Process observation is a critical task in the battle against waste. One of the mistakes people make when observing a process is to ask questions about it before they go to gemba to watch it. This tends to bias the person doing the process observation.
This sample is part of the “General Overview’ series of continuous improvement Lessons of the Day. We’d love to hear your comments about what can make this product better. Learn more about our Continous Improvement Lessons of the Day. You’ve received this email because you signed up for it at http://www.Velaction.com Continuous Improvement Lesson of the Day Right-Sized Doses of Lean Six Sigma from Velaction General Overview Series Jidoka The most Read more…
Over the years, I have worked with some premiere Japanese Lean consultants. Here are some of the many lessons I learned from them… Watch before asking. Observe a process before asking any questions about it. You’ll prevent biasing what you see. Listen. Listen to the noise around you-you’ll be surprised how much waste you can identify by sound. Keep shelves and benches short. It opens up the work area, making the area more visual. It Read more…
The Deming Cycle, also known as the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is a standardized problem solving approach. It is widely taught as part of most companies’ Lean training. PDCA is built into nearly all structured problem-solving tools, such as kaizen projects, A3 reports, policy deployment, and countermeasures. The Deming Cycle is occasionally referred to as the Shewhart cycle after Walter Shewhart. Shewhart is credited with originating the cycle in the 1920’s and 30’s, with its more Read more…
A chaku-chaku line has a series of machines, each equipped with a hanedashi device, or autoejector. This enables the operator working a chaku-chaku line to: walk up and immediately insert the part he is holding into a machine press a start button, and then pick up the previously ejected part. Because the chaku-chaku operator is running several machines, she relies on jidoka (autonomation). If there is a problem on a machine while the operator is Read more…
A hanedashi device is an automatic part ejector. It reduces waste when an operator approaches a machine to load the next part. In a machine without a hanedashi device, the operator would have to set down the new part that he would be carrying to the machine, pull out the completed part and set it down, pick up the new part, load it, and then pick up the completed part again. With hanedashi, the operator Read more…
Catchball is a business management technique of floating ideas and comments around in an iterative manner. The name comes from the metaphor of tossing an idea back and forth, much like you might with a football. In Lean, the catchball process refines ideas promotes buy-in from the front line encourages creativity helps create a continuous improvement culture. As the process progresses, each person involved has an opportunity to add his or her ideas. Catchball is Read more…
Brainstorming techniques have varying degrees of structure, but they are all used to generate ideas. Brainstorming techniques include: A brainstorming session in which everyone in the room blurts out ideas. A brainstorming session that takes a round-robin approach, with each person presenting an idea in turn. A brainstorming session in which each person writes out a specified number of ideas. A session in which each person brainstorms a specified number of drawings of an idea. Read more…
One of the more unusually named Lean tools, the affinity diagram is not really a diagram at all. It is more of a sorting and grouping process to organize ideas into manageable chunks. The process is simple: Collect ideas, whether through brainstorming, VOC (voice of the customer) or some other means. Record the ideas onto separate cards or sticky notes. Begin placing similar cards/notes into groups. This step can be done in silence, with each Read more…
The ‘3 reals’ ties closely to the concept of gemba. The premise behind the ‘3 reals’ is simply that you can’t learn about something unless you go to the point of impact and look at what is actually happening. The 3 Reals Go to the real place… To observe the real thing/process… To get the real facts and data. In Lean environments, using the ‘3 reals’ helps to avoid speculation. It also helps prevent conflict. Read more…
5S is one of the building blocks of Lean, and really, any continuous improvement effort. Learning how to 5S properly can launch a company on the path to greatness. Unfortunately, many companies don’t learn how not to 5S. What you don’t do can be as important as what you do. How NOT to 5S When I was at West Point, we had to make our beds in precise military fashion. There was a purpose to Read more…
So, the story about stray jet-the plane that missed its stop and was out of contact for 78 minutes-continues to unfold. The latest CNN article now reports that the pilots have said that they were both distracted because they were using their laptops in the cockpit during that time. One was showing the other how to use a new scheduling program. Now, I tend to support people over process in most cases. I’m a big Read more…