.     Don't Reinvent the Wheel! Assess current performance, adopt Best Practices and engage the entire organization to improve upon them! In today's competitive marketplace, plant managers must continue to look for ways to improve operational effectiveness. Based on our experience in plant operations worldwide, below are 20 Best Manufacturing Practices utilized by world-class companies to meet increasingly demanding customer expectations and continually improve operating performance. Excellence in each of these areas can improve your competitiveness, but collectively, they produce a synergistic effect that will give your facility a real competitive edge. For more information about successfully implementing these Best Practices, request a free copy of the management briefing Successfully Implementing Best Manufacturing Practices. To complete a self-assessment, please click here. To learn about how Granite Bay can help you to achieve expertise in each of these areas, please click here. The 20 Best Practices 1. Lead Time Reduction There is a plant-wide initiative to measure and continually reduce lead times. Non-value-adding steps in the mfg. process are gradually eliminated and dock-to-dock velocity is increasing. 2. Streamlined Flow Where appropriate, a demand-based flow or "pull" production strategy is adopted, using kanbans and demand flow techniques, to produce to order rather than to stock. 3. Quick Changeover Quick changeover methods are employed to increase equipment availability and respond quickly and economically to changing schedules and customer needs. 4. Cellular Mfg. (Focused Factories) The facility is structured into product- or customer-focused work groups housing all operations to manufacture a family of products. Office operations are similarly structured to increase accountability, response time and quality while reducing inventories and backlogs. 5. Empowered Teams Employees are multi-skilled members of motivated, capable work groups with clear roles, responsibilities and performance standards. 6. Cross-Functional Teamwork There is a high level of teamwork and coordination between organizational units and strong internal customer-supplier relationships. 7. Associate Involvement & Commitment Shop floor employees routinely solve problems, suggest and implement improvements and are committed to world-class performance. 8. Process Reliability A formalized system is in place to maximize equipment uptime and reduce variation in product quality. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) measures are at world-class levels. 9. Continuous Improvement Employees are engaged in CI and/or Kaizen Events on a regular basis. All teams meet to set goals, solve operating problems and implement corrective action. 10. In-Process Quality Product quality is built-in at the operating level. Employees have the ability and the authority to make product quality decisions in process and quality management tools (SPC, error-proofing, etc.) are in place. 11. Seamless Shift Operations Continuity, consistency and communication are maintained across shifts. An effective 24-hour management system provides the necessary support for all shifts. Shift schedules satisfy both operational and employee needs. 12. Standard Operating Procedures The plant is ISO (or QS) certified. Operating procedures and quality standards are consistent and a formalized process is used to ensure sustainability. 13. Goal Deployment Key performance indicators and shop floor goals are in place for each area, developed at the operating level and tied directly to plant goals. 14. Visual Management Systems Plant and team scoreboards and other visual means of controlling and improving operations are used throughout the plant. Operational status information is available quickly and accurately to anyone who needs it. 15. Incentives, Rewards & Recognition There is an effective incentive and recognition system that promotes continuous improvement and rewards outstanding individual, team and plant performance. 16. Plant Safety, Loss Prevention & Housekeeping Effective training & awareness, thorough incident investigations and a 5S organization program ensure an orderly, efficient and safe workplace. 17. High-Performance Leadership All levels of plant leadership provide coaching, training & mentoring to subordinates, encouraging peak performance and employee involvement. 18. Supplier Partnerships The organization collaborates with a few key certified suppliers to continuously improve material cost, quality & delivery, benefitting all involved. 19. Cross-training & Multi-skilling Multi-skilling in each area provides the needed flexibility. Training of all personnel, including the plant leadership team, is a key priority. 20. World-Class Performance Measures Performance metrics measure performance against world-class standards, are generated and controlled by shop floor personnel and are successful in rallying the entire organization toward higher performace levels. .