I’ve gotten another Lean video rolled out. This one is on the 5 Whys. If you are not familiar with it, the tool is useful for diving down to the root cause of a problem. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think. Rating it well on YouTube, where I have it posted, will certainly help me. I’d also appreciate any comments on this page if you have ideas to Read more…
Guess Who’s Thinking Outside the Box? I saw an interesting advertisement that highlights ‘out of box thinking’. Surprisingly, this innovation came from an insurance company. The insurer has a trucking company for a client. This client had a problem with gravel falling off trucks, creating an unsafe and expensive situation. One way to go about resolving this would have been to raise rates or cancel the policy. Out of Box Thinking Example #1 Instead, the Read more…
Back in May, I was a guest author on Ron Pereira’s LSSAcademy blog. (Click this link for the article on Leadership and Standard Work) Well, I went back today to see the comments, and saw one that got me thinking. The commenter questioned the application of the standardization process to the problem solving methodology. The quote was: I find such dogmatism in the name of standardization stifling. It got me thinking. This is one of Read more…
I’m on a roll this week. Getting a lot of new content out. Today, I posted a Lean video training presentation on the Fishbone/Ishikawa/Cause and Efect Diagram (the link takes you to the term in our Lean Dictionary.) It’s a six minute video that shows the basics of how to make a fishbone diagram. For those unfamiliar with this tool, it sorts the causes of a problem (the effect) and arranges them in a manner Read more…
So, I was thinking about my post from yesterday on customer service and retention and wanted to add another point. I really didn’t talk about the attitude of the employee at the front desk-the voice of the company. Now, she was civil to me. There was no evil cackle as she made me jump through the customer service hoops. There was no glimmer in her eye as she mentally counted the extra money she was Read more…
I had an interesting experience with my health club this week. It had to do with what I am presuming is a customer retention policy. I was cancelling one of the services they offer, but keeping the membership. First off, they told me I could not do this over the phone-I had to come in and take care of it in person. Strike one against customer service. When I got into the club, the process Read more…
Lean vs. Batch Manufacturing I’m branching out a little, and have been working on some video content for my site. This one is an animated comparison of how products flow through batch and Lean manufacturers. The side-by-side view of both production methods highlights the advantages that Lean offers.
Overcoming Resistance to Change in a Lean Company The term “resistance to change” is commonly used in discussions about Lean. It simply means that people are set in their ways, and often don’t want to modify their routines. Surprisingly, this change resistance doesn’t just occur when people who like their jobs are asked to make a change. Resistance even comes from people who are chronically upset with their working conditions. For them, the known evil Read more…
Learning how to Lean out your organization takes time and commitment. We offer several free resources, as well “how to” Lean training products. “How to” Lean Information: Free Resources The Continuous Improvement Companion—your comprehensive guide to Lean It includes many terms with downloadable PDF files—our enhanced terms. Our online Lean Dictionary The Gotta Go Lean Blog—frequent short “how to” Lean articles and observations about Lean in the real world. Continuous Improvement Articles—copies of articles we’ve Read more…
What does Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) have to do with the sports industry? Well, I was reading Men’s Health and saw an article that turned out to be a pro athlete TPM “how to” guide. (May, 2009. Major League Muscle.) The piece was about Scott Boras, a sports agent who had set up a facility for his clients to improve their performance and increase the longevity of their careers. The agent understands a critical fact: Read more…
Why Lean? How Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean? Helps the Front Line Lean Employee You don’t feel prepared to do all the new things your boss is asking of you You find yourself asking ‘Why Lean?’ on a regular basis You feel like your job is getting harder every day You are overwhelmed with your increasing workload—and go home drained at the end of the day You want to get more out of Lean Read more…
Management, Lean, and leadership skills are essential to Lean success, both for you personally, and for your company. Consider this page a signpost to help you pick some tools to help you develop your Lean management and leadership skills. The Continuous Improvement Companion is the backbone of our training resources. Many of our training products build off this free tool, and our articles link to many of the terms to provide clarification on Lean subjects. Read more…