Continuous improvement is built around the PDCA, or plan-do-check-act cycle. Unfortunately for many people, they are not used to the “check” step. As a result, they often feel micromanaged and untrusted when the boss comes into the area to see how things are progressing.
Enter a heavy manufacturing facility, and you will likely hear the “clank, clank, clank” of metal hammers, or the dull thud of a dead blow hammer. Hammers are used to compensate for a quality problem elsewhere. In most cases, they are used to “adjust” a component, or install something that Read more…
The status quo is defined as the current or existing state or condition. In plain English, it is how things are today. There is an old adage that the definition of insanity is doing things the same way and expecting different results. Getting better requires that something is done differently. Read more…
Lines are a fact of life. They result from a company trying to keep the costs of providing its services in check in the face of fluctuations in customer demand. With enough resources to handle spikes, companies never make customers wait. Of course, profit would drop significantly because employees would Read more…
The total workload for a team is directly related to the demand, and demand tends to change over time. On occasion, the demand rises faster than planned, and suddenly a team feels shorthanded. For a variety of reasons, there can be a delay in getting more people on the staff Read more…
People make decisions every day about what tasks to add to their schedule. They basically have two choices. They can do the important stuff, or they can take on the urgent stuff. Urgent things are due immediately, and often have people hounding the taskee to get them done. Important things Read more…
You spend an incredibly large percentage of your day at work. On top of that, the general tone of the day carries over to your personal life. When the day is full of complaints, whether yours or other people’s, the day takes a lot out of you. Fortunately, there are Read more…
There is a fine line between wanting new equipment and needing new equipment. One of the best examples is computers. Every 15 minutes or so, a breakthrough in computing power happens, and the equipment you are using becomes obsolete. But upgrading with each new release is too expensive. The flip Read more…
Standardization is the act of establishing a specified condition, process, or practice. It is a very general, blanket term which covers a variety of ways to add consistency to whatever is being standardized. Standardization is one of the most important concepts in continuous improvement because it provides a stable platform Read more…
If you are considering using our Lean Training System to propel you along you continuous improvement journey, you are not alone. The customers that have already purchased our services or training materials come from a wide range of organizations. A sampling is listed below. ADP Agilent Technologies Amazon.com Arrow Electronics Automatic Read more…
Many people first learn about Lean when their boss tells them the company will be changing the way it does business. The information they receive tends to focus on what Lean is, and how it works. But often, they can’t quite make out what it will mean to their job, Read more…
People like to control their own destiny, but unfortunately, companies are not democracies. There is good news, though. Strong leaders recognize that employees are a great source of ideas. Many organizations have opportunities for frontline employees to participate in groups that help chart the course of the company.