Background Not too long ago, I was approached by a systems consultant to consider writing an Excel solution to create a weekly production schedule for one of his clients. Â The reason for using Excel will become clearer in a moment. The current process Sales representatives submit a unique Excel spreadsheet / file for each customer order. Â All orders are saved […]
Are you an Excel Hero?
Lean Healthcare – Sunnybrook Surgeons given a hands-off way to Kinect
An article in today’s Toronto Star titled “Surgeons given a hands-off way to Kinect” clearly demonstrates how improvements can be realized in our work environment. Â One of the concerns in the operating room is maintaining a sterile field during surgery. Â Doctors cannot physically touch any devices away from the sterile field for fear of breaking it and have only 1 […]
Lean – Sunnybrook Doctors Benefit From Gaming Technology
Lean: Beyond Reach!
Almost everything I read or learned suggests that lean was never intended to be complicated. The simplest definition of lean I have read to date follows: Focus on what matters and eliminate what doesn’t This is not to suggest that lean is easy. In actual practice I find that some companies have sufficiently compounded the definition of lean to exclude […]
Lean – Walk and Talk
In my article “Waste: The Devil is in the Details“, I discussed the importance of paying attention to the details. From a company or personal perspective, the underlying theme to identify waste (or opportunity) is to be continually cognizant of what it is we’re doing and asking “Why?” I have continually stressed the importance of conducting process reviews right where the action is.  It seems […]
Waste: The Devil is in the Details …
I planned to publish this yesterday but for some reason I felt compelled to wait. I doubt it was fate, but as you will see, Toyota once again managed to serendipitously substantiate my reason for it. I was originally  inspired to write this post based on a recent experience I had at a local restaurant. After I was seated, I ordered a coffee to start […]
Reality Undercover
One of the few Reality TV programs I enjoy watching is Undercover Boss on CBS. Â This program exemplifies all the reasons why it is so important for executive leadership and senior management to keep in touch with the front lines of the company. Â Â As a lean practitioner I consider the culture of the company to be the defining difference […]
Toyota’s Culture – Inside Out
As discussed on our Lean Roadmap page, the culture that exists inside your company will determine the success or failure of your lean initiatives in the long-term. So, how do we cultivate and nurture this culture that we desire to achieve? Fortunately, I found a great article,  How to implement “Lean Thinking” in a Business: Pathway to creating a “Lean Culture”, written by one of my recent twitter […]
What are we Changing?
Our process improvement strategy is founded on the Theory of Constraints where improvement initiatives are supported by lean and six sigma tools. Â Process disruptions affecting flow and task execution all contribute to variance and the efforts to eliminate or reduce them are evidenced by increased stability, increased throughput over time, and increased profits. So, our main goal in production is […]
Why Twitter?
Background You may be wondering what Twitter has to do with lean or anything even related to manufacturing. Â While there may not be a direct correlation to Twitter, the fact that it is still relatively new gave me cause to reflect on what it means to introduce a new system or way of doing things in our organization. Â I’m going […]