Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom

Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom episodes:

• 05.27.2024

  Layout Or Location? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E45

  Jay and Andrew talk building for growth, shop layout, removing unnecessary items, morning meetings, and more.

  
• 05.20.2024

  Morning Meetings That Actually Work | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E44

  Jay and Andrew talk about the Remarkable tablet and effective idea dumping. Then they both describe their morning meetings and talk about how you inspire people with your company culture ... without reducing it to a bunch of corporate gobbledegook....

  
• 05.13.2024

  Terrible Design That MAKES You Mess Up | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E43

  "When I lay in bed at night as a young, hungry, naive entrepreneur, I could barely contain my joy at the thought of filing sales tax forms with a dozen states every month."—Andrew on the joy of state taxes, one...

  
• 05.06.2024

  Don't Hire Too Quickly | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E42

  Andrew and Jay talk about whether they would ever purchase housing for out-of-town workers or clients, why most problems are math problems, how to inculcate company culture in remote workers, why you shouldn't hire too quickly, slips vs mistakes, design...

  
• 04.29.2024

  Prioritize Finishing Before Starting | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E41

  Andrew and Jay continue to explore the challenges they're facing, including website woes, and brainstorming solutions for keeping customers in the loop about new projects and product releases.

  
• 04.22.2024

  Buy Machines the Smart Way | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E40

  Jay and Andrew talk the eclipse, the joys of 3d printing, and the thought process behind what machines they own.

  
• 04.08.2024

  I'm The One Who Sets Me Up To Fail | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E39

  This episode starts on a somber note as Jay and Andrew both had deaths of people they loved. This leads to a discussion of legacy and what they want to leave behind as shop owners and men. They also discuss...

  
• 04.01.2024

  Avoiding Decision Fatigue | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E38

  How do you avoid decision fatigue? How many good decisions can you make in one day? How can you make your decisions ahead of time? How can you brainstorm effectively? These are a few of the important issues Jay and...

  
• 03.25.2024

  Grow Fast or Grow Slow? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E37

  From discussing the merits of expanding quickly versus gradually to exploring the pivotal role of the shop floor in fostering career development, Andrew and Jay have a lot to talk about in this episode.  They tackle the idea that anything...

  
• 03.18.2024

  Machine Malfunctions to Avoid | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E36

  In this episode of Lean Built,  Andrew and Jay dive into the world of machining mishaps and shop space dreams. Andrew recounts the story of a wild thing that happened during vacuum workholding, which leads to some tips for safe...

  
• 03.11.2024

  When Does Analog Beat Digital? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E35

  First up, Jay and Andrew dive into the art  of effectively documenting workflows. How do you avoid the pitfall of keeping everything in your head? Next, they explore the world of AI and how it can be used to address...

  
• 03.04.2024

  The Power of Deletion | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E34

  Jay and Andrew talk about the power of deletion and the joy of 3D printing. They discuss the importance of embracing the development process, even when it includes ideas that don't work out. They offer insights on how to effectively...

  
• 02.26.2024

  Using Kanban To Expose Weaknesses | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E33

  Andrew and Jay talk about keeping the right amount of inventory without causing a bottleneck, the awesomeness of vertical lift modules (and just generally turning square feet into cubic feet), avoiding monuments in the shop, and how kanban is not...

  
• 02.19.2024

  Find the Answer Where You Ask the Question | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E32

  Andrew and Jay delve into the depths of lean maturity (or the absence of it), discussing how small companies can avoid reinventing the wheel, skillfully use redundancy, adhere to fundamental lean principles, and deliver answers right where the questions are...

  
• 02.12.2024

  Lessons from a Lathe | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E31

  Andrew's just got a new lathe and we talk about it in this episode. There are plenty of challenges, including moving the shop layout. We also talk about how new employees help you find problems, and Rock Fuel University.

  
• 02.05.2024

  Money Buys You an Easy Button | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E30

  Jay and Andrew talk about rigging, how money eases the way, making our environment serve us, relationships vs profit, establishing value through the right comparison, and much more. Books mentioned: Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense by Rory...

  
• 01.29.2024

  Technology Should Never Be The Bottleneck | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E29

  Andrew and Jay talk about building in margin, feeding your interest and curiosity, doing life-giving things, why you might not want to tie up funds in overstock, why technology should never be the bottleneck, and more. Book mentioned: New Manufacturing...

  
• 01.22.2024

  The Best Expeditor is No Expeditor | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E28

  Jay and Andrew talk leadership development, hiring when you don't need people, utility players vs bench players, where KPIs (key performance indicators) are useful and where they aren't, why the best expeditor is no expeditor, where to place a lathe,...

  
• 01.15.2024

  Inflexible Lean is Bad Lean | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E27

  Andrew and Jay discuss some of the lessons from 2023. Topics include the need for lean to be flexible, how lean should align with a company's culture, the importance of intentional lean practices, setting diverse goals for different companies, establishing...

  
• 01.08.2024

  Buying Ahead can be a Big Mistake | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E26

  Jay and Andrew discusses Andrew's new company truck (which he bought in the least lean environment possible), how buying ahead to appease short-term tax write-offs can be a long-term bad investment, avoiding long term accounts receivable, cash flow vs cash...

  
• 01.01.2024

  Lulled in by Robots | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E25

  Jay and Andrew talk about Andrew’s forklift and how he’s applying “digital training wheels,” how robots and automation can lead you astray, seeing how pain and expense add up, using AI to make expertise scalable to a wider audience, and...

  
• 12.25.2023

  Handling a Backlog with Lean | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E24

  How do you handle a backlog with lean? Andrew gives a little masterclass on that, since he just had to do it, thanks to the holidays and employee sickness. Then Jay talks about why he's thinking about getting a space...

  
• 12.18.2023

  "Use it or lose it" is a losing philosophy | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E23

  Jay and Andrew talk about Andrew's new forklift, the pros and cons of handling inventory for other shops, tax incentive buys at the end of the year, as-needed budgets, systems vs goals, "use it or lose it" mentality in bigger...

  
• 12.11.2023

  Free, New and NOBODY Wanted It! | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E22

  Andrew and Jay continue to talk about what kind of lathe would Andrew like, as well as false ways of achieving economy, the drawbacks of big sales, seeing where you only partially think of things, the value of high-priced CEO...

  
• 12.04.2023

  The data is never fully pristine | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E21

  Jay and Andrew discuss the benefits and dangers of allowing people to buy on a payment plan, nurturing good relationships with vendors, reevaluating the company after the loss of a key employee, job prioritization, custom software, and calculating true cost....

  
• 11.27.2023

  'Monkey Like Shiny' Syndrome | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E20

  Should Andrew buy a lathe? This is the question of the hour, leading to all sorts of useful discussions, such as ... do you spend money on a crummy machine just to learn? Or buy your good one first? If...

  
• 11.20.2023

  Would you start over with what you know now? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E19

  Jay and Andrew talk 3D printers, color matching vs color coding, after-market mods, and ponder what it would take to sell their companies and start from scratch with what they know now.

  
• 11.13.2023

  Where are the problems happening? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E18

  Andrew is putting off buying a lathe, which leads to a discussion of what to prioritize in buying machines, returns and exchanges, how Amazon makes it easier for people to rip you off, and more.

  
• 11.06.2023

  I Paid $3,000 for THEIR Mistake! | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E17

  Andrew and Jay talk about teamwork, pushing a machine until you break it (to learn how far you can push it), onboarding new vendors (plus vendor management in general), over-communicating as a violation of lean principles, organizational clarity, and more....

  
• 10.30.2023

  Don't Burn Up Goodwill | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E16

  Jay and Andrew talk about Jay's new Zeiss CMM, how to not burn up somebody's goodwill, documenting processes, face to face versus shoulder to shoulder versus face to screen, the high cost of small errors, and the dangers of automation....

  
• 10.23.2023

  Construction, Shop Layout and Unknowns | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E15

  Jay and Andrew talk about lean drift in other shops, waiting on other contractors, construction crews doing wrong things, shop layout improvements, inventory systems, known knowns vs. known unknowns vs. unknown unknowns, when routine becomes inhibiting, customers wanting to modify...

  
• 10.16.2023

  Company Culture IS a Magnet! | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E14

  Andrew and Jay talk a lot about the philosophy of buying machines ... do you buy a piece of junk first just to learn? Or sink money into something great when you don't know what you're doing? They also talk...

  
• 10.09.2023

  Relying on memory is a process without guardrails | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E13

  Jay has some riggers coming which leads to a discussion of memory and checklists, dealing with dishonest sales reps, give-aways and order returns, plus Andrew's new 3D printer!

  
• 10.02.2023

  Optimizing processes that shouldn't exist | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E12

  Andrew and Jay talk updating workflow, picking battles, the "three-legged stool", optimizing processes, top line vs bottom line, the importance of trust, helping people in an efficient way, and much more.

  
• 09.25.2023

  Fixing problems, not symptoms | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E11

  Andrew and Jay talk about fixing problems (not symptoms), teaching employees without making assumptions about what's intuitive, Fusion 360 vs Solidworks, stress and control in decision making, half measures, the 95% rule, and a lot more!

  
• 09.20.2023

  Communicate, Communicate then Over-Communicate | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E10

  Andrew and Jay talk about communicating lead times, managing customer expectations, the mystery of memory, malice vs. incompetence, and much more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Real Value vs Perceived Value | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E9

  Jay talks about why he walked away from a big purchase because of a feeling, Andrew talks about the perils of moving shop, they both talk about perceived value versus psychological value, and a whole more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Our Lego Test for Hiring | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E8

  Jay and Andrew talk about customer service software, systemization, and problems with shipping, plus Jay talks about how he smokes everyone on building a lego set ... and the business application of said skill.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Do you have a Competitive Advantage? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E7

  Andrew and Jay talk about buying used equipment, navigating vacations, interoffice communication, the "Lego test", competitive advantage, and more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Don't Sell, Provide Value | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E6

  Jay and Andrew talk about solar panels, insurance, Relevant Selling by Jaynie Smith, selling machines, minimizing decisions, and more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Fixing what's not working | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E5

  Andrew and Jay talk abut giving every employee the right to see what's not working, how to decide what to fix when, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, customer satisfaction vs company sustainability, and more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Keys to Resting Well | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E4

  Jay and Andrew talk about vacations, coming back from vacations, their latest lean improvements, the great opportunity that comes with a new employee, and more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Intuitive designs, Please! | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E3

  Jay and Andrew talk about what makes a useful (and intuitive) design, employee personality types, perceived value vs actual value, and more.

  
• 09.20.2023

  Is Chasing Rewards a path to Burnout? | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E2

  Andrew and Jay talk through the 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni, reward vs. burnout, mitigating against your own weaknesses as a leader, and a whole lot more.

  
• 09.19.2023

  The Balance of time, money and energy | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E1

  We're off and running, folks, as Jay and Andrew talk about how they each start they day and how that impacts company culture, the three bin system, distributing for other manufacturers, taxes, the eternal trade-off of time versus money, structuring...