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You are here: Home / Archives for lean

The Peters Company launches Lean foundations course

By Bill Goloski — Posted January 5, 2021

The Peters Company has released an online course, “Lean Foundations,” for industry professionals seeking to reduce waste and improve productivity. The project is the company’s first on-demand training course and is available on https://learn.petersco.net for individual subscribers. The interactive course introduces the critical principles of the Toyota Production System — or Lean — which has […]

Filed Under: Nursery News Tagged With: lean, Nursery News

Building your Lean team

By Curt Kipp — Posted April 26, 2019

These analytical tools can help nurseries reach the next level of efficiency Last May, Digger presented the Efficiency Issue. We examined ways in which Oregon nurseries are making their operations more efficient, and we showed examples. Each nursery is unique. Our goal was to show off the ingenuity of some growers and inspire others to […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Wholesale Nurseries

Identifying value and waste

By Curt Kipp — Posted April 26, 2019

The key is in knowing what the customer is actually willing to pay for The central concept of Lean is to identify process steps that add value and those that are wasteful, eliminating the latter to become more efficient. It sounds simple but isn’t. Rick and Elizabeth Peters own a Wilsonville, Oregon-based Lean consulting firm, […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Wholesale Nurseries

Creating ‘standard work’

By Jon Bell — Posted April 26, 2019

Finding and reinforcing best work flows helps nurseries run a tighter ship Walk into JLPN Inc., a seeding operation and nursery in Salem, Oregon, and even if you’re not familiar with how to harvest or grade container seedlings, you’d soon be doing it like an experienced hand. How? Simply by looking at the laminated diagrams […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Wholesale Nurseries

Organizing spaces with 5S

By Bill Goloski — Posted April 26, 2019

The 5S methodology for storage and arrangement makes waste reduction far easier Many nurseries deploying Lean to make their processes less wasteful have found that organizing work spaces is a crucial part of their approach. To do this, they are deploying a Lean methodology called “5S.” The letters stand for 1) sort, 2) set in […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Operations, Wholesale Nurseries

Keeping things moving

By Jon Bell — Posted April 26, 2019

The Lean concept of continuous flow delivers big for Oregon’s nurseries Twenty people to five. A quarter-mile span to 20 feet. One week to 20 minutes. What do these all have in common? They are all some of the head-scratching efficiencies that individual nurseries across Oregon have realized since they’ve implemented one key Lean concept […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Operations, Wholesale Nurseries

Knowing our customers

By Mike Hiller — Posted April 26, 2019

Last fall, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bridget Behe, a professor of horticulture at Michigan State University. She was giving a presentation on her research into the marketing of edible and ornamental horticultural crops, which is her area of expertise. If you are not familiar with Dr. Behe’s podcast, “Connect 2 Consumer,” I […]

Filed Under: Columns, President's Message Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Wholesale Nurseries

Oregon Lean Consortium launches 2019 program year

By Rick and Elizabeth Peters — Posted January 25, 2019

The Oregon Lean Consortium welcomed two new companies as it launched its 2019 program year with a planning workshop on January 15. Seven diverse horticulture businesses will work together on process improvement for the next 12 months: Bailey Nurseries, Yamhill Eshraghi Nursery, Hillsboro JLPN Liners, Salem Marion Ag Service, Saint Paul Peoria Gardens, Albany Robinson […]

Filed Under: Nursery News Tagged With: Business, Efficiency, lean

Your efficient nursery business

By Curt Kipp — Posted April 30, 2018

Nursery profitability is always a challenge. We talked to more than a dozen growers and industry colleagues who have become more efficient, and increased their bottom line, by improving their management, workflows, inputs and workspaces. Whether it’s a daffodil or a giant sequoia, a plant is a relatively simple closed system. Its ultimate growth is driven by basic environmental factors such as light, water, soil and accessible nutrients. The nurseries that produce these plants, however, are much more complicated.

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Operations, Wholesale Nurseries

Managing for efficiency

By Curt Kipp — Posted April 30, 2018

Efficiency begins at the top. It starts with company leadership setting an expectation and empowering employees to contribute their ideas and expertise. It’s about encouraging dynamic, back-and-forth conversations in the workplace. Companies such as wholesale propagator JLPN Inc. in Salem, Oregon; wholesale grower Skagit Horticulture in Mount Vernon, Washington; Eshraghi Nurseries in Hillsboro, Oregon; wholesale […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Efficiency, lean, Management

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Nursery Guide LIVE

Nursery Guide LIVE clicks into place

Booth spaces still available for Nursery Guide LIVE March 17–18

Nursery Guide LIVE virtual marketplace postponed due to winter storm damage

Keynote presentations at Nursery Guide LIVE virtual marketplace provide insight on green industry trends in 2021 and beyond

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FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

People’s Choice Award winners announced for the 2020 Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

Augmented reality app allows New Varieties Showcase voting

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MANTS 2021 to move online due to COVID-19

Growing with the industry: Farwest memories

More Updates from Farwest

From the pages of Digger

April 2021 – The Greenhouse Issue

March 2020

February 2021

January 2021 – Nursery Country

December 2020

More issues of Digger

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