Cambridge has recently decided to test the Andon strategy from the Toyota Production System in conjunction with the lean manufacturing already being practiced at our shop. Andon is a popular form of visual management used in lean, designed to alert operators of problems as they occur in order for corrective action to be taken immediately. Originating from the Jidoka methodology used in Toyota’s production system, the system empowers employees to recognize problems and take initiative to stop the workflow without waiting for their superiors to do so.

We applaud any leader's commitment to an improved work environment for their employees, and recognize the huge investment that this commitment can take. Since the heating, cooling and air quality can play such a major factor in a happy and productive environment, we wanted to provide you with some simple mid-year maintenance tips to make sure your systems are in check.

After being introduced to the scrum concept (grouping agile thinkers together that stress constant communication to achieve complicated tasks and goals) in JJ Sutherland’s book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, a group of Cambridge engineers volunteered to be trained in the practice by scrum expert Nigel Thurlow and apply it within the Cambridge walls, thus becoming our first four certified Scrum Masters. See their story and how their daily work has changed over the past few years.

The goal was 10 applicants for each opening. In a tight labor market? There’s no question: this is the most difficult time to build engaged teams in a generation. There are so many interests competing for attention. From finding workers, to upskilling them - how can we make sure we attract the right people in the first place? We’d have to be crazy to attempt it!

Bringing #GloryandDignity back to manufacturing. It’s an aspirational concept, one that you might not associate with manufacturing. We see it every day, though, through the companies that share their stories with us when they visit our facility or our colleagues at trade events.

Scrum Expert Nigel Thurlow of Toyota Connected, spent a day training Cambridge on the fundamentals of Scrum.