Mark's Note: Today's post is by Andy Wagner, who contributed regularly to this blog from 2007 to 201...

1. America’s Oldest Bike Company Could Use Lean
Manufacturing to Remain the Oldest?
Mark's Note: Today's post is by Andy Wagner, who contributed regularly to this blog from 2007 to
2010. This CNN video caught his eye and he couldn't help blogging about it.
Recently, CNN ran a short piece on Worksman Cycles of New York City highlighting them as the last
major bicycle manufacturer left in the United States: "Meet America's oldest bike maker."
The Worksman story is wonderful. Counter to the major trend in American manufacturing,
Worksman has continued to make their industrial bicycles, tricycles and food carts in their humble
Brooklyn factory rather than chasing low labor costs to China like so many others. Family owned and
operated for over one hundred years, they have exhibited what Dr. Deming might call a constancy of
purpose - and they stayed steadfast in same business niche through all that the 20th Century
threw at them.
Every factory that I've worked in has had a few Worksman tricycles kicking around, usually ridden
by the skilled trades workers in maintenance. I've never had the privilege to ride one, but they are
ubiquitous and dominant in their little niche.

2. It's a great story,
and I'd like to
leave it there,
but instead of
just reading the
article, I
watched the
video.
To somebody
with an eye for
Lean and
operational
excellence, the
CNN piece about
the little bike
shop in Brooklyn
comes across
very differently.
Safety glasses
are few and far
between.
Workers grind,
weld, and paint
with little sign of
simple error
proofing for quality control.
And the inventory -- my goodness -- the inventory; boxes and boxes stacked to the rafters cascade
from the shelves. If parts aren't lost and damaged in that mess, I'll eat my hat.

3. While so many companies, large and small have struggled to adopt a continuous improvement
culture over the past three decades, eager to compete with the best in the world, the video shows
a factory that time left behind.
If you want an example of a small manufacturing company that's doing what it takes to survive in
America today, you need not go much further than Mark's Lean Podcast #178 where he interviews
Drew Greenblatt, the CEO of Marlin Steel, a wire basket company based in Baltimore.
Much like Worksman, Marlin was a small US manufacturing company dedicated to a niche market
and highly regarded in that market. Marlin made baskets for bagel stores until the low-carb diet
craze wiped out its main customer segment. Forced to diversify, they began using continuous
improvement tools to improve quality and reduce cycle time in product development so they could
begin to serve a variety of higher-end customers.
If you're looking for a feel good story, don't watch the video. If you're looking for inspiration on your
Lean journey, check with Marlin Steel. And if you're looking to say in business in America the next
hundred years, don't expect to do it the way you've operated for the last hundred years.
About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the "lean
healthcare" methodology. Mark is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and
Healthcare Kaizen, as well as the new Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. Mark is also the VP of
Innovation and Improvement Services for KaiNexus.