Section » Lean Manufacturing
Your CI list is long. Which projects should you pursue?
In my last blog entry, I talked very generally about the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). In the first blog in this series, I wrote about how too many organizations get into the Do, Check, Act cycle without taking time to plan it out. We have covered the need to plan and the big picture process of the PDCA cycle. Now, I would like to continue
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PDCA: Moving from the Plan (P) to the Do (D)
Hello, all you Lean Six Sigma people! I hope this blog finds you all doing fantastic! I have been working on a series talking about the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle as it relates to continuous improvement (CI). We have covered the planning cycle, and now it is time to do some real work after a short
Breaking down the components of the PDCA cycle
Since we are all going through the planning process to various degrees, and since I received some feedback about my previous blog, I wanted to follow up with more thoughts about planning. Most of what I am writing is not new material, and I certainly don’t take credit for it. Most of this information
Where do you want your CI initiative to go in 2010?
In the ever-changing world of continuous improvement (CI), we must always remember to walk our own walk. If we, as CI leaders, are teaching and coaching people in the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) process, we too must ensure that we are leading by example. We must not vary our process from this cycle of
Bringing the message of lean to Africa
I just returned from a trip to the country of Zambia in Africa. I was there visiting and helping some close family friends that are missionaries. John and Kendra are not typical missionaries. While they do have a very nice training center which is used for a Christian pastor school, family activities
Lean evolves: How to make the most of process improvement
Lean efforts used to be 100 percent directed at the shop floor. What we have seen recently is that lean is moving into non-traditional areas of business. A lot of our recent work has been in: maintenance, procurement, distribution, engineering, the office and even the company kitchen! A friend of mine
How to accomplish a lean turnaround at warp speed
How can I accelerate a turnaround, or for that matter any implementation? I can’t wait; I have to do it NOW! The first item on your list is to stop running on overload. Remember, it’s not a matter of time but a matter of priorities. Define your goals and needs correctly, create realistic
The 10 components of an effective lean operation
In my opinion and experience, there are 10 components or definitions for an “effective” lean operation. These include: Safety is not a slogan. It is acted upon and driven similar to quality and other key metrics. Productivity is improving 10 percent or more per year, quality metrics are
Has there ever been a better time for Lean Six Sigma?
General Motors just stopped the Toyota NUMMI joint venture after 25 years. From all that I have heard, it was a very good experience and that GM learned a lot more from the JV than Toyota did. But, Toyota got additional capacity in the United States to (guess what?) … grow! Now is the time for
If at first you succeed … try, try again
Training Within Industry (TWI) is a micro version of “creative destruction”, a term used by some economists to describe a free-market capitalistic economy. Creative destruction means that new businesses, services or products enter and create the new markets, while destroying existing ones
