Manufacturing companies are all interested in improving technology on the factory floor but often lack the resources or know-how to get started. This week we speak with Ron Angelo from the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology and learn about all the ways manufacturers can find support for implementing new technology.
2 min read
How to Find Support Investing in Manufacturing Technology
By Corey Brown
Topics: Digital Transformation Podcast
13 min read
6 Common Manufacturing Facility Hazards & Effective Solutions
By Leslie Bloom
Manufacturing facilities serve an important function in a country’s economy, as they create jobs, increase wealth through added value and taxes, promote trade, and support other industries and services that rely on manufactured goods.
3 min read
How to Manage Mobile Devices on the Factory Floor
By Corey Brown
Tablets and smartphones can transform your industrial operations. This week we are joined by Jacob Rattray, Operational Technology Specialist from 3M.
Topics: Digital Transformation Podcast
13 min read
How To Increase Productivity in Manufacturing
By Eric Doster
There are several ways to define productivity depending on the context. In terms of manufacturing, productivity relates to the speed at which quality work is performed. Increased productivity provides a greater return on investment and will lower your bottom line.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Productivity
4 min read
Gemba Walk Template for Digital Transformation
By Corey Brown
Gemba Walks are an essential tool to understand the challenges of your manufacturing frontline. Each manufacturing facility is unique. The best way to solve your unique operational challenges is to perform a Gemba Walk focused on specific goals.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation
10 min read
7 Best Practices in Manufacturing Training for Employees
By Eric Doster
Training employees is a surefire way to improve productivity and efficiency within manufacturing. As the company grows and expands, its employees must also grow with it, which means they must be properly trained in every task.
Topics: Workforce Training
2 min read
How to Get Started with Automation in Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
Automation can benefit all industrial operations, from large to small manufacturers, by streamlining repetitive or dangerous tasks while adding valuable skills to your workforce.
Topics: Podcast
5 min read
Using Digital Tools as a Recruitment Tool in Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
Manufacturers are being squeezed in both directions these days. Demand for products is outpacing their ability to secure raw materials for production, and they don’t have enough people power to satisfy the orders that are piling up. Factory floors are being forced to run skeleton crews and stagger shifts in order to have the right skills on staff to maintain production.
Topics: Digital Transformation Workforce Training
4 min read
How the Best Plant Managers Solve Production Challenges
By Corey Brown
As a manufacturing plant manager, meeting production targets, reducing downtime, and filling empty roles are all ongoing goals. The best plant managers know that these goals are more like moving targets rather than a final destination. As the industry evolves at breakneck speeds, high-performing plants are adopting new tools and strategies to support worker performance and ultimately drive production.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation Workforce Training
4 min read
What is Frontline Digital Transformation?
By Corey Brown
Manufacturing leaders agree that adopting digital technology is essential to future success.
Topics: Digital Transformation
4 min read
6 Shocking Stats for Manufacturing Leaders
By Corey Brown
After years of research, our show producer, Corey Brown, shares some fascinating statistics that will shock many leaders in the manufacturing industry. In this special episode, Brian shares his perspective on the real stories behind these surprising numbers.
Topics: Digital Transformation Podcast
28 min read
How to Improve Performance with Preventative Maintenance
By Corey Brown
Equipment failure is a known evil in the manufacturing world. But unplanned downtime carries a significant cost and hurts overall performance. This week Brian sits down with Alek Zelnins, a Maintenance Manager at Gay Lea Foods, to share his tactics and tools to improve performance and prevent equipment failure on the frontline.
In this episode, learn:
- How to adapt material from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to create training and maintenance programs for new machines
- The three most common sources of equipment failure
- How operators are essential to good preventative maintenance (PM) programs
- Why employee training is so important for preventative maintenance
- How technology will impact the future of machine maintenance (spoiler: people are still essential)
Topics: Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation Podcast
3 min read
Recent Mobile App Updates
By Lucas Bishop
Dozuki is a frontline work training platform for industrial companies who depend on operators to meet production standards.
Topics: Product
28 min read
How to Scale Technology Across Manufacturing Operations with 3M
By Corey Brown
Most manufacturing companies don't have people dedicated to evaluating and deploying modern tools. At best, IT or HR takes responsibility for new technology and doesn't have the resources to implement them effectively.
Michael Muilenburg is the Director of Operational Technology at 3M and has learned how to leverage key personnel to create a team that successfully evaluates, deploys, and scales digital technology across the frontline operational workforce.
Join our conversation with Michael and learn how you can create your own team, no matter the company size, and have a major impact on operational success and improvements.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation Podcast
6 min read
How to Communicate Change with the Frontline Workforce
By Corey Brown
People are the most overlooked aspect of digital transformation —
34 min read
Career Progression in the Manufacturing Industry
By Corey Brown
Today's manufacturing facilities are clean and modern workplaces that offer a variety of unique and exciting career opportunities.
Join our conversation with Joe Renaud from Amazon Robotics, as he shares his fascinating story of professional growth.
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
4 min read
Top Challenges Impacting the Frontline Workforce
By Corey Brown
Even with advancements in technology and automation, the frontline workforce remains essential to modern manufacturing operations. In fact, 72% of factory work is still performed by people.
Topics: Digital Transformation
38 min read
Using Standards to Empower the Frontline Workforce
By Corey Brown
Chad Nelson is a Lean Six-Sigma Operations Manager at 3M and has a wealth of knowledge about standardized work and engaging frontline workers with improvement efforts.
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
26 min read
How to Manage Change on the Plant Floor
By Corey Brown
Change management is a crucial part of any digital transformation or improvement efforts on the plant floor. But how do you deal with stubborn employees or older workers that resist new technology? In this The Voices of Manufacturing episode, we talk with Taylor Harlin, Change and Development Coach at Johnsonville, about effective strategies for gaining employee buy-in and unique ways to communicate changes with your frontline workforce.
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
2 min read
Dozuki Secures Strategic Investment from Marlin Equity Partners
By Leslie Bloom
Demand-side challenges accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic are driving adoption of frontline-focused training platforms in manufacturing.
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We are pleased to announce a strategic growth investment from Marlin Equity Partners (“Marlin”). This transaction enables Dozuki to further expand its leadership position in the manufacturing software market by accelerating product innovation and supporting the company’s continued growth.
Topics: Digital Transformation Industry News
27 min read
Digital Technology Trends in Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
In the past, manufacturing technology was focused on improving equipment and tools. Now, the industry is shifting its priorities towards workforce enablement. How will the shift impact the future of industrial business?
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
3 min read
Insights from the Field: Training is More Than Onboarding
By Kiley Becker
I was recently on a trip to visit a manufacturing facility for one of our clients. My connecting flight didn’t arrive on time, which delayed my arrival and put me on a tight schedule.
34 min read
ISO 9001 Certification is Easier Than You Think
By Corey Brown
Is audit anxiety holding your company back from ISO 9001 compliance? While it may seem like a daunting task, many businesses are closer to certification (and re-certification) than they realize.
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
31 min read
Adapting Training to Meet the Needs of the Modern Manufacturer
By Corey Brown
Manufacturers are faced with a much different workforce than they've traditionally dealt with. Previous generations had more foundational knowledge, incoming generations need guidance and skill development programs to make them feel comfortable and successful in the industrial work environment.
Topics: Workforce Training Podcast
24 min read
How to Attract and Retain a Qualified Manufacturing Workforce
By Corey Brown
Welcome to the first episode of The Voices of Manufacturing! Join us in conversation with Jim Vinoski, a Forbes Author who specializes in all things manufacturing.
Topics: Podcast
4 min read
5 Ways to Get Wifi on the Factory Floor
By Corey Brown
Here’s the reality, many industrial environments lack wireless internet.
It’s not for a lack of trying.
However, there are real, pragmatic reasons that some companies can’t benefit from the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT) — it’s the ‘Internet’ part.
Topics: Digital Transformation
4 min read
Why HR Shouldn't Manage Your Technical Skills Training
By Corey Brown
Amid the Silver Tsunami, HR departments are hustling to onboard and fill personnel gaps, but they can’t predict the evolving demands of your operations.
Topics: Workforce Training
3 min read
Where is Your Implicit Knowledge Hiding?
By Corey Brown
Implicit (tacit) knowledge is difficult to communicate and often remains isolated in the heads of employees. However, this accumulation of operational skills and insights has an immense organizational value that is simply waiting to be tapped.
Topics: Knowledge Management
5 min read
Top Podcasts for Manufacturing Professionals
By Corey Brown
The podcast space is growing rapidly and the shows for manufacturing and industrial professionals are no exception. Podcasts in this genre can range from broad industry analysis, to strategic business advice.
Topics: Industry News Podcast
3 min read
Why Sharepoint Fails at Knowledge Management
By Corey Brown
Many industrial businesses rely on generic document management tools, like Microsoft Sharepoint, to store and share files.
Topics: Workforce Training Work Instructions
3 min read
Document Management Vs. Knowledge Management
By Corey Brown
Understanding the distinction between document management and knowledge management is vital to operational excellence. While the terms can sometimes be used interchangeably, understanding their differences couldn’t be more relevant to the shifting industrial workforce.
Topics: Digital Transformation Workforce Training
2 min read
The Missing Piece of Your Digital Transformation Strategy
By Leslie Bloom
Unprecedented. There probably isn’t a better word to describe 2020 as a whole.
Topics: Digital Transformation Workforce Training
4 min read
How Smart Factories are Impacting Productivity
By Corey Brown
Deloitte research suggests that "smart factory" initiatives have yielded an average of 10-12% increase in labor productivity gains. Despite this success, a majority of manufacturers are still hesitant to move forward. On average, the industry only sees an increase of 0.7% in labor productivity each year. This represents a lack of investment in workforce performance and new technologies.
Early smart factory adopters reap twice as many benefits—reporting a 20% increase in labor productivity.
Topics: Digital Transformation Industry News
4 min read
Preparing Your Workforce for the Silver Tsunami
By Corey Brown
Manufacturing businesses need a succession plan. Not for people, but for knowledge.
3 min read
Why Your Work Instructions Need Quality Checklists
By Corey Brown
Quality checklists or inspections are a routine part of production. While they are a crucial part of quality management and control, checklists only catch errors, rather than preventing them.
Instead of reacting to mistakes, consider taking a proactive approach to quality management. This allows you to focus on preventative measures and boost employee performance.
Topics: Quality Work Instructions
4 min read
How to Get ISO 9001 Certified with Dozuki
By Corey Brown
As the most commonly used standard for quality management systems (QMS), the ISO 9001:2015 standard implements a preventative, risk-based approach that puts documentation at the core of quality management. Dozuki allows you to improve quality standards and meet ISO requirements through visual procedures, better training, and streamlined communication.
Topics: Quality
5 min read
How to Write Better Lockout/Tagout Procedures
By Corey Brown
Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures are some of the most common in industrial and manufacturing environments. Despite this, failure to adequately train employees on LOTO procedures continues to be one of OSHA's top 10 most frequently cited violations during federal inspections.
Topics: Workforce Training Work Instructions Safety
4 min read
How Digital Tools Enable Rapid Communication for Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies of all types to rapidly update policies and procedures governing how they share information in response to a world that is constantly changing around them. For the manufacturing sector in particular, their workforce is more spread out than it has ever been.
Topics: Industry News
4 min read
How to Capture Expert Knowledge Before it's Lost
By Corey Brown
It’s no secret. Manufacturers are coping with a massive wave of retirements. With over a quarter of the workforce over the age of 55, many workers are leaving their jobs with a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Topics: Workforce Training
4 min read
4 Indirect Ways to Improve Safety on the Plant Floor
Safety managers have a multitude of safety strategies to protect the health and safety of their workforce. From PPE guidelines, LOTO programs, fire exit signage, the list is endless. However, in order to get the most out of your employees and resources, companies must look at all aspects of the organization that impact safety. Indirect ways of improving safety on the plant floor are often overlooked, and a missed opportunity.
3 min read
Top Challenges for Food & Beverage Manufacturers
By Corey Brown
Food and beverage companies are among the most resilient and adaptive businesses in the world. With inherent health and safety risks, volatility of perishables, and strict compliance regulations, these companies understand how to maintain high standards and adapt to the challenges ahead.
4 min read
How to Get More Out of Your Work Instructions
By Corey Brown
When leveraged properly, standardized work instructions can transform operational efficiency, quality management, employee performance, and more.
Topics: Digital Transformation Work Instructions
2 min read
How 3M Continues to Innovate During COVID
By Corey Brown
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 3M has been integral in maintaining domestic and international supplies of essential PPE. These production and supply chain challenges required innovation in order to train new employees faster and leverage a culture of continuous improvement.
Topics: Customer Stories Industry News
4 min read
OSHA's Recommended Strategies for Improving Safety Programs
By Corey Brown
Workforce safety is non-negotiable for any industrial business. When mistakes can cause serious harm or bring operations to a halt, companies can’t afford to take safety lightly.
Topics: Safety
5 min read
How to Use Dozuki for Work Instructions
By Corey Brown
Dozuki is the leading digital work instruction tool for industrial businesses all over the world. Our platform enables better employee performance by improving how you create, control, and communicate procedures.
Topics: Product Work Instructions
1 min read
How To Choose Industrial Tablets for Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
Investing in technology is a key part of any company's digital transformation strategy. It's impossible to hit digital goals without the right hardware — and software — to achieve results. By modernizing your workforce for Industry 4.0, you are giving them the tools they need to meaningfully contribute to digital transformation goals, an essential tool for them is no longer a wrench, but a tablet.
4 min read
6 Strategies to Maximize Worker Safety
By Leslie Bloom
In industrial companies, workplace safety is the #1 driver behind many key decisions. Not only is safety essential for protecting workers, it’s also essential for consistent production. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was a 39% increase in fatal injuries resulting from machinery between 2017 and 2018. In addition to fatal injuries, 2018 saw 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries reported in the U.S. alone.
Topics: Safety
1 min read
Free COVID-19 Workplace Signage
By Lucas Bishop
Whether your team is on site, or working remotely, we know that your time is taxed by demanding workloads and new safety procedures. In an effort to take one task off your docket during COVID-19, we'd like to share some signage geared towards improving the sanitation efficiency of your workplace.
Topics: Safety
4 min read
How To Cross-Train Your Workforce
By Corey Brown
Cross-training is an essential component of any successful manufacturing company. The flexibility it creates enables your operations to continue regardless of what operators are on the line. Cross-training adds more skills to the factory floor and enables companies to better leverage the skills of its workforce. It also gives expert workers the opportunity to mentor new employees and pass along valuable knowledge.
Topics: Workforce Training
1 min read
Is the U.S. Headed for a Manufacturing Boom?
By Corey Brown
While many industrial businesses are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, good news for U.S. manufacturers may be on the horizon. In the recent April industry report by ThomasNet, "COVID-19 Impact on North American Manufacturing," two out of three manufacturers are looking to re-shore as production begins to pick back up. This may lead to a domestic manufacturing boom here in the United States, as companies revaluate their supply chain.
Topics: Industry News
3 min read
What is Tribal Knowledge?
By Corey Brown
Many industrial businesses have heard of the dangers of relying on tribal knowledge. But what exactly does tribal knowledge mean? How does tribal knowledge impact my organization? How do I capture tribal knowledge?
Topics: Workforce Training
4 min read
Practical COVID-19 Tips for Manufacturing
By Eric Doster
We are hearing a lot of great advice from our audience and customers about how to keep manufacturing and industrial operations running smoothly in the midst of a global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This article is intended to centralize a lot of this information so others can continue to operate while protecting the health and safety of their workforce.
Topics: Industry News
4 min read
Breaking Down the Skills Gap: Tribal Knowledge
By Lucas Bishop
As the skills gap widens and more employees retire, decades of experience and company investment is predicted to walk out the door. With nearly ten thousand people turning retirement age daily, manufacturers will need to look towards proactive solutions to capture tribal knowledge and transfer it to the incoming workforce.
Topics: Workforce Training
4 min read
Breaking Down the Skills Gap: Training
By Corey Brown
Manufacturing Institute estimated that 2.4 million job openings in manufacturing—accounting for half of all open positions—will go unfilled between 2018 and 2028 as a direct consequence of the skills gap.
Topics: Workforce Training
3 min read
Breaking Down the Skills Gap: Recruiting & Retirement
By Leslie Bloom
For those in the manufacturing and industrial sector, what’s commonly known as the skills gap is a well-documented issue. As a growing number of Americans retire, they take their decades of experience with them, resulting in a noticeable skills shortage.
Topics: Workforce Training
6 min read
How to Reduce Changeover Time with Standard Work Instructions
By Corey Brown
Many manufacturers see reducing changeover time as a golden opportunity to improve operational efficiency and reduce waste. For good reason, a simple reduction in changeover time can increase output, reduce inventory/WIP, and improve responsiveness to customer demand.
Topics: Standard Work Work Instructions
2 min read
Dozuki Collaborates with 3M to Connect Factory Workers and Digital Transformation Strategies
By Eric Doster
Today we are happy to announce our collaboration with 3M, through an investment by 3M Ventures, to bring our standard work and work instruction training software to manufacturers of all sizes to help them achieve digital transformation goals.
Topics: Digital Transformation Industry News
6 min read
What's Wrong with Standard Work?
By Corey Brown
66% of companies fail in their attempts at Standard Work.
Topics: Standard Work
3 min read
Lean Manufacturing Lessons From Wikipedia
By Corey Brown
When Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, was interviewed on NPR’s “How I Built This,” he revealed a valuable insight — sharing and improving knowledge is hard work.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
2 min read
Free Standard Operating Procedure & Work Instruction Templates
By Corey Brown
Standard operating procedure (SOP) and work instruction templates help standardize processes and present information consistently. We’ve seen thousands of examples of these templates and the only consistency is their shortcomings.
Topics: Standard Work Work Instructions
2 min read
Insights from the Field: Can Tribal Knowledge Actually Work?
By Brian Sallee
Recently, I had a chance to visit one of our larger manufacturing clients. Of the many insights gained on that trip, one stood above the rest — tribal knowledge used to actually work.
Topics: Customer Stories Workforce Training
2 min read
Manage Workforce Training with Dozuki Courses
By Eric Doster
At Dozuki, we’ve made it our mission to make Standard Work an industry standard. We envision documented standards and worker knowledge continuously improving alongside one another—finally removing them from their respective silos.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Product Workforce Training
3 min read
How On-the-Job Training is Hurting Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
While on-the-job training is practical for certain applications, manufacturers rely on it too heavily as a method for on-boarding and training employees.
Topics: Workforce Training
4 min read
Software Support and Your Digital Transformation Strategy
By Kiley Becker
After thousands of discussions with manufacturing companies, it’s clear to me that the industry is suffering. Due to outdated notions of the software industry, manufacturers aren’t evaluating their digital transformation properly.
Topics: Digital Transformation
4 min read
How to Reduce Tribal Knowledge and Downtime with Dozuki Answers
By Brian Sallee
The conveyor belt on line one stopped running and production came to a halt. It was the second time in a week that this happened. The maintenance team and engineers spend the next 48 hours trying to determine what caused the issue. As it turns out, the downtime was due to a frayed wire that caused the conveyor to lose power.
Topics: Product Workforce Training
4 min read
What is Standard Work?
By Corey Brown
Lean operations and manufacturers have used Standard Work for decades, yet many companies lack clarity when it comes to this fundamental lean methodology.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work
3 min read
A Lesson in Lean Manufacturing From the North Pole
By Corey Brown
If Santa Claus ran a toy company, he’d have the best lean manufacturing operations in the industry. A lean analysis shows that he delivers custom tailored products to every one of his clients; providing immense value. He is also able to accomplish this with minimal waste and able to adapt to shifting demands of the market, every, single year.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
4 min read
Lean Thinking vs. Cost Cutting with James Womack
By Corey Brown
When properly applied, lean manufacturing principles cut costs by reducing waste and focusing on value. But many companies make the vital mistake of confusing cost cutting with lean thinking. To better understand the relationships between costs, waste, and value, we sat down with one of the foremost experts of lean, Dr. James Womack, to discuss the foundational elements of what makes lean thinking, lean.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
5 min read
How to Create a Culture of Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
By Corey Brown
If a proper culture of knowledge sharing is in place, the skills that experienced employees possess can be leveraged to improve your business and culture. Every manager knows that experienced employees are relied on more often than not. These are your go-to people, the rainmakers, the skilled superstars of your business. When you have a problem, they have the skills and experience to step to the challenge.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
4 min read
4 Signs Your Work Instructions Need an Upgrade
By Corey Brown
Knowing when to make the transition to a better documentation tool is a tough question to answer. The short answer is that there is no short answer. In Industry 4.0, a strategic approach to any digital transformation project will need to consider:
Topics: Digital Transformation Work Instructions
4 min read
What Chipotle Taught Us About Training Standards
By Corey Brown

Chipotle, the Mexican food chain, has been in the spotlight recently for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, not all coverage has been “good press.” A string of food safety scares has caused customers to lose trust and stock prices to fall. The missing ingredient?
Topics: Workforce Training
Visit us at AME International 2018
By Leslie Bloom
Dozuki will be exhibiting at the AME San Diego International Conference. The event takes place from October 29 - November 1 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, CA.
Topics: Events
3 min read
Electronic Work Instructions in Industry 4.0
By Corey Brown
How do electronic work instructions factor into Industry 4.0 and your digital transformation strategy? With advancements in technology, it’s time to reevaluate how these digital systems can improve your manufacturing operations.
Topics: Digital Transformation Work Instructions
2 min read
7 Stats in Celebration of Manufacturing Day
By Corey Brown
In the past, we put together a dream team of manufacturing icons and their contributions. In celebration of Manufacturing Day 2018, we’d like to share key statistics to highlight contributions manufacturing has made over history, and upcoming industry challenges.
Topics: Industry News Workforce Training
Catch us at the 2018 Assembly Show
By Leslie Bloom
Dozuki is back in Chicago for the 2018 Assembly Show. The event takes place from October 23 - 25 at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.
Topics: Events
3 min read
How to Establish a Lean Culture in 4 Steps
By Leslie Bloom
An effective lean culture aims to reduce waste and inefficiency while improving the value delivered to customers. The lean organization is a model that’s been historically applied to manufacturing, but many of the principles have something to offer businesses across a wide range of industries.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work
7 min read
5 min read
Kaizen and Standardization with Dr. Robert Maurer
By Corey Brown
We spoke with Dr. Robert Maurer, author of “Spirit of Kaizen,” a leading expert in the field of psychology and organizational change, about Kaizen and the role of standardization in improving processes and creating an efficient culture of continuous improvement.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work Book Club Series
Visit us at IMTS 2018
By Leslie Bloom
Dozuki will be exhibiting at the 2018 International Manufacturing & Technology Show (IMTS). The event takes place from September 10 - 15 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.
Topics: Events
3 min read
Lean, Six Sigma, and Quality Management Systems
By Corey Brown
Six Sigma, Lean, and Quality Management are distinct approaches to reducing waste, defects, and providing value to the customer.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Quality
1 min read
Announcing Local Hosting from Dozuki
By Leslie Bloom
Today, we are proud to announce the official launch of Dozuki OnPrem. Host Dozuki on your local servers, meet ITAR and FDA CFR compliance, and maintain full control over security protocols.
Topics: Product Digital Transformation
4 min read
11 Benefits of Standard Work
By Corey Brown
Taiichi Ohno, a founder of the Toyota Production System (TPS), had this to say about Standard Work, “without standards, there can be no Kaizen.” As the foundation for all lean, six sigma, and continuous improvement efforts, the benefits of Standard Work are endless. Ohno's wisdom speaks volumes to the importance of Standard Work, yet many companies aren’t fully practicing it.
Topics: Standard Work
4 min read
Understanding Value Streams with Karen Martin
By Corey Brown
Employee on-boarding is often overlooked in the business world. We spoke with Karen Martin, author of "Value Stream Mapping" about why all supportive processes are equally important and how leaders can distinguish between process-level improvements and strategic, value stream improvements.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
1 min read
10 Quality Quotes by W. Edwards Deming
By Corey Brown
Implementing and sustaining quality in your organization is no small feat. However, as the U.S. discovered when Japanese companies like Toyota used Deming's lessons to surpass their competition - quality matters. Effective quality management not only creates customer trust and loyalty, but drives continuous improvement and innovation.
Topics: Quality
4 min read
Book Club: “The Joy of Lean”
By Corey Brown
The Dozuki book club is your go-to place for industry books and resources. Our team curates knowledge from industry experts, letting you identify key takeaways and start implementing solutions quickly.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
3 min read
The Manufacturing Skills Gap is an Opportunity
By Corey Brown
There is a pending manufacturing skills gap impacting the United States workforce. Millions of positions are expected to go unfilled in the coming years, with reports estimating over 2 million positions will need to be filled by 2025.
Topics: Digital Transformation Industry News Workforce Training
4 min read
Inside the Mind of an ISO Auditor
By Corey Brown
Getting inside the mind of an ISO 9001 auditor is crucial to a successful ISO audit. Think of it like a gift — even the best of presents can be unappealing when wrapped in crumpled messy newspaper and duct tape.
Topics: Quality Standard Work
4 min read
Embracing Waste in a Lean Culture
By Corey Brown
These days, waste gets a bad rap.
‘Eliminating waste’ is such a common phrase among lean and six sigma practitioners, the two words are practically inseparable. The problem with this marriage is that it causes us to conflate all types of waste as equally harmful.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work
3 min read
What to Look for in QMS Software
By Corey Brown
Traditional quality management system (QMS) software does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Like file cabinets for the digital world, they organize and control your company standards.
Topics: Quality Digital Transformation Workforce Training
5 min read
Book Club: “The Machine That Changed the World”
By Corey Brown
The Dozuki book club is your go-to place for industry books and resources. Our team curates knowledge from industry experts, letting you identify key takeaways and start implementing solutions quickly.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
4 min read
1 min read
Catch Us at the Food Safety Summit
By Leslie Bloom
The Dozuki team will be at the 20th annual Food Safety Summit, May 7 - 10 at the Donald Stephens Convention in Rosemont, IL.
Topics: Events
Meet Us at Hannover Messe 2018
By Leslie Bloom
Dozuki is proud to be an exhibitor at this year's Hannover Messe, the world’s leading trade show for Industrial technology.
Topics: Events
4 min read
Book Club: "Value Stream Mapping" (part 2)
By Corey Brown
The Dozuki book club is your go-to place for industry books and resources. Our team curates knowledge from industry experts, letting you identify key takeaways and start implementing solutions quickly.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
3 min read
Vienna Sausage: A Story of Standards and Tribal Knowledge
By Corey Brown
Imagine that you lost the ability to make your key product.
What if your core revenue driver was suddenly different...
And you didn't know why.
We recently came across a radio segment that outlined a similar problem that Chicago-based Vienna Beef had with their hot dog production. After the company made the transition to a new production facility, their staple product changed — and nobody knew why.
Topics: Standard Work Industry News
4 min read
How to Perform a Time Observation
By Corey Brown
Without Standard Work, documented processes are often not used, or so out of date, that following them could become problematic. Standard Work is the foundation for any continuous improvement or Lean program, and time observations are the starting point. They are the foundation for which improvements are based on.
Topics: Standard Work
3 min read
Key Differences Between ISO 9001:2015 and 2008
By Corey Brown
ISO 9001 is the world’s most commonly used standard for quality management systems (QMS).
Topics: Quality Work Instructions
1 min read
Top 10 Shigeo Shingo Quotes on Lean Manufacturing
By Corey Brown
Shigeo Singo: The Ambassador of Lean
Shigeo Shingo was an industry leader of Lean manufacturing principles and philosophies. Originally brought on by Toyota to update their Training within Industry (TWI) coursework and later assisting in improving changeover times, Shigeo used his experience with the Toyota Production System to write several books, both in Japan and the United States. His work promoting Lean principles in the West is what he is most known for today.
Topics: Standard Work Industry News
3 min read
Navigating Processes: Standard Work vs. Work Instructions
By Corey Brown
The manufacturing industry is a professional arena with an overwhelming variety of industry terms and acronyms. We’ve tried to make a list of the most common Lean terms before… we didn’t get very far.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work Work Instructions
6 min read
Book Club: "Value Stream Mapping" (Part 1)
By Corey Brown
The Dozuki book club is your go-to place for industry books and resources. Our team curates knowledge from industry experts, letting you identify key takeaways and start implementing solutions quickly.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
3 min read
Why Standard Work is a Contradiction
By Corey Brown
We recently wrote a popular article about a major mistake at a nuclear waste facility. In short, we cited poor standard revision processes as the root cause of the mistake, costing the company $500 million to remediate.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work Industry News
2 min read
Implementing Continuous Improvement with Dozuki
By Corey Brown
Is your company interested in reaping the benefits of continuous improvement (transparency, efficiency, cost reductions, etc.) but aren't sure where to begin? Dozuki has you covered.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work Digital Transformation Workforce Training
4 min read
What Caused the False Missile Alert in Hawaii
By Corey Brown
Apparently, it was a simple mistake that caused the false missile alert to be sent to phones across the state of Hawaii. And while citizens were still recovering from the disorienting news, media outlets were quick to place blame.
Topics: Standard Work Industry News
4 min read
Continuous Improvement Culture: How Software Can & Can't Help
By Corey Brown
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement is a complex challenge that varies across industries. In the digital age, software solutions are starting to have a real impact on company culture. Yet it’s important to keep the advantages of software solutions in perspective.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation
3 min read
Hidden Waste: The Unseen Inefficiency in Shop Travelers
By Brian Sallee
Travelers and build books are intimately related, however, with traditional methods they often function independently.
Topics: Product Standard Work Digital Transformation
1 min read
Top 10 Lean Manufacturing Quotes from Henry Ford
By Corey Brown
Henry Ford was a very quotable man. His timeless insights range from practical business tips to clairvoyant-esque predictions about the dairy industry.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Industry News
3 min read
5 Reasons Continuous Improvement Teams Fail
By Corey Brown
In identifying what makes a continuous improvement team successful, it’s most helpful to look at where they fail. Anyone can retroactively attribute key factors to success, however, real learning comes from understanding the shortcomings. Below, we’ve identified five common reasons continuous improvement teams fail to succeed.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
8 min read
Book Club: "The Spirit of Kaizen"
By Corey Brown
About the Dozuki Book Club: Your go-to place for industry books and resources. Our team works hard to curate knowledge from industry experts, letting you quickly identify key takeaways and start implementing solutions.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Book Club Series
3 min read
The Ultimate Lean Glossary
By Corey Brown
The world of Lean Manufacturing is full of acronyms and industry buzzwords. No glossary could encompass the full breadth of terminology, but it’s always helpful to have a consolidated resource to use as a reference.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work
1 min read
Top 10 Taiichi Ohno Quotes
By Corey Brown
Wise quotes can inspire. Insightful sayings have the power to spark change and foster a culture of creativity and quality.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
4 min read
Got Standards? The Million Dollar Grammar Mistake
By Corey Brown
Maine based Oakhurst Dairy was recently sued by a handful of truck drivers seeking more than four years worth of overtime pay—but the suit wasn’t about milk distribution at all. Rather, the legal battle revolved around the use (or lack thereof) of a single comma. But grammar wasn’t the problem—standards were.
Topics: Standard Work Industry News Technical Writing Workforce Training
2 min read
Skip the Busy Work and Focus on Improving
By Corey Brown
Whether you’re implementing new software or a new machine on the factory floor, continuous improvement projects take time to get set up before they, well…improve things.
Topics: Standard Work Technical Writing
5 min read
Deadly Instructions: Using Visuals to Train Safely
By Corey Brown
In 2016 OSHA reported 2.8 million workplace injuries, with 440,000 of them occurring in the manufacturing industry alone. For manufacturers, that means for every 100 workers, 3-4 are guaranteed injuries. Not necessarily a stat you should share on orientation days.
Topics: Technical Writing Workforce Training Work Instructions
3 min read
An Idiom a Day Keeps Good Work Instructions at Bay
By Corey Brown
Many of us know Amelia Bedelia from our childhood (or parenthood) as the goofy maid who is constantly misunderstanding directions. For those who aren’t familiar, Amelia is a hard-working maid who all too often misinterpreted her employer’s commands. Typically, she would interpret common figures of speech or idioms quite literally.
Topics: Technical Writing Work Instructions
5 min read
5 Technical Writing Mistakes to Avoid
By Corey Brown
Here at Dozuki, we see a lot of technical documents. In all of this written work, we inevitably come across some mistakes. But hey, pobody’s nerfect. That said, when you see as many technical documents as we do, you start to notice trends. Trends in technical documents can be dangerous because they create systemic inefficiencies in your procedures and impact the overall quality of work.
To help you avoid these issues in your organization, we’ve compiled five common tech writing mistakes to avoid, based on our experiences helping companies create instructions.
Topics: Technical Writing Workforce Training Work Instructions
1 min read
How Dover Artificial Lift Achieved ISO Certification
By Corey Brown
As part of our mission to bring manufacturing excellence and standards to our audience, we are proud to announce our educational webinar highlighting the journey to ISO certification.
Topics: Quality
3 min read
Millennials, Vinyls, and Documentation
By Corey Brown
Topics: Standard Work Workforce Training
1 min read
18 Books for Better Employee Training
By Leslie Bloom
Books are a great way to learn new techniques to train and connect with your employees.
Topics: Workforce Training
3 min read
Patagonia's Journey to Train Their Customers
By Corey Brown
For years, Patagonia has set a high standard for product lifespan with their Ironclad Guarantee and unparalleled customer service. They’ve been providing free repair services for garments that have been ripped, torn, or otherwise damaged since 1973.
Topics: Customer Stories Workforce Training
5 min read
Lean Startups Need to Start Documenting to Scale
By Corey Brown
For startups that have begun to establish themselves as a sustainable business, growing pains are only a matter of time.
Topics: Standard Work Workforce Training
3 min read
How Sloppy Revision Control Cost WIPP Half a Billion Dollars
By Corey Brown
In 2014 a nuclear Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM was the victim of poor revision control practices that lead to a half-billion dollar mistake; shutting down the facility for three years and sending six workers to the hospital.
Topics: Quality Standard Work Industry News Workforce Training
3 min read
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4 min read
FDA Compliance: Why Paper-Based Documents Won't Work for Long
By Corey Brown
Modern documentation practices are becoming increasingly essential to achieving FDA compliance with the recent updates in the FDA’s approach to safety. While the importance of product quality and safety isn’t news, updated documentation standards outlined in the FSMA and the CGMP are.
Topics: Product Digital Transformation
5 min read
Upgrading Processes with Continuous Improvement
By Corey Brown
Many companies implement formal versions of Lean or Agile methods, but others have grown with the flexibility that continuous improvement provides, giving them the freedom to deviate from the formal approaches of Lean/Agile methods when needed.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Standard Work Customer Stories Digital Transformation
3 min read
5 Instant Benefits of Digital Work Instructions
By Corey Brown
Unlike other digital transformation projects, making the simple switch from paper-based work instructions, SOPs, and other documentation to digital work instructions provides instant benefits for your workforce and bottom line.
Topics: Digital Transformation Work Instructions
2 min read
Feature Spotlight: Photo Markup and Special Bullets
By Corey Brown
Here at Dozuki, we emphasize the importance of creating visual work instructions, because we believe visual is always better.
Topics: Product Workforce Training
2 min read
Industry 4.0 Is Here, Are You Ready?
By Leslie Bloom
Historically, internal systems for work instructions have been used solely for distributing procedures, with entirely separate systems for data collection and reporting. These disconnected systems are holding companies back.
Topics: Product Digital Transformation
2 min read
Continuous Improvement for Writing: How Better Technical Writing Increases Efficiency
By Corey Brown
When you regard continuous improvement as a mindset, rather than just a procedural practice, you realize it has a much wider set of applications.
For most of us, it’s clear that improvements to standard operating procedures (SOPs) directly improve efficiency. However, all too often we focus on what’s being said and not how we’re saying it. But there’s no reason that you shouldn’t eliminate written waste and become lean with your instructions as well.
Topics: Continuous Improvement Technical Writing
3 min read
How to Write a Great User Manual in 12 Steps
By Leslie Bloom
A great user manual educates people about a product, while also teaching them how to use product features effectively. As an author, your ultimate goal is comprehension—you want readers to easily be able to read, reference, and absorb information.
Topics: Workforce Training Work Instructions
4 min read
What McDonald’s Can Teach Us About Training
Many years ago while managing the final inspection, packaging and shipping areas of a production plant, I was looking for a person to promote to line leader. I was having a difficult time finding a candidate well suited for the role.
Topics: Workforce Training Work Instructions
1 min read
The Manufacturing Dream Team
By Leslie Bloom
As we were plotting our celebration for 2016's Manufacturing Day, the Dozuki team got into a few squabbles about who the 'best manufacturing mind of all time' would be. (Spoiler alert: we couldn't settle on a favorite).
Topics: Industry News
2 min read
The True Cost of Paper-Based Documentation
By Leslie Bloom
Paper is viewed as a necessity in the workplace.
Topics: Work Instructions
6 min read
A Quick 5 Step Guide to Lean Product Development
By Leslie Bloom
In the fast-paced world of product research and development, lean methodology can help reduce waste and shorten delivery times. This guide outlines five quick steps to bring lean principles to your new product development (NPD), improve the bottom line, and create sustainable development practices for years to come.
Topics: Continuous Improvement
1 min read
3 min read
Give Your Manufacturing Company a Boost
By Leslie Bloom
Whether you’re in aerospace or automotive, medical device or dairy—it’s important that your manufacturing company grows while keeping up with the latest innovations. In honor of Manufacturing Day 2015, here are 5 easy ways you can quickly and easily give your operations a boost—today!
Topics: Industry News
2 min read
Clear Guides for Complex Procedures
By Leslie Bloom
Who is Improve International?
Founded in 1998, Improve International recognizes that education—even for the most accomplished, professional veterinarians—doesn’t end when graduates pass the boards. It’s a process that should continue throughout any professional’s lifetime. Improve International connects veterinary professionals with the resources and experts they need to make education a lifelong commitment.
Topics: Customer Stories
1 min read
4 min read
Visual Instructions for Better Communication
By Leslie Bloom
A technician is asked to write instructions for his company’s most frequently performed processes. Pulling out his laptop, he starts to document a procedure as he does it. He spends hours going back and forth between the procedure and his computer, writing down every step. Occasionally, he’ll stop to take a photo or sketch a diagram of the more complicated steps. But even though all the directions are correct, our technician made a critical error—before he even started writing down the steps.
Topics: Technical Writing Work Instructions
1 min read
Dozuki is Unaffected by Heartbleed
By Leslie Bloom
You may have heard of the recently discovered computer security issue—“Heartbleed”—that has affected many sites across the Internet. Rest assured, Dozuki has not been affected by Heartbleed.