While offshoring might look like a great way to save money, for many manufacturers there are “hidden” costs that are not accounted for upfront in the total cost of offshoring. These make the differential between offshoring and outsourcing with a North American partner much smaller than initially expected. Worst-case, it could cost more to send work offshore than to keep it closer to home.

Many engineering intensive manufacturing tasks, such as the production of semiconductors, software, vehicles and pharmaceuticals, can now be performed almost anywhere in the world. “Offshoring” – the outsourcing of work from North America to labor markets in China, India and other parts of the world – has become commonplace in many industries. 

There is a lot of information and insight out there about lean manufacturing – but much of it can be challenging to apply to a specific company’s operations. Any or all of the diverse and sometimes complex facets of lean manufacturing could be relevant to your business. But the implementation and impact of lean principles is most effective when the fundamentals are taken care of first.

Kaizen has become a widely used term in manufacturing circles. First developed by the Toyota Production System, the word kaizen is a conflation of the Japanese words “kai” (meaning “school”) and “zen” (meaning “wisdom”). Often said to mean “continuous improvement,” a more correct translation of kaizen is: “to become good through change.”

In the wire and data cable assembly industry, assemblies are being integrated into increasingly complex, high-technology products. Customer expectations regarding quality have risen accordingly – making zero defects a de facto requirement. In more and more of today’s applications, field failures are simply not acceptable.

Many of today’s “lean manufacturing” best practices are associated primarily with long-run, high-repetition manufacturing processes, as in the automobile or food industries. Yet the need to improve supply chain performance is at least as great in high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environments.

With today’s fast-changing market conditions, intensifying global competition, time-critical customer demands, accelerating product obsolescence and a blistering pace of innovation, manufacturers need to pick up the pace. Getting products to market quickly without sacrificing quality has become vital to satisfying customers and maintaining or building market share.

Many industrial or manufacturing executives still associate outsourcing with cost reduction. But while saving money is an important driver, that’s only part of the story. Outsourcing is ultimately about honing your competitive edge.

Designing a cable can require extensive research. Wire, cable and components have to meet the electrical and environmental specifications of the system and its application.Fortunately, detailed information is readily available for every component as it pertains to electrical performance and material composition enabling the designer to verify and validate their component selections.

I have read many forums on the debate between crimping and soldering contacts. Personally, I prefer crimping contacts because the process is faster and more repeatable if performed properly.I have outlined some key characteristics to look for when inspecting your crimp to make sure you get a reliable, sustainable connection.