2 min read

Effectiveness and Efficiency in Operations

By Jared Wehde on Jun 1, 2023 10:52:47 AM

The first formal program with the title “Engineering Management” originated at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) sometime in the 1960s.  The University of Missouri describes Engineering Management as the art and science of planning, organizing, allocating resources, and directing and controlling engineering activities.  Many other colleges have been focused on the same foundational concepts of Engineering Management for a long time.  The principles have been practiced in manufacturing and even military operations for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.    

Topics: Operations Management Comparison Blogs
2 min read

Tradition vs. Tech: How Much “The Norm” Is Costing You

By Carolyn Owen on Nov 4, 2022 1:13:34 PM

Making sure your team has enough hands on deck can present challenges of all kinds. Namely, the expense involved with traditional ways of hiring. Traditionally, a recruiter could spend a couple of weeks hiring for just one position. All things considered (things being salary, onboarding costs, and the plan ahead), hiring often comes with a hefty fee attached.

Topics: Cost Reduction Comparison Blogs
4 min read

Additional Capacity vs Additional Inventory: Which is Better?

By Gauthier Duval on Jun 6, 2022 9:52:58 AM

You’ll sometimes hear inventory referred to as “crystallized capacity,” the idea being that when you have limited capacity, building inventory is a solution that helps you meet customer demand. The typical example is a seasonal business, like a manufacturer of skiing equipment. 

Topics: Comparison Blogs
5 min read

Flexibility vs Agility in Supply Chain Operations

By Pat Dippel on May 20, 2022 2:00:00 PM

Flexibility and agility are two words that are often used interchangeably, but there are important distinctions between them. Knowing the difference can guide how and when you focus your time and energy to strengthen your business.

Topics: Operational Agility Operations Management Comparison Blogs
7 min read

Pull Production Systems: Push vs Pull, Types, and Tools

By Steven Calhoun on Jan 12, 2022 3:34:10 PM

Stacking inventory as a buffer is a common practice, but it often goes too far. In the worst cases, businesses produce everything ahead of time and then hope to sell it all, only to find that engineering made an urgent modification to the product or that the forecasts were way off.

Topics: Lean Center of Excellence Comparison Blogs Production Metrics
6 min read

Robotics Asset vs Labor Pool Asset

By Pete Conrad on Oct 15, 2021 10:16:14 AM

Automation, whether robots or co-bots, are drawing a lot of attention these days with the 43.7% growth of e-commerce and the increasing fulfillment needs across a number of industries and consumer categories.  We’ve all heard the familiar refrain that automation is taking over in manufacturing and logistics, but that has not been the case due to offshoring versus automation.  

Topics: Digital Manufacturing Workforce Innovation Comparison Blogs
6 min read

Production Leveling vs Agile Manufacturing

By Steven Calhoun on Oct 13, 2021 10:00:00 AM

You need to meet customer demands, but you also have to plan your production properly to make sure you’re working profitably. This is a tall task, and luckily, people in your shoes have already tried many approaches to solving this problem.

Topics: Digital Manufacturing Comparison Blogs
6 min read

The Metaverse and Manufacturing: Hype vs Reality

By Steven Calhoun on Aug 27, 2021 11:00:00 AM

Manufacturing has long had the concept of a “digital twin” of physical facilities and their machines. The consumer-oriented version of this concept has been branded the “metaverse” and is catching on among Silicon Valley figureheads and social media companies.

Topics: Digital Manufacturing Megatrends Comparison Blogs
5 min read

Drum-Buffer-Rope vs Kanban

By Steven Calhoun on Aug 18, 2021 1:54:58 PM

Ideally, your production process would achieve single piece flow and there would be no need for managing the process with a system for tracking what is where, and how much is needed. But because we don’t live in a perfect world, you will have to choose a system for managing your production process.

Topics: Lean Center of Excellence Comparison Blogs
6 min read

Craigslist Gigs vs Veryable: Work Available, Pay, & User Friendliness

By Steven Calhoun on Jun 16, 2021 11:15:00 AM

You’ve probably seen Craigslist show up in search results for … well, anything you could want to buy. The Craigslist website was one of the early power players on the Internet, and still has staying power today. So does that mean the Gigs section of Craigslist is the right way for you to find work?

Topics: Professional Development Comparison Blogs
3 min read

Staff Augmentation vs Veryable: What’s the Difference?

By Steven Calhoun on Jun 10, 2021 1:23:10 PM

Staff augmentation is a broad category, but does it include Veryable?

Topics: On-Demand Labor vs. Temp Staffing Comparison Blogs
3 min read

Time to Fill: Full-Time Employees vs On-Demand Labor

By Steven Calhoun on May 20, 2021 9:42:00 AM

When you need workers, you don’t want to spend so long finding them that it slows your business down. At the same time, you want to take time to vet candidates so that you get good workers instead of bad apples. So how do you balance these two priorities?

Topics: Comparison Blogs Service Metrics
3 min read

Veryable vs On-Demand Staffing Companies

By Steven Calhoun on May 12, 2021 10:26:47 AM

You’ve heard of Veryable and you’ve heard of on-demand staffing solutions. What you might not have known is that the two are different in a few key ways.

Topics: On-Demand Labor vs. Temp Staffing Comparison Blogs
5 min read

Multi-Day Ops vs Single-Day Ops: When to Use Each for On-Demand Labor

By Kim Jerantowski on Apr 29, 2021 9:15:00 AM

You’ve probably wondered before what the best way is to attract workers to your business with on-demand labor. It’s not always easy to tell, especially if you’re used to scheduling workers by the week like most companies are. However, on-demand labor gives you the option to post daily work opportunities, so how are you supposed to know when to use this option?

Topics: Getting Started Comparison Blogs
7 min read

Is Veryable a Staffing Solution? Veryable vs Temp Staffing

By Steven Calhoun on Apr 21, 2021 10:00:00 AM

If you’ve looked for labor on a short-term basis before, you’ve probably used temp staffing. So when you heard of Veryable, we’re guessing your first thought might have been something like, “How is this different from temp staffing?”

Topics: On-Demand Labor vs. Temp Staffing Comparison Blogs
3 min read

Pros & Cons of Picking New, Unrated Operators

By Steven Calhoun on Apr 2, 2021 11:00:00 AM

So you’ve logged into Veryable, seen bids on your Op, and you’re wondering if you should pick the “Ready to Work” Operators without any ratings yet. Maybe you asked yourself, “Are they a risky pick? How often do new workers turn out to be reliable?”

Topics: Getting Started Comparison Blogs
9 min read

Labor Optimization: Consistent Labor Availability vs Productivity Rate

By Pete Conrad on Feb 26, 2021 5:12:34 PM

When thinking through your operation and how to best organize it to complete the work, you’ve most likely weighed prioritizing labor productivity rates versus prioritizing labor availability. This is actually a critical question, and one with implications on customer service that are not fully appreciated across an operation. 

Topics: Productivity Comparison Blogs
8 min read

Piecework Pay vs Hourly Pay: Pros, Cons, and Differences

By Adam Rubatt on Feb 11, 2021 11:03:26 AM

If you’ve ever managed an operation in manufacturing or logistics, you’ve noticed that some workers get more done than others. You’ve likely heard jokes justifying a slow pace of work by saying “I’m paid by the hour.” People say there is always a bit of truth in a joke, so what’s the truth in the difference between being paid by the hour and being paid based on what’s actually accomplished?

Topics: Job Design Comparison Blogs
6 min read

The Pros and Cons of Automation in Manufacturing

By Steven Calhoun on Jan 27, 2021 10:00:00 AM

The idea of automation in manufacturing has caused many people to sound the alarm about potential job elimination, and for others it sounds like a necessary step toward more efficient production and less labor-intensive processes. There are strong opinions about automation that differ depending on who you ask. But one thing is clear: automation is already picking up speed.

Topics: Digital Manufacturing Comparison Blogs
15 min read

The Costs of Hiring an Employee vs The Costs of On-Demand Labor

By Carter Stanley on Dec 4, 2020 4:48:18 PM

It is difficult to understand how much money different forms of hiring will truly cost your company. What most people really want to know is whether you should handle it all yourself, or pay someone to manage some or all of your hiring. Many even wonder if they should choose another option entirely, like staffing agencies or on-demand labor.

Topics: Cost Reduction Comparison Blogs
8 min read

Traditional Staffing vs On-Demand Labor Platforms

By Pete Conrad on Oct 8, 2020 5:37:44 PM

You’ve just gotten a 10% increase in orders, 1 employee is out on a scheduled vacation, and another two have called off for the day. Now you find your operations team is short and you’re scrambling to make sure you can fulfill orders. What are your options?

Topics: Workforce Innovation On-Demand Labor vs. Temp Staffing Comparison Blogs
3 min read

Lean vs. Six Sigma

By Pete Conrad on Oct 31, 2018 8:40:00 PM

Many people today tout Lean Six Sigma as a common tool to drive process improvement across industries and functions.  You may think that the two are one in the same, but Lean methodology and Six Sigma are two distinct tools to achieve performance improvement smashed together under one banner: LSS.

Topics: Lean Center of Excellence Comparison Blogs
3 min read

Forecasting vs. Flexibility

By Mike Kinder on Oct 15, 2018 5:49:00 PM

Forecasts, by definition, will always be wrong. The degree to which they are wrong varies widely – the magnitude of the gap is often a factor of demand planning techniques and tools, market factors, changing customer preferences, and operational strategy. In terms of strategy, many businesses seek to find the "sweet spot" between forecasting and operational flexibility; they ebb and flow across the forecasting-flexibility spectrum with changes in leadership preferences, business models, and enabling technology.

Topics: Operations Management Comparison Blogs