Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom
Two successful entrepreneurs talk about manufacturing, lean principles, and the freedom they are pursuing in life and business.
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What Actually Made The Machining Summit Worth It | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E143
<p>Fresh off the Machining Summit on the Summit in Mammoth Lakes, Andrew and Jay sit down to unpack what actually made the experience worth it...and it wasn’t just the sessions. From gondola rides to small, living-room-style conversations, they talk about how being in the right environment with the right people leads to better conversations, clearer thinking, and relationships that actually matter.</p><p><br></p><p>Along the way, they share some of the bigger takeaways that stuck with them, including why collaboration tends to win over competition, where they see the industry heading, real-world lessons on fi...
The Factory Caught Fire—Here’s What Saved the Business (w/ Brian Meyers) | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E142
<p>What happens when your factory catches fire without warning? In this episode, Brian Meyers (president of Fat American Mfg and host of Lean by Doing podcast) sits down with Jay and Andrew to share the story of a fire that broke out in his brand-new facility, and what it revealed about leadership, preparation, and the power of lean manufacturing.</p><p><br></p><p>In short: what could have been a total loss wasn't at all. Because of the systems already in place due to a culture shaped by lean thinking, his team didn’t panic. They acted. And th...
When Selling Through a Dealer Backfires | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E141
<p>Jay begins by talking about selling a machine, and when it's better to go direct versus using a dealer, with broader implications regarding alignment, control, and the hidden costs of outsourcing parts of your business. </p><p><br></p><p>From there, the discussion shifts into shop operations: flow vs. batching, tool changes, and where efficiency actually comes from in real production environments. Jay and Andrew challenge common assumptions, showing how context matters: sometimes batching wins, sometimes ergonomics matter more than cycle time, and often the biggest gains come from reducing friction for the operator, not chasing theoretical efficiency. P...
The Hidden Labor Cost That’s Killing Your Margins | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E140
<p>Jay and Andrew begin with a deceptively simple question: what actually makes a company “lean”? Starting with a quote from Shigeo Shingo, they challenge the common misconception that lean is just Kanban, and explore the deeper reality that lean is less about specific tools and more about principles, tradeoffs, and context.</p><p><br></p><p>From there, Andrew shares a deep dive into labor tracking and ERP data, uncovering how much work was happening that never made it into cost calculations, and why “door-to-door” time matters more than overly segmented tracking. Jay pushes back with the tension every shop fee...
You’re Making Parts Too Fast (And It’s Hurting Your Shop) | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E139
<p>Andrew shares insights with Jay from a recent lean-focused shop tour with Paul Akers. The conversation goes to the hidden dangers of batch processing vs. one-piece flow, why takt time can matter more than cycle time, how to identify and eliminate waste at the micro-task level, and why “don’t solve problems until they exist” is often the best strategy They also explore practical challenges like line balancing, inspection differences (CMM vs. vision systems), and the surprising complexity of measuring quality in manufacturing. </p><p>Plus, a candid discussion on whether shop tours actually scale, charging for tours vs. giving...
Why Some Operators See Problems And Others Don’t | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E138
<p>Why do some people naturally notice problems while others don’t? Andrew introduces ideas from the book Living Sensationally, exploring how different sensory personalities affect how workers perceive disorder and opportunities for improvement.</p><p>Andrew also shares the results of his shop’s first full week of 8 a.m. morning meetings followed by shop-wide 3S, complete with funky music and a noticeable surge in improvement activity. Jay and Andrew discuss how creating space for small improvements can build momentum, and why the real goal of cleaning isn’t cleanliness, but exposing hidden problems. </p><p><br></p><p>They al...
The Best Meeting Is No Meeting | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E137
<p>Andrew shares a recent experiment in his shop: installing a full Sonos sound system and changing the structure of morning meetings and 3S time to give employees more room to pursue real improvements. Meanwhile, Jay discusses several new internal tools he has built, including an AI-powered quoting system and digital production boards designed to replace traditional analog shop boards.</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation also includes the difference between Two Second Lean and traditional TPS-style lean, how AI is changing the speed of experimentation inside businesses, the hidden problems with too many meetings in manufacturing organizations, and...
Safety Over Throughput: The Leadership Test Shop Owners Fail | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E136
<p>A tornado tears through Bloomington, leading Andrew and Jay to discuss practical leadership during real-world emergencies. From there, the conversation shifts back to the shop floor: chip conveyors on Brother machines, production layout tradeoffs, palletized workholding vs. one-piece flow, and the realities of automation. They explore the pros and cons of high-density fixturing, robot-fed cells, and Okuma’s compact MU-600V five-axis machine with part handoff capability.</p><p><br></p><p>The second half moves into the accelerating world of AI in manufacturing. Jay shares how he’s using Claude to rapidly build internal software tools, while Andrew talk...
Beyond ‘Fix What Bugs You’ w/ Russell Watkins | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E135
<p>In this special guest episode, Andrew sits down with Russell Watkins, co-founder of Sempai. Andrew first met Russell at the Gemba Summit in Belfast, where Russell delivered a keynote titled “10 Lightbulb Moments from Working with Toyota Japan and UK.” After cornering him at lunch with a notebook full of questions, Andrew knew this had to become a podcast conversation.</p><p>They explore:</p>What Russell learned apprenticing under a direct student of Taiichi Ohno and why he was told to “stop reading and start doing”Why you don’t learn lean from books alone (but why books still matter)How...
Make Defects to Eliminate Defects | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E134
<p>Jay and Andrew unpack a provocative quote from Shigeo Shingo: “If you don’t know why defects are occurring, make some defects.”</p><p><br>It sounds like lean heresy at first. But they explore why some defects are treasures and others are just carelessness. The real question: are you reacting to problems under pressure or deliberately creating space to uncover them before they cost you?</p><p><br></p><p>Along the way, they talk about a cantaloupe-sized rat’s nest choking a dust collector, moving machines and uncovering years of accumulated waste, the power (and danger) of acronyms...
