3P Lean : Exploring the Production Preparation Process
In relation to modern management systems, especially lean, the amount of components that go into it are almost innumerable. Although I am much more familiar with 5S, kaizen, and many of the other integral building blocks of the total lean package, I have to say that I am enjoying reading up on the more obscure…
Mike Wilson | August 28, 2012 | Lean | 5S, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Active Lean Implementation at GE Manufacturing Plant
This was a cool find for me today. It shows a GE plant in Kentucky seeking to improve efficiency through lean practices. It starts with mapping it out with an enormous Ishikawa diagram, or fishbone chart, then moves onto a 1/4 scale mockup of the plant using homemade models, then to a full-scale mockup of…
Mike Wilson | August 27, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing | < 1 min read
Continual Improvement and Lean Begins At Home
On the Lean Journey blog, author Tim McMahon talks about how he found a great video by woodworker and continual improvement maven, Paul Akers’s most recent addition to helping us to increase our efficiency and decrease our downtime with his newest video, in which he organizes a ‘junk drawer,” and shows how easy adding some…
Mike Wilson | August 23, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Organized Workplace, Tool Organization | < 1 min read
Deming’s Contribution to Japan and Continual Improvement
W. Edwards Deming (photo courtesy of Wikipedia) I was reading Mark Graban’s Lean Blog today, and he mentioned the importance of W. Edwards Deming’s work with the Japanese. The idea of continual improvement was not Deming’s invention, but he certainly became one of the symbols of it, first to many Japanese manufacturers, and then later,…
Mike Wilson | August 22, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean | < 1 min read
Leaders Lead! 3 Tips to Improve Your Leadership Abilities
Richard Lorenzen, in his Forbes article, “The Art Of Leadership: Become A More Effective Leader In 3 Steps,” outlines three things that make an exceptional leader. As a businessman and boss, I often read articles and books about how to be a better leader, but I think Lorensen boils it down to its most basic…
Mike Wilson | August 6, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, Workplace Leadership | 2 min read
Lean and kaizen are not meant to eliminate people — they’re meant for improvement
Ever dream about reaching an efficiency of 95%?! Think that is a crazy goal for your company? It’s not! That is what lean and kaizen help you achieve. It can also help you get rid of employees. Well, that’s how an article in Business Today titled “How Toyota Uses Kaizen for Efficiency” would have you…
Mike Wilson | July 26, 2012 | Kaizen, Lean | Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Proof in the Pudding : Lean Can be a Great Risk Worth Taking
Proving that there is an absolutely great payoff for bringing leaner thinking on-board his reader’s company, “Lean Blog” writer, Mark Graban, discussed lean (more specifically, continuous improvement), the PDCA process, and the need for going to the gemba in his blog post, titled “Lean Effort Pays Big” in a Colorado Springs Hospital. Via info from…
Mike Wilson | July 24, 2012 | Lean | Gemba, Lean Manufacturing | < 1 min read
Selling Old-Timers on Lean in Not-So-Lean Times
The other day, I was consulting with a customer who was designated as his company’s “go-to guy” for implementing lean in their shop. He wasn’t entirely convinced with the move, questioning, since his company has been doing well for the past 3 decades, why would they need to fix something that isn’t broken? I asked…
Mike Wilson | July 23, 2012 | Lean | Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Six Sigma: Can It be Simple?
With so many business models in the market today it’s often difficult to understand what would be best to incorporate into your operations before it becomes obsolete. Six Sigma, is one to learn and then, to keep around. For over 10 years, the Six Sigma business philosophy has changed the way many Fortune 500’s and…
Mike Wilson | July 17, 2012 | Lean | Six Sigma | 2 min read
Kaizen Events, How vital is it to Lean manufacturing
Change for the better. Continuous improvement. Kaizen Event. This is quite important in most areas of life. The concept – called kaizen – is vital in Lean manufacturing or a Lean business. What exactly is kaizen? James A Bruce tells us in his article What Is Kaizen?: Kaizen is a Japanese word which means “change…
Mike Wilson | July 13, 2012 | Kaizen, Lean | Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
Lean Misconceptions
Misconceptions in lean manufacturing are easy to make, but they are dangerous! And anyone can misinterpret and misrepresent things. Mark Graban provides a striking example of a misconception in his blog post Should Have a Question Mark: Inc’s “The Leanest Startup?” : “Inc. Magazine didn’t have the question mark in the headline, but I think…
Mike Wilson | July 12, 2012 | Lean | 5S, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
When Strict Rules Don’t Work in Lean Manufacturing
Have you heard the story about the lifeguard in Florida who was fired because he saved a swimmer’s life?! Mark Graban writes an interesting post on his Lean Blog about the incident. In his post Lifeguard Saves Swimmer, Gets Fired, Graban compares the shocking response to the lifeguard’s laudable action to possible consequences of overly…
Mike Wilson | July 12, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing | < 1 min read
What is needed for Hiring for a Lean Culture?
Here’s a question from a healthcare leader that I thought I’d share for input from you, the blog readers. This person is looking to change their hiring and people “sourcing” practices, after visiting ThedaCare and learning about their “Human Development Value Stream” work. Based on your experience, what do you think are the most important…
Mike Wilson | July 4, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Lean Culture, Lean Manufacturing | 2 min read
