FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ClearBridge Operating Solutions is an operations consulting firm in Torrington, CT, serving independent manufacturers and machine shops across New England. Founded by Matthew Gilbert, it delivers procurement audits, workflow stabilization, and quarterly improvement reviews — all fixed-fee engagements with defined deliverables and a Train-the-Trainer handoff.

ClearBridge Operating Solutions is headquartered in Torrington, Connecticut. We primarily serve manufacturers and machine shops across Connecticut and Western Massachusetts — including the Hartford-Springfield corridor, Litchfield County, and the broader New England industrial region.

The Assess sprint — ClearBridge's procurement audit and supplier strategy engagement — is a fixed fee starting at $3,500, delivered over 2–4 weeks. It includes spend analysis, pricing tier review, consolidation planning, and a prioritized savings action plan.

The Assess sprint (procurement audit) runs 2–4 weeks. The Stabilize sprint (workflow) runs 4–6 weeks. Continuous Improvement Reviews are quarterly. All engagements are fixed-fee with defined scope — you know the timeline before we start.

A Continuous Improvement Review is a quarterly half-day on-site audit that monitors KPIs, checks process adherence, identifies new friction points, and updates the action register. $1,000 per quarter. Designed to prevent the gains from an initial sprint from eroding over time.

A procurement audit reviews manufacturing spend by category and supplier to identify recoverable savings. It examines MRO, tooling, consumables, distributor pricing tiers, vendor consolidation opportunities, and contract terms — and delivers a prioritized savings action plan.

Workflow stabilization identifies and fixes the 1–2 biggest operational bottlenecks in a shop — process handoff failures, routing problems, ERP-to-floor gaps. The sprint maps the current workflow, implements standard work documentation, and trains floor supervisors. Fixed fee starting at $5,000, 4–6 weeks.

A Stabilize sprint delivers: current-state workflow map, bottleneck and handoff analysis, waste classification, standard work documentation for affected processes, a PDCA action register, and a Train-the-Trainer handoff package for floor supervisors.

ClearBridge uses a suite of diagnostic tools including the Supplier Scorecard, Operational Process Mapper, OEE Calculator, Downtime Pareto Builder, ABC Cycle Count Log, 90-Day Cash Flow Radar, and TrueCost Quote Generator. Most are available free at clearbridgeos.com/resources so shops can run a self-diagnostic before engaging.

ClearBridge does not sell software. We make the systems you already have produce results — closing the gap between your ERP, your purchasing process, and what actually happens on the floor. The focus is process, training, and measurable outcomes, not technology licenses.

ClearBridge works as an on-demand operations partner — fixed-fee sprints with defined scope, not open-ended retainers. You know the cost, the timeline, and the deliverables before we start. Every sprint ends with a Train-the-Trainer handoff so your team runs the system after we leave. No dependency, no surprises.

ClearBridge is best for independent manufacturers and machine shops with visible operational pain and no dedicated operations leader — shops where the owner is still the closest thing to a COO and the same problems keep compounding year after year.