Are you winning? Simple metrics to keep your team on track … and smiling.
- Cost Control
- Execution
- Leadership
- Lean
- Lean Leadership
- Lean Metrics
- OEE
- Standard Work
- Standardized Work
Are You Winning?
Lean Programming – 5S for Code
I enjoy coding and learned many programming languages over the years. As diverse as these languages are, there is one trait that is consistent among them all: every instruction matters. The principles of Lean, defined as “the pursuit of perfection to achieve excellence through the continual elimination of waste,” can also be applied to programming. The seven forms of waste […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Contingency Planning
- Cost Control
- Labour Efficiency
- Lean Metrics
- OEE: Overall Equipment Efficiency
- Performance
- Standardized Work
OEE and Human Effort
I was recently asked to consider a modification to the OEE formula to calculate labour versus equipment effectiveness. This request stemmed from the observation that some processes, like assembly or packing operations, may be completely dependent on human effort. In other words, the people performing the work ARE the machine. I have observed situations where an extra person was stationed […]
- 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
- Availability
- Collaboration
- Eliminate Waste
- Performance
- Standardized Work
- Training
Flawless Execution – “This Is It” – Practice Makes Perfect
We are often encouraged to look beyond our own business models to expand our horizons or to simply gain a different perspective. Music is one of my personal areas of interest in the outside world and I have learned to appreciate and value the many genres of music that exist today. As a lead guitar player for a number of […]
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Eliminate Waste
- Environment
- Execution
- Lean
- Lean Metrics
- OEE: Overall Equipment Efficiency
- Performance
- Problem Solving
- Process Control and OEE
- Standardized Work
- Training
22 Seconds to Burn – Excel VBA Teaches Lean Execution
Background: VBA for Excel has once again provided the opportunity to demonstrate some basic lean tenets. The methods used to produce the required product or solution can yield significant savings in time and ultimately money. The current practice is not necessarily the best practice in your industry. In manufacturing, trivial or minute differences in methods deployed become more apparent during mass production or as […]
- 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 […]
Software Modeling for Standardized Work
The concept of Standard Work is understood in virtually any work environment and is not exclusive to the lean enterprise. Typically the greater challenge of standardized work is actually preparing an effective document that adequately describes the “work” to be performed. The objective of standardized work is to provide a documented “method” for completing a sequence of tasks that can be […]