How Simple Visibility Improvements can Improve Efficiency & Reduce Waste
Over the years, I have learned that one of the biggest mistakes individuals and companies make is always looking for the big changes to reduce waste or improve efficiency. They keep focusing on finding the next big, innovative move that will result in dramatic improvements to the bottom line. While these are great when they…
Tony Ferraro | January 10, 2014 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency, Reduce Waste | 5 min read
The Paperless Warehouse – How & Why
What do bank statements, purchase receipts, and (now) your own business records have in common? They can all be paperless. Not only that, but they can be improved by going paperless. Businesses have been converting their records to an electronic format for a number of years now, and it’s not too late to jump on…
Tony Ferraro | January 7, 2014 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 3 min read
Kaizen Event Reduces Transport Waste & Optimizes Efficiency
I was recently brought in to assist in a Lean event for a large manufacturing facility, with the goal of eliminating waste, and completing the implementation of Lean strategies. The facility had already begun the process over the past 18 months, and had done quite an impressive job. When they consulted with me, I was…
Tony Ferraro | January 2, 2014 | Kaizen | Improve Efficiency, Kaizen | 5 min read
Re-Inventing the Wheel – Do It Just This Once
Safety incentive programs have been around for quite some time, and for most companies, they’ve changed very little since their inception. However, like everything these days, what’s considered “best practice” may change very rapidly, and safety programs have certainly seen several revisions in their time. What you’re doing right now could seem like a trusty,…
Tony Ferraro | September 26, 2013 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 2 min read
Improving Workplace Efficiency: One Lean Step at a Time
I like to think of a working environment as one body of movement, a system of metaphorical cells, organs, and subsystems working together to create life. In business, this “life” usually comes in the form of customer value and/or product output, depending on the industry in which you reside. Just as we think about healthy…
Tony Ferraro | September 13, 2013 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 2 min read
Lean Takes Time
Have you ever heard the phrase “everything good in life takes time?” If so, you may understand that under common circumstances things do take time. It would be pretty unrealistic to develop and build a whole company from the ground up in less than a week or even month for that matter. Rome wasn’t built…
Tony Ferraro | September 5, 2013 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 2 min read
Employee Involvement: It can Make or Break LEAN
Those familiar with lean may know that the key objective with lean is to eliminate all types of waste. Waste can be just about anything, and there are many different types of wastes in the work environment. When thinking about waste, it is important to remember that waste in the workplace has absolutely no value.…
Tony Ferraro | August 30, 2013 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 2 min read
When Common Sense and Standardization Conflict
Every workplace has rules. Rules are often put into place to help standardize practices, keep employees safe, and to simply help keep order within the general workplace. However, what happens when standardized rules just don’t seem to align with common sense answers? Even though rules and standards are put into place for a reason, they…
Tony Ferraro | August 21, 2013 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Improve Efficiency | 3 min read
