CMTC is publishing a series of blogs on Lean and Six Sigma over the coming weeks. Today’s publication, What Are Lean & Six Sigma Methodologies? is the first of three installments.  Future installments will cover Lean Principles and Tools and Six Sigma Principles and Tools.   

Tis the season! Of course, along with all the merriment, there are some challenges. One of the most difficult of these challenges is answering the question: How do I find the perfect gift for everyone on my list? With so many hard-to-please people, plus others who seem to already have everything

Welcome to the second installment of our series on Lean and Six Sigma. As we saw in the first post, Lean and Six Sigma are complimentary continuous improvement methodologies that reduce the overall waste and variability in production processes respectively. While these two methodologies use diffe

California is a food manufacturing powerhouse. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, the Golden State has the highest number of food manufacturing plants in the nation—nearly 5,650. To continue to lead the country forward, it’s important that food

For many small and medium-sized manufacturers the great teleworking experiment brought on by COVID-19 has been a painful one. The sudden shift to telework poses numerous managerial, logistical and operational hurdles. To make matters worse, cybersecurity risks are amplified by the needs of a remo

Workplace safety is at the top of everyones mind right now. Manufacturing facilities have opened up (if they shut down at all) and companies need to make sure they are in full compliance with CDC and OSHA regulations, and also meet the guidance coming from within their county.  Most importa

Cybersecurity is a complex topic no matter what industry vertical it is applied to. In order to reduce that complexity, it helps to frame cybersecurity in the context of the business. For manufacturers, there is a familiar concept that can be used: begin with the end in mind. So, what does the e

It seems like no part of the economy has been left untouched by COVID-19. Both essential and non-essential industries have felt the impact of the novel coronavirus and its devastating effects on the economy, especially manufacturing. As a result of lockdowns and the strain on the economy, the In

If you are part of the Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain, you likely have various Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) disclosures that you must attest to during the course of doing business.  As a critical component of the Defense Industrial Base, most small man

How can employers protect their employees and workplaces while battling COVID-19? In order for manufacturers to develop a safety plan for their facilities, they must consider the whole workforce and all visitors. “Your assumption should be that people who look perfectly healthy may be asymptomat

It is estimated that there are around 300,000 companies in the Defense Industrial Base (“DIB”) across the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. Roughly 99% of the DIB is made up of small and medium-sized businesses which are companies with fewer than 500 employees. Since December 2017, all

The food industry is evolving rapidly, with consumers demanding quality, authenticity, and transparency from food manufacturers. And they’re not just demanding it, they’re “voting with their dollars,” supporting companies that align with their personal beliefs. To keep up with consumer demand—and

If you remember the woodworking, metalworking, and auto shop classes that used to be taught in high school, you already have an idea of what a makerspace is. Makerspaces, sometimes called Maker Labs, are defined as “a place in which people with shared interests can gather to work on projects whil

Today, October 4th is Manufacturing Day, or MFG Day! That means manufacturers across California and the country will be opening their doors to students, educators, elected officials, and the media to spread the word about the importance of manufacturing, the benefits it brings to our nation, and c

Industry 4.0, sometimes called the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Smart Manufacturing has blurred the lines between the physical and the digital worlds. It’s comprised of transformative technologies that will impact all manufacturers, using intelligent or smart machinery to automate and optimize

Technology is evolving at an astonishing pace, changing the way we live and the way we do business. Of course, it’s not just Silicon Valley tech companies that need to keep up with these advancements. Today, businesses big and small, across all industries, need to prioritize technology in order to

Last year, the United States exported $2.5 trillion—yes, trillion—dollars worth of goods and services to foreign countries. Our nation is the third-largest exporter in the world, trailing only China and the European Union. Within our borders, California is by far the top exporting state, shipping

As the year draws to a close, we always like to take a look back on the events and people that made a difference in manufacturing throughout the past 12 months. We celebrate successes such as Manufacturing Day and the all-new Manufacturing Month, and look at ways to overcome challenges, whether i

Manufacturers in California account for nearly 11% of the total output in the state, employing almost 8% of the workforce. California is also the top exporting state in the country, shipping out hundreds of billions worth of goods and services in 2018.  To remain a leader in the country and t

Conferences are a great way for you and your team to network with others, demo exciting new technologies, learn about topics that interest you, and gain valuable insights from industry experts. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of events happening in 2020! Here are 30 conferences happening in Calif