The 5S audit Check or 5S Organization Checklist is a bench-marking checklist that assesses how well a factory or an office is organized. It is based on the 5S principles which we will discuss shortly. A safe and productive workplace needs structure and discipline. That is the crux of the 5S audit. It provides a framework that defines efficiency and organization for the systematic working of a workplace. The…
Mike Wilson | December 26, 2012 | 5S | 5S, Lean
The Kaizen or the 5S principles are one of the most successful business principles in use today. It is very versatile because it does not only help companies to enhance their performance within the workplace but in their personal lives as well. The unique aspect is that the principles can also be applied on a personal level. The Japanese word Kaizen can be translated to mean “good…
Mike Wilson | December 20, 2012 | 5S | 5S, Lean
Six sigma training and certification can be achieved through online and offline. There are a number of programs designed to train working professionals and managers to understand the quality systems. Six Sigma involves a process where a refined process is charted out after going through DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) methods. It is a systematic and well defined scientific method. By going through the training…
Mike Wilson | November 27, 2012 | Lean | Lean, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma
Supply chain management ensures that products are delivered to the end market with minimum waste. If you are implementing lean methods in your organization, lean supply chain management is the right fit for the overall success of your organization. You will be able to take up and continue your lean journey in an appropriate way by implementing lean methods. It is possible to respond to your customers…
Mike Wilson | November 23, 2012 | Lean | Lean, Lean Manufacturing
On the A Lean Journey blog, Tim McMahon offered up the reins to Lean Six Sigma writer, Kathryn Thompson, about a case study in lean manufacturing and six sigma. Inappropriately titled “The Successes of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma: A Case Study,” Thompson’s post is sparse on details and any data backing up the claim that Midlake Products is a decent model for lean and six sigma.…
Mike Wilson | November 16, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
Lean systems are meant for producing the best products and services with little or no wastage of various kinds of resources. Lean supply chain management purports to create a well designed supply chain management system where all the resources are effectively utilized. The people, processes, technologies and suppliers will be optimized at the beginning of the implementation and it will be an ongoing process. The best of…
Mike Wilson | November 13, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean
The basics of management posit that input will more often than not equal the output. A meager input will result to insignificant yields with no prospects of progress creating a vicious cycle of low productivity. For any business manager to be able to reverse this, an intense and critical examination of all the aspects of the business processes must be carried out to weed out the weak…
Mike Wilson | October 26, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma
I am constantly on the search for great content to share with readers. This vid by Lean Deployment really helps to inform people on the basics of 5S and their business.
Mike Wilson | October 19, 2012 | 5S | 5S, Continuous Improvement, Lean
I’m trying to keep up with my lean thinking, and with that comes lean reading. This stuff can be dry sometimes, but I always come away with some nugget of gold from each book I read on the subject. Lonnie Wilson’s book, “How to Implement Lean Manufacturing” is a great one to add to the library. Like most good teachers, Wilson adds loads of practical advice and…
Mike Wilson | October 15, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is a powerful type of production system that was created by Toyota after the World War II. It involves 5 tools and principles that contribute to its success such as 5’S, Kaizen, JIT or Just in Time, Value Stream Mapping and Kanban. The focus of this article is about just-in-time that works excellently in manufacturing industries. Just In Time – A Smart Approach The many…
Mike Wilson | October 12, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
A3 image via Reliableplant.com Today, I was looking for a decent A3 problem-solving template for an engineering friend who was planning on implementing a lean program for his company, and I came across a helpful article on ReliablePlant.com by Larry Rubrick and a cool A3 powerpoint presentation at PowerShow.com (don’t hit download, just hit play). As many people may know, the A3 format originated around the type…
Mike Wilson | October 11, 2012 | Lean | A3, Continuous Improvement, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
Are you familiar about the Six Sigma manufacturing system? In actuality, this is a very well known method used by many businesses or companies in order to enhance their productivity. It is a very vital strategy which is why a lot of companies are resorting to this method in order to obtain positive results when it comes to manufacturing of goods and services. What Is Six Sigma…
Mike Wilson | October 8, 2012 | Lean | Lean, Lean Manufacturing
Mark Hamel’s Gemba Tales blog is one website to which I continually return. Hamel is an accomplished fellow, and that comes through in his writing. Without sounding haughty or pompous, Hamel can throw real-world examples into his posts, and the reader will come away with something they didn’t know before. So, when he was writing about simplicity and its relationship to lean, I couldn’t help but take…
Mike Wilson | October 2, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Gemba, Lean
The other day, I wrote a post about an article I read by Bruce Hamilton on whether to start a lean program by using 5S. Today, I noticed Jamie Flinchbaugh’s lean blog, in which he cites his comments on that Old Lean Guy, Hamilton’s article, and he offers his concept that lean is more of a roadmap than a recipe, and, to me, that is more or…
Mike Wilson | October 1, 2012 | 5S | 5S, Lean, Lean Manufacturing
I love this video – you may have seen it already when it was an initial viral hit, but I ask that you watch it again from a lean perspective. It’s about a plucky little boy who uses his energy and ingenuity to build a dream from nothing but old boxes and tape. I like to think it’s an homage to two of the lean pillars, continuous…
Mike Wilson | September 28, 2012 | Lean | Continuous Improvement, Lean
