Celebrating 1 Year Online

November19, 2009, marked our 1 year anniversary on this blog.  Click here to see our first post. Thank you to all of our visitors and of course the people behind the scenes.    Please feel free to forward any questions, comments, or suggest a topic for review.  If you don’t like the public forum, we can always be reached by e-mail at leanexecution@gmail.com or […]

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations (II)

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations – Part II Putting together a contingency plan can be quite challenging when you consider all the things that could go wrong at any given point in time.  Contingency plans should not only be restricted to “things gone wrong” and are not limited to operations or process specific events.  All aspects of an operation are prone to […]

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations – Part I

Contingency Planning For Lean Operations – Part I Lean operations are driven by effective planning and efficient execution of core activities to ensure optimal performance is achieved and sustained.  The very nature of lean requires extreme attention to detail through all phases of planning and execution.  Upstream operations simply cannot tolerate any disruptions in product supply or process flow without the risk of […]

5S Your Software (Computer)

We recently discussed how software skills of people in your company can impact their effectiveness and efficiency.  One of our suggestions was to provide additional training and resources to allow staff to upgrade their skill levels. We should also mention that upgrading to the latest software release may also improve their performance.  Microsoft recently announced upgrades to their Office product line so now may be the time to “5S” […]

Time Studies with your BlackBerry

Performing a time study is relatively easy compared to only few years ago.  The technologies available today allow studies to be conducted quite readily. Time Studies and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) The Performance factor for OEE is based on the Ideal Cycle Time of the process.  For fixed rate processes, the Name-Plate rate may suffice but should still be confirmed.  For other processes such a […]

10 Ways to Enhance Customer Satisfaction

Customers are the reason we are in business and customer satisfaction is what keeps them coming back.  It takes a tremendous effort to gain a new customer and only seconds to lose one.  Service must be exemplary if we want to sustain and grow our customer base and ultimately our business. Mission:  Exceed Customer Expectations Is it really possible to EXCEED […]

Lean Office with Excel and VBA

Have you ever wondered what people do at their computers all day?  How can they possibly be that busy working on their day to day tasks?  The answer may surprise you!  Computers were supposed to make our jobs easier and give us more time to do other things.  The reality is quite the opposite. We have noted that many people are […]

How to Solve Problems with Idea Maps

Problem solving is a problem in itself for many companies and at times can be one of the most daunting tasks to undertake during the course of an otherwise regular work day. For some, problems seldom occur while for others this may, unfortunately, be a daily activity.  Since problem solving is not usually part of the typical daily agenda of “routine” activities, our ability […]

Going DEEP with OEE

Does anyone actually look at their daily equipment availability? Instead of using TEEP that is typically based on calendarized availability, looking at the Daily Equipment Effectiveness Performance of your operation may provide some interesting insights. Working overtime due to material or equipment availability occurs many times.  Unfortunately, we find that sometimes these very same machines are idle during the week. A detailed […]

Technology Reigns

We’ve been extremely busy as of late and logging into the system to post has not been a luxury we’ve been able to enjoy. Technology has fortunately provided the means for us to post remotely. This is a test. Until next time – STAY lean!