The A3 report is the communication medium of A3 management. The A3 report takes its name from the size of the paper, “A3” or 11 x 17 inch, that it is generally written or printed on. The large size of the A3 report lets users see, at a glance, a great deal of information, including: Header info (Problem Title, Owner, Date, etc.) Background Info Current State Goals Analysis Plan Follow-up The A3 report format can, Read more…
Look at any continuous improvement philosophy, and at its heart you will find standardization. When people don’t perform a process the same way each and every time, quality suffers, lead times are erratic (and long), and productivity is hamstrung. No operation can prosper without stable processes that can deliver consistent results. Because of this, leaders focus most of their company’s improvement resources on the obvious opportunities. Highly repetitive processes can show dramatic improvement when they Read more…
Everybody outsources to an incredibly large degree—car maintenance, yard work, cooking, cleaning, milking cows, mail delivery. The world would not function without outsourcing. But I was surprised to see how far the concept of outsourcing can go. I was checking the news a few days ago, and saw an interesting video segment on CNN about college students outsourcing homework. The ethical implications of this story are crystal clear. It is cheating, and plain and simple, Read more…
When an organization embarks on a continuous improvement journey, few people may have a strong understanding of how to implement a Lean business system. There also may be a shortage of people who understand the Lean tools well. This lack of knowledge does not just apply to team members. Leaders may also be at a loss as to what to do.
As a company proceeds down the path of continuous improvement, the vernacular in the organization shifts. It makes sense. Doing new things in new ways will require a way to communicate what is going on concisely. This new “Lean language” can be a challenge to grasp when one is receptive. It gets even harder when a person is resisting the ongoing changes.
One way to start developing a continuous improvement culture is to offer productivity incentives. When people are just getting used to Lean, or any other improvement method, they probably won’t be regularly offering up ideas. They just aren’t used to that being an expectation of their job. So provide your team with incentives for improving productivity. Key Points for Productivity Incentives Make sure you don’t reward ideas. The goal is to actually get the idea Read more…
Some people are born “scrappers”. They like mixing it up and debating the merits of an idea. Others prefer to avoid conflict. They like peace and harmony in their relationships. That can make things difficult for them when people begin debating the merits of ideas when making improvements.
I’m going to try out a new style of article to see how well-received they are. Please let me know if you like this ‘quick tip’ format. I am going to be addressing one simple problem or giving an easy tip to add to your continuous improvement arsenal. So, here goes… Tired of having one or two team members show up late to meetings during a kaizen? It doesn’t matter if you are the team Read more…
In all likelihood, have not given a lot of thought to how you choose the examples of Lean you use to illustrate points. Whether you are conducting training, or simply trying to build buy-in for process improvement efforts, you should look for examples of Lean that people see on a daily basis. Why? For a lot of people, Lean seems contrary to common sense. Keep less inventory on hand to produce more? Do more changeovers Read more…
Over the years, I’ve seen my share of conflict between people. Some has been overt—two people arguing during a project, or a couple waiting in line in front of me that clearly had some unresolved issues. Other times, the conflict was more subtle. For example, a boss and an employee that didn’t see eye to eye, or two employees who disagreed about how to handle an issue in front of a customer. But there is Read more…
How do you work Lean? It means dedicating a part of your time to continuous improvement. Many people say continuous improvement is important, but then don’t treat it like an actual part of one’s job. But when you work Lean efforts into a schedule, you are making a statement that it is not an afterthought. When a leader staffs her team with enough time to work on Lean projects, she is showing her commitment. If Read more…
