They offer insights on how to effectively engage with influencer marketing (there's a way to do it and a way not to do it). Plus Andrew reveals his trade show strategies.