Amid Tariffs and Trade War, Manufacturing Shops Gain New Business

Precision Manufacturing

Precision manufacturers are still doing well economically despite a tariff war climate that continues to hang in the air. We talk to one manufacturing shop that has benefited from tariffs in unique ways but still has some cause for concern. Column From: MSC Direct, Tam Harbert For Reid Leland, tariffs have been a good thing, […]

Manufacturing 101: Becoming Part of the Aerospace Industry

Aerospace Industry

Not sure if aerospace is right for your shop? Here’s what you need to think about and plan for based on the real-world experience of a small manufacturer that invested and succeeded in aerospace. Column From: MSC Direct, Holly Martin If your shop needs more work or is looking to increase its production of parts […]

Q&A: How to Recruit, Train and Retain Top Machining and Manufacturing Talent

Machining Talent

It’s no secret that a significant skills gap exists in manufacturing. Here’s one precision manufacturer’s real-world model for hiring and developing long-lasting careers for machinists, process engineers and programmers. We spoke with Reid Leland of LeanWerks. Column From: MSC Direct, Julie Sullivan It’s never been easy for manufacturers to acquire and retain employees. But as […]

When A Turn-Mill Doesn’t Turn

Casting

LeanWerks uses innovative probing, tooling and workholding strategies to enable its turn-mill to machine castings complete, in effect turning it into a five-axis machining center. Article From: 10/3/2016 Modern Machine Shop, Reid Leland, President, Cofounder, LeanWerks Business for machine shops commonly ebbs and flows. In 2015, contract shop LeanWerks’ business was certainly ebbing, largely because […]

The Value of Open-Book Management

Ogden, Utah’s LeanWerks practices open-book management (OBM), a management style in which a business’ financial information is regularly shared with all employees. In fact, Reid Leland, who started the company in 2003, says it represents the cornerstone of his company’s culture. OBM as it is applied at LeanWerks has three primary elements: financial training, feedback […]

Is Your Shop an Open Book?

Inspection Table

An open-book management style might help motivate employees to work more efficiently because they can readily see how their performance affects the company’s bottom line. Columns From: 3/1/2016 Modern Machine Shop, Derek Korn , Senior Editor Reid Leland previously worked for a company that practiced open-book management (OBM), in which the business’ financials were shared […]

This Shop’s Training Program Paves a Pathway to Employee Success

This shop developed a Web- and video-based training program tailored to its own specific practices that enables new hires to progress in stages from trainee to senior process engineer after demonstrating a clear understanding of each new skill they’ve acquired. Article with Video From: 3/1/2016 Modern Machine Shop, Derek Korn, Senior Editor Originally titled ‘Paving […]

It’s Top Shops Survey Time

The sixth-annual Top Shops benchmarking survey is now live. Participate to see how your shop compares with others while identifying potential areas of improvement in 2016. Article From: 1/1/2016 Modern Machine Shop, Derek Korn, Senior Editor   2015 winner LeanWerks Historically, benchmarking data has been difficult for machine shops to come by, especially those shops […]

Best Practices of Top U.S. Shops

Results from our fifth annual Top Shops benchmarking survey reveal operational metrics, strategies and tools common to leading machine shops here in the States. Article From: 8/10/2015 Modern Machine Shop, Derek Korn , Senior Editor This article was the cover feature for Modern Machine Shop’s August 2015 print issue. This year marks the fifth edition […]

Northern Utah National Tooling and Machining Association (NUNTMA)

As the Northern Utah National Tooling and Machining Association Trustee, I had the honor to present to the Governors’ office requesting a $150,000 grant to assist our chapter members in development of machinist apprenticeship/training programs. Today we got the great news that we won the grant. LeanWerks TExT (Technical Excellence Training) program is already an […]