Ethan Caldwell writes on automotive manufacturing and lean plant operations for Speed-source.net, turning shop-floor processes into practical guides.
The first Root Cause Analysis (RCA) report I ever wrote got rejected by a quality manager who had been in…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
Ethan Caldwell writes on automotive manufacturing and lean plant operations for Speed-source.net, turning shop-floor processes into practical guides.
The first production scheduling plan I ever published went out on a Friday afternoon. By Monday at 9 a.m., however,…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
The first time I ran a 5S methodology event, I made almost every mistake you can make. At the time,…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
Most suppliers meet IATF 16949 Standards for the first time in an email. Typically, a customer’s purchasing team sends over…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
The first time I stood next to a 2,000 ton press as it opened, I expected something dramatic. Instead, I…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
My first job making CNC auto parts was a cast aluminum valve body for an automatic transmission. It had forty…
Ethan Caldwell
Oct 13
The first kaizen event I ever facilitated almost went sideways before lunch on day one. We had a cross functional…
Ethan Caldwell
Sep 29
Ask ten plant managers what just in time inventory means and you will get ten slightly different answers. Most of…
Ethan Caldwell
Sep 29
Every engineer who works to reduce downtime in manufacturing has a story that got them started, and mine began at…
Ethan Caldwell
Sep 29
The first OEE calculation I ever presented to a plant leadership team made the room go quiet for all the…
Ethan Caldwell
Sep 29
