Exploring Our Industrial Heritage: Introduction

Tools for the Trenches is setting out on a journey to explore our industrial heritage. Manufacturing has been my career home for over 40 yea...

Continue Reading...
The Many Benefits of Strong Peer Relationships

Ideally everyone in your plant works together like best friends. You have fun and you laugh, and you achieve great results together. Having ...

Continue Reading...
Meeting with the Boss

Your objective when you meet with your boss is to provide them information about your team, your results and your projects. Additionally, yo...

Continue Reading...
Do you have a Self-Promoting Peer?

Workplace competition occurs an employee's primary objective is self-promotion with their ultimate goal being career advancement. For exampl...

Continue Reading...
Managing Change as a Manufacturing Supervisor

I think it often get overlooked that manufacturing supervisors are on the frontlines when it comes to leading change. Change by itself can b...

Continue Reading...
How to Solve Coworker Conflict

The Problem

Sometimes good people just have personality conflicts and they just don’t get along. Just like in our personal lives, our workp...

Continue Reading...
How to Make Effective Business Proposals

I recently interviewed two extremely successful, multimillion dollar business owners. One sells industrial goods and the other sells marketi...

Continue Reading...