Events &
Trainings
Discover CONNSTEP-led trainings and partner-hosted events focused on strengthening manufacturing businesses statewide.
Operational Excellence
Optimize for efficiency. We refine the systems that power your daily operations.
Operational Excellence
Optimize for efficiency. We refine the systems that power your daily operations.
Continuous Improvement
Eliminate Waste and Boost Productivity
Continuous improvement, also known as Lean or process improvement, focuses on preventing and eliminating waste across your operations—from the shop floor to the office. Waste is defined as any extra time, labor, or material that doesn’t add value to your product or service. By streamlining key processes, manufacturers can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize productivity.
CONNSTEP offers a comprehensive suite of continuous improvement tools and programs to help your business achieve these goals:
5S Visual Workplace
Organize and standardize your workspace to improve efficiency, safety, quality, and morale through Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.
Avoid the 8 Wastes
Identify and mitigate common sources of waste in your operations to maximize efficiency.
Kanban Systems
Visual production control tools that synchronize workflows and inventory with actual demand, preventing overproduction and underutilization of resources.
Mistake Proofing (Poka-Yoke)
Prevent errors and product defects at the source with cost-effective solutions that build quality into every process.
Lean Office
Apply Lean principles to administrative processes, eliminating waste, improving flow of information, and increasing overall office productivity.
Lean Trainings
Lean for Manufacturers
Lean Practitioner
Continuous Improvement Champion Certification (CICC)
Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
Systematically identify the underlying causes of problems to prevent recurrence, using techniques like the “5 Whys” to guide permanent solutions.
Setup Reduction
Techniques like Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) to shorten changeover times, reduce lead times, minimize waste, and increase production capacity.
Training Within Industry (TWI)
Standardized programs that capture and transfer knowledge from experienced employees, improve job instruction, enhance safety, strengthen employee relations, and optimize work methods.
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Team-based equipment maintenance strategies that maximize machine availability, reduce downtime, and improve first-time quality levels.
Value Stream Mapping
Visualize the end-to-end flow of materials and information, diagnose bottlenecks, and uncover immediate improvement opportunities.
By leveraging these tools and resources, CONNSTEP helps manufacturers create a culture of continuous improvement, improve workflow efficiency, reduce costs, and maintain higher-quality output across all areas of their business.
Supply Chain Resilience
Strengthening Logistics Against Disruption
Control and execute product flow in the most economical way possible. Maintaining a well-managed supply chain ensures a smooth flow of materials, minimizes delays and production disruptions, and increases productivity while reducing waste.
CONNSTEP
empowers you to optimize your supply chain by collaboratively addressing critical strategic, tactical, and operational challenges. Our team helps pinpoint and resolve issues related to the flow of materials, information, and finances across your network, driving tangible improvements in efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall performance.
Supply Chain Development
Managing your supply chain requires you to plan, control, and execute your product’s flow from materials to production to distribution in the most economical way possible. Having a reliable, sustainable supply chain is critical to your business.
Key Benefits:
Shorten delivery and lead times
Gain control over your master production schedule
Identify and resolve critical supplier constraint points
Implement creative solutions that deliver quantifiable results
Maximize the Potential of Your Supply Chain
Developing and managing a supply chain requires collaboration and risk management to create alignment and communication between all participants. Through a collaborative value stream mapping approach, CONNSTEP
can help you identify your most profitable relationships and make them even more productive.
Risk Management Strategies for Small Manufacturers
Supply Chain Vulnerability Assessment
CONNSTEP offers an assessment to measure your supply chain vulnerability and deliver a roadmap of recommendations to address any shortcomings.
You'LL discover:
Implications and risks of sole, single, and multiple source suppliers
Opportunities to shield your company’s financial performance from risk
Connections between supply chain vulnerabilities and your delivery and quality performance
Move Your Business Forward
Building a seamless operation that accounts for suppliers’ capabilities, capacity, and scheduling within your own planning activities is key. CONNSTEP
helps you:
CONNSTEP helps you:
Create a Strategic Plan That Delivers – make data-driven decisions, identify priorities, and leverage your unique capabilities
Meet Changing Demands with Flexibility & Capacity – produce new parts efficiently, exceed customer expectations, and ensure quality
Develop New Products Faster – innovate to market with smarter resource and capacity management
Exhibit Reliability with Quality Standards & Certifications – gain expertise in ISO 9000 certification, internal auditing, and leverage certifications for business growth
CONNEX Connecticut
CONNEX Connecticut is an online platform that connects all U.S. manufacturers and suppliers with a single, accurate, and searchable supply-chain solution. It’s a revolutionary way to find, be found, connect, and contract directly with other manufacturers and suppliers.
Benefits:
Find New Buyers: Respond to RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs; create a profile to showcase your capabilities
Find Suppliers: Access qualified domestic suppliers for your products and services
Network for Growth: Participate in purchasing events, matchmaking sessions, and industry forums to expand your supplier base
Create or log into your free account today to connect with manufacturers and suppliers across Connecticut and the U.S.
Supply Chain Tools
CONNSTEP
offers a suite of Excel-based tools to help you evaluate, analyze, and optimize your supply chain operations:
ABC Analysis
Perform an ABC classification of your inventory based on product cost and quantity used to identify critical items for prioritization in supply chain planning.
Cursory Assessment
A broad-spectrum self-assessment evaluating supplier strategy, client engagement, risk management, logistics optimization, digital maturity, and transformation readiness.
Make vs. Buy Analysis
Evaluate the financial viability of producing in-house versus outsourcing using a cost analysis and decision flowchart.
Potential Customer
Assess prospective companies for supply chain engagement or program participation by evaluating employee count, supplier/customer base, and sales volume.
Proactive Maturity
A maturity model categorizing your supply chain capabilities as Learning, Practicing, or Fully Developed across supplier strategy, optimization, and performance monitoring.
Supplier Scorecard
Develop a supplier performance scorecard to measure quality, on-time delivery, and other key performance indicators, communicating expectations clearly.
Supplier Segmentation
Classify suppliers based on their impact on your business:
Strategic Suppliers: Critical, high-value, unique offerings; focus on long-term partnerships
Important Suppliers: Significant but replaceable; maintain performance while retaining flexibility
Transactional Suppliers: Standard, easily replaceable goods; relationships are price-driven and short-term
Using these tools enables you to prioritize supplier engagement, mitigate risks, and improve supply chain efficiency.
Technology
Leverage Digital Tools for Competitive Advantage
Manufacturers face constant pressure to produce faster, better, and more efficiently. CONNSTEP helps you leverage digital tools and modern technologies to optimize operations, improve product quality, and strengthen your competitive advantage.
Our Technology Solutions Include:
Technology Implementation
Put the right tools, equipment, and software in place to empower your workforce and streamline operations. We guide you through adopting technologies that improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance product quality.
Technology Scouting
Identify and evaluate solutions to meet your manufacturing needs. We help you assess challenges, explore existing technology options, and select the best fit to accelerate product development and operational efficiency.
Digital Transformation Maturity Assessment (DTMA)
The Digital Transformation Maturity Assessment (DTMA) is a strategic evaluation process that measures an organization’s current digital capabilities across technology, processes, and culture to create a roadmap for Industry 4.0. Specifically for manufacturers, it provides a 0-5 score, benchmarking performance against peers to identify gaps, reduce technical debt, and prioritize investments for digital growth.
Model-Based Definition (MBD)
Transform product development with 3D digital models that fully define parts and assemblies. MBD reduces errors, rework, and waste while accelerating design-to-production cycles.
The Digital Model Initiative (DMI) Guidebook provides practical guidance for defense supply chain manufacturers to adopt MBD successfully.
Technology-Driven Market Intelligence (TDMI)
Evaluate new technologies or product launches with a systematic, data-driven approach. TDMI combines market insights, technical performance data, and competitive analysis to help manufacturers make informed decisions about development, partnerships, and market entry.
Key Benefits:
Streamlined production and improved operational efficiency
Faster innovation and accelerated design-to-market cycles
Informed decisions about technology adoption and product launches
Enhanced interconnectivity between equipment, processes, and supply chain
Additional Resources
Learn more about our trusted Technology Partners who support manufacturers in implementing the latest solutions.
With CONNSTEP, technology becomes a practical enabler—helping your workforce achieve more, your products reach higher quality, and your operations adapt quickly to a changing marketplace.
Upcoming Industry Events
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Grow. Improve.
Succeed.
Connect with our team today to find out how CONNSTEP can empower your manufacturing business to compete and thrive.
Grow.
Improve.
Succeed.
Connect with our team today to find out how CONNSTEP can empower your manufacturing business to compete and thrive.
