40 Top Tools for Manufacturers (PDF)

We know how important it is for you to have the right tool when you need it. If you're a team leader or facilitator in a manufacturing environment, you've probably been searching a long time for a collection of implementation tools tailored specifically to your needs. Well, look no further.

Based on the same principles used to develop Tool Navigator's Master Guide for Teams, here is a group of 40 dynamic tools to help you and your teams implement powerful manufacturing process improvement. This essential resource allows you and your teams to start and complete almost any manufacturing task. The book includes plenty of graphics, charts, illustrations and indexes to help you navigate your way through a problem solving process. In addition, the author gives you relevant background information and an overview of a tool's usage to assist your teams in the proper selection, sequencing, and application of major tools such as JIT, TPM, Process Mapping and Cycle Time Management.

To help you and your teams select just the right tool for your problem solving or manufacturing process improvement activities, we've sorted and arranged them into four stages. The real power of this book is that if you use the tools, working your way through the stages, the end result is Customer Satisfaction! The four stages are: process; cycle time; variability; and problem solving.

Unlike other tool guides, the Tool Navigator guides are more than just a book of dry definitions. It is a true navigator. Each guide features:

Classification of each tool by process application.
Description of various applications of the tool.
Problem solving phases most applicable for the tool.
Ranking of category or work discipline in which the tool is most used.
Step-by-step procedures on how to use tool.
Examples of the tool's output or result.
Useful appendixes and statistical charts.
Cross reference index to find tools in The Master Guide for Teams.
Boxes that link to other tools in The Master Guide for Teams.