Posts tagged as:

tools

Don’t Do 5S

05.04.2010

I know I’ll catch plenty of flak from the lean stalwarts out there. This will certainly go against conventional wisdom and common practice. But sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong.
I don’t believe companies should start their lean journey with 5S.
Many believe is should be done early. Many believe is it step #1, as this consultant argues.
5S [...]

Read the full article →

Why we won’t do 100 kaizens for you

04.08.2010

Every day at the Lean Learning Center is an adventure. We approach our work with clients with an extreme bias towards flexibility. We do have standard work for activities, but how we might engage a client will be different every time. And that starts with a wide range of requests. But some of them we [...]

Read the full article →

Helping Make A3 Work, Part 4 (of 4)

11.25.2009

This is my last in the 4 part series on A3 problem solving. I’ll be answering more questions on a webinar hosted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers which I hope you’ll check out and join. On to our final questions.
Q8. Is there software that can help me with this?
Yes and no. The no is [...]

Read the full article →

Helping Make A3 Work, Part 3

11.24.2009

I am continuing on with more Q&A about the problem solving process of A3, popularized through the use at Toyota and an effective coaching and development tool. So onto the questions.
Q5. What is the best way to start?
I think it is best to start on a problem that you have no other means to solve, [...]

Read the full article →

Helping Make A3 Work, Part 2

11.23.2009

Last Friday I started posting some Q&A on the transformation of problem solving using A3 methods. This is in support of a webinar I am leading on the topic. Here we continue to the Q&A.
Q3. What advantages does A3 have over other problem solving methodologies?
There are some advantages that are small. It is often more [...]

Read the full article →

Helping Make A3 Work, Part 1

11.20.2009

On December 15th, I’ll be providing a webinar on the topic of A3 problem solving. I’ve been spending a good amount of time lately helping leaders from various organizations improve their lean thinking by utilizing A3 problem solving. In the following few blog posts, I’ll answer some of the common questions people have about A3 [...]

Read the full article →

To Standardize, or to Not?

11.19.2009

A frequent question that I get is how far to take standardization. This is particularly true for multiple locations. Then the question becomes how far do you go to standardize from site to site.
As with anything, to key to avoid getting lost in questions like this is to get and remain clear on the purpose [...]

Read the full article →

Observe with purpose

10.22.2009

Direct observation has been an under appreciated aspect of lean for most of its life. It has gotten a lot more attention in recent years, unfortunately this is thanks in part to the use of jargon, such as gemba and genchi genbutsu. For those of you who know me, you know I hate jargon. It [...]

Read the full article →

Value Stream Mapping Font

10.19.2009

I ran across this over the weekend. I was shocked, but also saw how simple this could make working with simple value stream maps on your computer. It’s a font you can download that contains value stream mapping symbols. You can download it for free from Ambor.  
I generally don’t think that people should spend too [...]

Read the full article →

Put Down That Tool

10.15.2009

What tool should I use for solving this problem? What’s the right tool? There are many tools in the toolbox of lean for problem solving and process improvement. When an organization teaches people to use the tools, there is often an over-reliance on jumping into using the tool without making sure it’s the right tool.

Here’s [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries