QRM Center Under New Management in the College of Engineering
The Center for Quick Response Manufacturing recently became part of the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs (InterPro) within the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Interpro, formerly known as the Office of Engineering Professional Development (EPD), offers a portfolio of professional education programs and services, focused on the needs of engineers, managers, and technical professionals. …
August 2, 2021
Practical Tips to Create Spare Capacity and Slash Your Lead Times
Pascal Pollet, Principal Engineer Smart and Digital Factory, Sirris, Belgium Intuitively, we all know that lead times increase if you receive more orders. To understand the magnitude of this effect, we need to look at the utilization level. The utilization level is the ratio between the demand and the effective capacity. Or stated otherwise, if…
January 12, 2022
How to Develop a Strong Sense of Ownership in QRM Cells
Professor Charlene Yauch I recently read a paper about how increased psychological ownership of a public good (like a lake or a park) increases the likelihood of engaging in stewardship behavior for that good.1 Psychological ownership is a feeling that you have a personal interest in the care of and performance of the ownership target…
January 12, 2021
Can the OEE Metric Be Used with QRM?
Professor Charlene Yauch OEE stands for Overall Equipment Effectiveness. It is a popular metric associated with Lean Manufacturing, so you may be wondering whether it can be utilized with Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) or other manufacturing improvement philosophies. This question frequently comes up at QRM workshops. This blog post describes briefly what OEE is and…
September 25, 2020
Why is Job Rotation Important for QRM?
Professor Charlene Yauch Cross-training is a core element of Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) cells in both production and office areas. To provide flexibility as product mix changes and to keep processes moving, it is necessary to have employees that can perform a range of tasks. When deciding where to focus your cross-training efforts, key factors…
May 28, 2020
Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) Principles Enable Promega Corporation to Aid in Development of New Coronavirus Test
Promega Corporation of Madison, Wisconsin was recently recognized by its customer, Utah-based Co-Diagnostics, Inc. for the support Promega custom manufacturing provided in the rapid development and launch of the new Logix Smarttm COVID-19 Test. This test is now approved and available in Europe as an in vitro diagnostic and continues to advance toward emergency use…
March 9, 2020
QRM From an Employee’s Perspective, or “WIIFM?”
Professor Charlene Yauch Prior to implementing Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) cells, management should spend some time preparing answers to the WIIFM question. So, what exactly is this “WIIFM?” WIIFM stands for “What’s in it for me?” – in other words, it is important to consider the employees’ perspectives and think through what’s in it for…
April 6, 2020
Understanding the Queuing Guy’s Definition of Utilization
Professor Charlene Yauch It is a long-standing tradition in manufacturing to try to get machines and people to work 100% of the available production time. If you don’t, you are not getting the maximum benefit from those resources, right? To fully appreciate why 100% utilization is not a reasonable goal, we first need to understand…
April 6, 2020
QRM Center Plans for Growth Under New Leadership of Drs. Leyuan Shi and Charlene Yauch
Dr. Leyuan Shi, an International Expert, Takes Over as Director Professor Leyuan Shi, QRM Center Director Dr. Leyuan Shi, a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, has taken over as the new Director of the Center for Quick Response Manufacturing. Dr. Shi is a leading international expert and…
April 9, 2020