A rule of thumb is simply a general process applied to a broad condition. They tend to have a wide-ranging application and are more based on accumulated experience and tribal knowledge than actual science. This is different from rules, regulations, Standard Work, and other forms of documented instructions. In those cases, the required actions are specified. For a rule of thumb, there is no such formality. An example of a rule of thumb might be Read more…
So, this afternoon, I was straightening up the house, and I saw a wrapper on the floor in the family room. I asked my young son if he left it there. His response? “Let me think for 7 minutes.” I tried hard not to laugh. After all, I am trying to reinforce the concept of household 5S, specifically systematic cleaning. But, for the life of me, I could not figure out why he needed precisely Read more…
Usually used in connection with a capital investment, a payback period is the length of time it will take to recoup the amount of money put into a project. The exact methodology for determining a payback period varies based on the way assumptions are made, and the formula used to do the financial calculations. Some simple assessments use the actual dollar value of the investment and revenue, but most will use the net present value Read more…
Waiting is one of the seven wastes first introduced by Taiichi Ohno, and still commonly used in modern Lean. Wait time is particularly bad because it consumes a non-renewable resource, and an important one at that: Time. Waiting occurs for a variety of reasons. People often wait for a machine to run, for a delivery, or for someone else to complete a task before the individual can start the next step. Wait time is not Read more…
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One of the most frequent quotes I encounter when helping people improve their processes is “Our process is different.” People who have not been exposed to continuous improvement efforts frequently believe that their process is so unusual that Lean or Six Sigma or whatever methodology you are using does not apply. Normally this quote is verbatim, and it will be followed with a reason why it is, in fact, different. After hearing this for a Read more…
A manager is a person in a formal position of authority, generally responsible for guiding a team or process towards an established goal. In virtually all cases, a manager is in a formal position, as opposed to a leader who may be in either a designated or an informal role. While managers have received a bad reputation through their lampooning in entertainment (i.e. Office Space, The Office, Dilbert, etc.), they provide a critical role in Read more…
A pattern is essentially a recurring “thing”. It could be behaviors, defects, markings, traffic, or anything else that can be observed or monitored. The relevance to Lean is that the pattern is caused by something. Pure randomness is actually surprisingly uncommon in nature, and even less common in the workplace. Nearly everything has a cause if you look hard enough. And in the case of a pattern, when the cause repeats over and over, it Read more…
Marketing is the combination of art and science used to determine which products or services a customer will buy, and then crafting a message to make those offerings more appealing. There is a veritable library of information available on marketing, so this term focuses on the impact continuous improvement efforts can have on marketing efforts. Lean impacts marketing in two main ways. The first is to make the marketing operations more effective. Lean has migrated Read more…
Problems are generally looked at as a situation in which the current condition does not match the “should be” state. Opportunities, on the other hand, occur when you are meeting current expectations, but there is a potential “should be” state, further out, that would provide you substantial reward if you were able to increase performance enough to reach it. This normally happens when customer expectations rise but there is nobody currently able to meet those Read more…
Dictionary.com defines an opinion as “a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to product complete certainty. “ In the world of continuous improvement, people seldom have the luxury of complete certainty. But, unfortunately, they often act with a clear deficit of facts and data to make an informed decision. The key in making good decisions about improvements is to balance the time and other costs required to collect the required information with the Read more…
Leaders are the people who can envision a destination and inspire a group of others to join them on the journey to that goal. Leadership can be both formal and informal. In formal leadership roles, the leader is designated by someone of higher authority to act in that capacity. The role may be a permanent position, or it may be a temporary assignment, such as a kaizen leader. In an informal role, the person is Read more…