When we think of process improvement, our minds often jump immediately to what the business is doing to fill a customer’s needs. We are not as good at looking at the steps the user takes. Is customer value added every time the product is used? A case in point. I Read more…
Airports and government agencies give such great opportunities for Lean blog articles. Despite the abundance of topics where I could point out problems, I have to say there are lots of positive changes I see in the face of challenging regulations and stressed customers. For example, story after story comes Read more…
Rework is the act of correcting a defect. Rework is obviously waste, and can be avoided by eliminating the root cause of the problem. The further downstream rework is done from where the error originally occurred, the more the problem costs to correct. Rework is most commonly initiated after an Read more…
Call centers are simply clusters of people answering phones for a particular purpose. It might be to provide information, as in a hotline for a recall. It could be for placing orders, for technical support, or for customer service. Call centers can be inbound, where customers are calling in, or Read more…
Fabrication is the act of taking raw stock material and turning it into a part for use in an assembly process. There are many different types of fabrication processes. The most common are Cutting Folding Machining Punching Shearing Stamping Welding Additive Manufacturing Watch Our Fabrication Video Let’s look at the Read more…
A gauge is a measuring device. A gauge can be as simple as a piece of string cut to a specific dimension or a cutout of an animated character with an outstretched arm and the caption, “You must be this tall to ride this attraction.” On the other end of Read more…
A line shift is a synchronized movement of all the production work on an assembly line. It can be done in several ways. Manually, in which each person pushes their work to the next station on a signal. On an indexed moving line, in which the line moves and then Read more…
Sensors are mechanical devices that are sensitive to their environment, and that communicate information about what they detect. Sensors can detect pressure, temperature, speed, and a host of other things. Sensors are commonly linked to either an alarm of some sort (a buzzer when a seat belt is not fastened), Read more…
A manufacturing fixture holds parts during the manufacturing process. Fixtures come in a wide range of types. In their simplest form, they may be a series of pins sticking up from a flat surface to keep a part from sliding. They can also be much more complicated, with a series Read more…
The standard work process is a critical piece in the implementation of Lean manufacturing programs. It helps to stabilize a process and it provides a basis for continuous improvement. No matter how good something is, though, there is always a cost to it. For standard work, the price can come Read more…
Many years ago, when I was a lieutenant in the Army, I was responsible for a motor pool—a military word for a glorified lot where the unit parked its forty trucks when they weren’t in use. Every Friday afternoon, my sergeants and I managed the cleanup of the motor pool. Read more…
To understand problem solving, one must first have a clear definition of what a problem actually is. A problem is simply a gap between an expectation and reality. The most common way people look at this relationship is that they focus on a change in performance, meaning that the reality Read more…