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 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 Read more…
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 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 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 Read more…
Lean focuses on the customer. That’s one of its bedrock principles, and is reinforced with every value stream map. Value for an external customer is fairly easy to pinpoint. If a customer is willing to pay for something, they value it. But if they aren’t willing to pay for it, Read more…
I was walking through a parking lot today, and for some reason, I noticed the puddles of oil in the center of every parking space. Not an uncommon occurrence, but it got me thinking about abnormal conditions. If your car was leaking oil, could you tell when you backed out Read more…
Automatic machine cycle time, sometimes referred to as automatic machine time, is the time a machine spends processing a single part without an operator’s interaction. Automatic machine cycle time is critical to the concept of jidoka, or separating people from machines. The productivity benefits of automation are obvious. An operator Read more…
The Time Observation Sheet is one of the four primary forms for developing Standard Work. The others are: The Standard Work Sheet The Standard Work Combination Sheet Work Instructions The Time Observation Sheet is used to, not surprisingly, observe the cycle times of the steps of Standard Work. Unfortunately, many 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. 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 Read more…