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What our plants have failed to learn in 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, I left the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine program. As I gained experience in civilian industry, I began to appreciate the Navy’s aplomb for reliable engineering, exceptional training and consistent operations. Their penchant for comprehensive preventive maintenance programs
The rise of autonomous operator maintenance and work redesign
My blog entry on the “White Glove Story” got close to the idea of operator maintenance. My study on the coal gasification generating plant was about the ultimate vision of the one employee who has the skills and ability to do whatever is necessary to keep the process operating effectively. What
Is proper torquing a part of your standard work?
Read enough OEM recommended procedures and you will notice that a common thread is proper torque values for fasteners. Many standard work (and standard operating) procedures in industrial facilities list recommended or required torque values for jobs like gasket replacements, motor alignments, bearing
A walk in the machine park or quality inspections?
Detailed inspections require the right type of person with the right mind-set, attitude and training. Most mills/mines/plants have some type of inspection program but, unfortunately, the inspections are often ineffective. There may be many reasons why inspections often aren’t effective. But, one
A new you … and a new view on organizational performance
As we begin a new year in our organizations, we are committing resources to answer the new challenges in order to bring success to the bottom line. One of the key challenges across many of our situations is employee well-being and health. In order to meet our challenges, we need to ensure our workforces
If you want to be successful with standard work, read on
Many companies say that they use standard work, but actually, very few do - at least, in the manner which leverages lean fully at the operational level. Instead, most firms actually use some form of work standards or work instructions. Frequently, plants trying to implement standard work within their
Here’s my key to getting improvement buy-in. What’s yours?
OK, so now you have put up these fancy (or so you think fancy) check sheets and charts for standard work, expecting the improvements to happen. Things go good for the first couple of days or weeks – if you are lucky. Everyone is abuzz with this focus of action. But then, it begins to degrade. What
Win with TWI or lose without it!
What does TWI (Training Within Industry) have to do with the current economic issues? Well, it can have a very positive impact for firms struggling with the current business conditions. Whether times are prosperous or not, any business can benefit from: improving output per employee, resolving people
Standard work: The basis for continuous improvement
If you were to ask an operator or even some leaders what standard work meant to them, you may get responses such as “standard operating procedures”, “work Instructions” or “check sheets”
