Lean manufacturing is going green these days, and shop floor management software is paving the way in that transition. In the process, the technology is supporting local job creation, retention and environmental sustainability. Those rippling side effects spell good news for the 667,000 Americans who filed initial unemployment claims in February 2009. Indeed, that figure represents the highest reading since October 1982. The nation is finding itself in a dire predicament, but one factory floor tech company is coming to the rescue with free shop floor management software.

Any Ohio manufacturer that wants to take its manufacturing from lean to green is currently eligible to take advantage of the complimentary technology. By doing so, they'll not only be helping to decrease their state's unemployment rate but they'll also be showing their commitment to caring for the environment. The software's manufacturer states, “Sustainability will continue to drive business strategy, corporate value and new products in 2009, and we are looking to support that growth locally.”

That sentiment is echoed by President Barack Obama. While on the campaign trail, the Commander in Chief asserted that the solution to the nation's current job situation was: “We've also got to do more to create the green jobs that are jobs of the future.”

In that regard, Obama and Ohio's governor are on the same page. The state leader pointed to energy as lying at the core of Ohio's economic and environmental health. In short, he deemed it “the state's future.” Shop floor management software helps accomplish this common aim of the U.S. President and Ohio Governor, and one manufacturer of the technology is making it as simple and affordable to implement as possible.

Throughout the rest of this year, the manufacturer of a real-time data collection system that provides job tracking and factory floor control will provide its software, free of licensing fees, to any Ohio-based manufacturing company that: 1) supplies parts and products to the renewable energy industry or 2) manufactures energy-efficient sustainable products. Depending on the number of “seats on the factory floor,” this complimentary offering will save Ohio manufacturers anywhere from $25,000 to $175,000.

So why is the shop floor management company giving away software in this price range? The company president explains, “The concepts of sustainable manufacturing are founded on the principles of lean manufacturing. They focus on improving production performance, improving cost control and enhancing customer service. We have seen tremendous improvement in companies that use our solution. It (handing out free copies of the software) seems like a worthwhile contribution in helping Ohio move forward in the replacement of automotive-based production with newer growth-oriented manufacturing. We want to do everything we can do to keep Ohioans working.”

By providing manufacturers with visual control, rate-based measurements, problem identification and process improvement, and by often eliminating the factory floor documentation that is used for production control, quality tracking and ISO-9000-controlled documentation distribution, the software frees up shop floor managers' time so they can focus on expanding their businesses … and, in turn, expanding the nation's job market.