Desk Jockey “Leaders”

Behind The Desk For some people, being bound to a desk is an inherent and perhaps unfortunate part of the work they do. But, the last place I would expect to find a lean leader is sitting behind their desk. I recognize the need for an office and understand that managing a business does require some desk time. However, it’s amazing how […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

How to use the 5 WHY approach

The 5 WHY technique, developed by Sakichi Toyoda, is one of the core problem solving tools used by Toyota Motor Corporation and has been adopted and embraced by numerous companies all over the globe.  This technique is unconstrained, providing the team with a high degree of freedom in their thinking process. As we suggested in our “How to Improve OEE” […]

How to Improve OEE – Any Questions?

Ask any Quality or Engineering manager and they will tell you that measurement systems are valuable tools to identify problems and opportunities.  The measurement system itself is not the answer – it is the data source, the EVIDENCE that drives the questions.  It is a part of the discovery and validation process to confirm the opportunity or problem and the effectiveness of the solutions to resolve it. A well […]