Getting to the Root Cause of a Problem 5 Why’s Analysis is a problem solving tool designed to get to the heart of a problem. In theory, it is simple. Ask ‘Why’ something happened five times until you can’t come up with another underlying reason—hence the name, 5 Why’s Analysis. Read more…
In its original definition, Lean is a form of continuous improvement that springs from the Toyota Production System (TPS). The term “Lean” was popularized in the landmark book, Lean Thinking. It focuses on improving flow, with a heavy emphasis on reducing inventory. Nowadays, though, there is also a broader definition. Read more…
Take a Closer Look at This Lean Handbook We want you to be able to take this Lean handbook for a test drive before you buy. Download the excerpts of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean? (below), and take a closer look at the covers. I recommend that you pay Read more…
Whatever continuous improvement philosophy you follow—Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints—Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean? can help. But don’t take my word for it. Instead, see what other people have to say about it. Look at the reviews below and see how some experts, leaders, and fellow authors in Read more…
To some, Toyota might seem surprisingly open with its Lean TPS information. After all, Lean TPS is the primary reason for Toyota’s success and recent dominance in the auto industry. Why wouldn’t they guard their secrets? Even more, why would the give access to their facilities to both Lean practitioners Read more…
Lean Problem: Your eyes glaze over when leaders start throwing around new terms and Japanese words. Thriving In a Continuous Improvement Culture Strategies: Communicating more effectively How this affects you as a Lean employee: If you don’t speak the same Lean language that your boss does, you might Read more…
Many Lean terms can trace their origins to Japan. Muda is one of those terms. It really translates to “wasteful activity”, but in common practice most people equate muda to waste. Since one of Lean’s main goals is reducing waste to improve flow, it is no surprise that muda has Read more…
Let’s talk a little about the waste of overprocessing. Anyone who has been around Lean for more than a day or so has dived into the seven wastes (eight with unused creativity thrown in). One of the wastes is the waste of overprocessing. The most common explanation given about overprocessing Read more…
Like the three rules of real estate—Location, Location, Location—continuous improvement has its own repetitive rules as well. Plus, there’s even a fourth one for good measure. By the way—muda is the Japanese word for wasteful activity, but in practice is used synonymously with waste. These rules are pretty simple. Muda. Muda. Muda. Read more…
The most common definition of jidoka is “autonomation”. It is Japanese in origin, as are many specialized words in Lean. The term traces its roots back to the early 1900’s at Toyota in Japan, then a textile manufacturing company. Sakichi Toyoda, an inventor and the founder of Toyota, developed a Read more…
Heijunka is the Japanese term for level-loading or production leveling. It is intended to smooth out the peaks and valleys of customer demand into something flatter to create conditions that make standardization easier. It also stabilizes the product mix to support Standard Work. Heijunka, pronounced High-June-Kuh, is a workaround for Read more…
A cause and effect diagram is a structured, graphical representation of the possible causes to a given effect. The purpose of the CE diagram is to provide clarity about the nature of problems. Complicated problems tend to have many contributing factors. The relationships of these potential causes jump out when Read more…