Critical Process Triggers

Critical Triggers It is inevitable that failures will occur and it is only a matter of time before we are confronted with their effects.  Our concern regards our ability to anticipate and respond to failures when they occur.  How soon is too soon to respond to a change or shift in the process?  Do we shut down the process at […]

An e-Letter from Daniel T. Jones

I received an e-mail today from Daniel T. Jones (Lean Thinking – Womack and Jones) titled “The Financial Consequences of Lean”.  As the content of this e-mail is so relevant to our past discussions, I decided to share it in it’s entirety.  Enjoy. Dear Redge, Why is it so hard to see the financial consequences of lean? Failure to answer […]

A Paradigm Shift To Profitability

Is the “Automotive Industry On the Rebound” or just the companies that make them?  Our local paper, The Toronto Star, reported some very encouraging news today regarding the state of General Motors.  The headline that caught my eye was “A slimmer GM prospers”.  What is more encouraging though is that GM’s recovery is based on a fundamentally new paradigm shift: […]

Toyota recalling 1.7 million vehicles

Toyota is tasked once again to deal with another recall.  The details of the recall can be found at the following link:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iF7PDtO3qyJdQuqtpwz7rBTXyu7w?docId=5764670 Many people are quick to assume that resolving one recall issue somehow sterilizes or immunizes the full line up of vehicles from having other unrelated defects.  History tells us that this is simply not possible. Although the […]

Discover Toyota’s Best Practice

I have always been impressed by Toyota’s inherent ability to adapt, improve, and embrace change even during the harshest times.  This innate ability is a signature trait of Toyota’s culture and has been the topic of intense study and research for many years. How is it that Toyota continues to thrive regardless of the circumstances they encounter?  While numerous authors […]

How Effective is Your Problem Solving?

Background Of the many metrics that we use to manage our businesses, one area that is seldom measured is the effectiveness of the problem solving process itself.  We often engage a variety of problem solving tools such as 5-Why, Fishbone Diagrams, Fault Trees, Design of Experiments (DOE), or other forms of Statistical Analysis in our attempts to find an effective […]

Solving problems BEFORE they Happen!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could solve problems before they happen?  While a problem free world may be far from our present reality, I am encouraged to learn that there are steps that we can take to improve our ability to recognize and resolve problems before they happen in real-time.  The solution to developing this problem awareness mindset is […]

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 […]

Lessons Learned from Toyota’s Stumble…e piece on Toyota recall by Steve Spear

Date: Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 12:43 AM Subject: Lessons Learned from Toyota’s Stumble…e piece on Toyota recall by Steve Spear I received an e-mail this morning from Steven J. Spear, author of “Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition” and thought I would share his commentary on the Toyota recall. Steven raises some interesting points that we […]

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 […]