Karakuri is Lean

Karakuri is a mechanism that uses gravity, springs, and gears instead of external power sources to manipulate objects as a means to “save energy”, and is a key element of Kaizen that when put into practice, can translate into significant productivity and efficiency gains including: Eliminate overwork Eliminate waste Eliminate uneven workflow Improve safety Improve quality Improve productivity Improve maintenance […]

Lean – Have it Your Way

It’s easy to determine whether the leadership of a company truly embraces lean thinking.  One of the more frustrating “tells” is the insistence of leadership to precisely follow the path others have taken. The underlying notion of achieving the same or similar results may be appealing but it does not address why the specific path or methodology was chosen by […]

Lean Is NOT A Legacy

Lean can be summarily defined as “The pursuit of perfection (value) through the relentless elimination of waste.”  Understanding what this actually looks like in the real world is an entirely different matter. The 8 wastes (technically 7) and the tools to continually strive to eliminate them are well documented.  Why is it then that companies still find themselves struggling to […]

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

  Have you ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect?  I stumbled across this term while reading 8 Unexpected Signs You’re Smarter Than Average by Jessica Stillman (Contributor Inc.com). The Dunning-Kruger effect, according to Wikipedia, is best described by the first two paragraphs and paraphrased in context as follows: The Dunning Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people of low […]

Lean Code and Productivity

Programmers can increase productivity by taking advantage of the many keyboard shortcuts that are built into their IDE or editor of choice.  Many IDE’s are designed to work on any platform and makes learning them that much more valuable.  In this context, choosing the right IDE can be just as important to your productivity as knowing the language itself.
 

Logitech MX Master 2S for Power Users

Working with multiple computers at the same time can be cumbersome at the best of times – especially where peripheral devices are concerned.  My K760 keyboard allows me to use the same keyboard on multiple machines as does my MX Master mouse.  However, neither of these devices make it possible to work seamlessly with two computers at the same time. […]

Lean Code Execution

The performance of your application is important to your customer.  As stated previously, the performance your application is as dependent on the knowledge and skills of the programmer as they are on the language used to create it. This excerpt from the book “SQL FOR .NET PROGRAMMERS” by D. M. Bush serves as another example where the programmer’s skills created […]

Lean Code – Part 2

Our article on “Lean Code” strongly suggests that the principles of lean can also be applied to the realm of software development, applications, and more specifically, programming. Python has evolved to become a very popular and powerful programming language.  However, as mentioned in “Lean Code“, the performance of your application or program is as dependent on the skills of the […]

Lean Six Sigma – After the Fact

Effective problem solving, holistic process management, and data-driven decision making using a systematic and structured approach comprise the core elements and ideology of Lean Six Sigma, commonly referred to as LSS, and is premised on achieving the following four (4) goals and objectives: Reduce operational cost and risk Objectives: Increase efficiency Reduce or eliminate variance Increase revenue Objectives: Reduce or […]