An event occurred this afternoon that required an immediate resolution. When asked whether we were going to pursue the root cause, I could only respond with this question: What’s the point of making mistakes if we’re not going to learn from them? This is likely the shortest post I ever published here, however, I think the simplicity of the message […]
Learning From Mistakes
The Invisible Gorilla
Just when you thought everything was under control, someone asks you about something that isn’t even on your radar. Our perceptions can be deceiving and are not always as accurate or reliable as we think. This is nicely documented and demonstrated in this article and video that we found on Yahoo today: The Invisible Gorilla. If the above link doesn’t work, cut and paste the following […]
Solutions by Definition
The recent British Petroleum (BP) oil dilemma brings yet another problem solving opportunity to the forefront. Fortunately, few of us have to deal with problems of this scope and magnitude. Problem solving is a daily challenge for many of us and, like the BP oil dilemma, rarely are they presented in clear and concise terms. Our ability to define and […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Eliminate Waste
- Lean Metrics
- Problem Solving
- Risk Management
- Root Cause Analysis
The High-Velocity Edge Is Here!
Update: Steven J. Spear has been awarded the Philip Crosby Medal for his book “The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the Competition” according to a Press release from ASQ—the world’s largest network of quality resources and experts (Milwaukee, WI March 2, 2011). We have raved about the book “Chasing the Rabbit” written by Steven J. Spear […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Contingenc Planning
- Contingency Planning
- Problem Solving
- Risk Management
- Root Cause Analysis
- Standardized Work
- Training
- Trouble Shooting
Foundations of Failure
The problem with many of the problems we find ourselves having to contend with at any given time is that we learn of their existence after the fact (when the damage is done) or after discovering that the results we were looking for simply didn’t materialize. As we learned from Michael A. Roberto’s book, “Know What You Don’t Know“, there […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- APQP
- Problem Solving
- Risk Management
- Root Cause Analysis
- Trouble Shooting
Toyota: Managing Nightmares
The Nightmare Toyota continues to be plagued by recalls. The current acceleration issues (either floor mats or “sticky” accelerators), braking issues on the Prius Hybrid, and now reports in the USA of steering problems with 2009 and 2010 Corollas. While the majority of the news reports focus on the next steps to repair faulty vehicles, the real nightmare is the human tragedy that was and may still be […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Eliminate Waste
- OEE: Overall Equipment Efficiency
- Problem Solving
- Root Cause Analysis
- Standardized Work
- Training
Agility Through Problem Solving: a Model for Training and Thinking
We tend to use analogies when we are discussing certain topics, introducing new concepts, or simply presenting an abstract idea. Analogies are intended to serve as a model that people understand, can relate to or identify with, and, more importantly, remember. Our challenge is to identify a simple model that can be used to teach people to identify and solve problems – a core competency […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Eliminate Waste
- Lean Metrics
- OEE: Overall Equipment Efficiency
- Performance
- Problem Solving
- Process Control and OEE
- Root Cause Analysis
- Training
Lean STAR From 6 Deadly Job Networking Mistakes
Sometimes we are inundated with e-mails especially from some of the “Groups” we subscribe to. Today, one e-mail in particular caught our attention and led us to read a post titled “6 Deadly Job Networking Mistakes” that eventually brought us to a well written article by Gill Corkindale titled, “6 Networking Mistakes And How to Avoid Them“. If you or someone […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- APQP
- Contingency Planning
- Eliminate Waste
- FREE Downloads
- Lean
- Lean Metrics
- Problem Solving
- Risk Management
- Root Cause Analysis
- Training
- Trouble Shooting
Using TRIZ for Problem Solving – Resources
In our first post on this topic, “Using Triz for Problem Solving – Introduction“, we provided a very basic introduction to TRIZ. In the spirit of TRIZ, it is not our intent to rewrite or redefine the TRIZ process when excellent information is already available. Our intent is to identify the few of the many excellent and exceptional resources that we have found. What is […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- APQP
- Contingency Planning
- Lean
- Lean Metrics
- Problem Solving
- Root Cause Analysis
- Trouble Shooting
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Using TRIZ for Problem Solving – Introduction
Using TRIZ for Problem Solving – Introduction A famous quote from Albert Einstein, “The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them.“, applies to the discussion of problem solving and more so to the topic of TRIZ, The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, developed by Genrich S. Altshuller. TRIZ – Theory of Inventive Problem Solving […]