The 7 Wastes
The 7 Wastes provide a central theme to the lean methodology. The goal of lean is to maximize value and minimize waste. Ultimately, value to […]
Month: January 2016
Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System is the methodology developed at Toyota that led to the development of lean manufacturing and the lean philosophy. The Toyota Production […]
7 Wastes: Defects
Poor quality and the resulting defects are a major source of cost for many companies. This is also a cost that is often under reported […]
7 Wastes: Motion
Motion is a waste common in both manufacturing and service industries. This waste is very similar to transportation waste, but relates to movement within a […]
7 Wastes: Processing
Processing activities are typically viewed as value added. It is the manufacturing processes that add value to the product and to the customer. Despite this, […]
7 Wastes: Transportation
Transportation is the backbone of our economy, but it is also a fundament waste to be eliminated. As important as it is to get a […]
7 Wastes: Wait Time
Waiting is one of the 7 Wastes that most people recognize easily. Eliminating time spent waiting has been a focus of manufacturing improvement activities since […]
7 Wastes: Inventory
Inventory is recognized in as a waste in the lean system. This is because inventory does not add any value to the customer, but has […]
7 Wastes: Overproduction
Overproduction occurs when a company manufacturers a product before there is a customer demand. Overproduction can occur with individual processes or across the entire value […]
Lean Thinking and Life Equations
In Lean Thinking and in Life in general we often like to write out neat little equations to explain complex concepts so that people understand […]
Lean, and Autonomous Maintenance
In this post we are going to suggest another Lean tool that may be beneficial for our children to learn Autonomous Maintenance (i.e. Operator Maintenance). Kids […]
Lean Maturity
Knowing When You’re Lean Recently I have been seeing more and more discussion about Lean Maturity and people asking us how they know they are […]
What is the best way of implementing Lean Manufacturing?
What is the best way of implementing Lean Manufacturing? What is that magic recipe that would guarantee us that, if we follow it, the Lean Transformation […]
Diversity as a Key to Success
A large part of being successful in a Lean Transformation is repect for people one way we show that is through becoming a more diverse […]
Lean Implementation and Respect for People
Why in Lean Implementation is it vital to build an organization based upon Respect for People? This simple and commonly asked question is the most […]
The Key to Successful Lean Implementation
The question “What is the key to successful Lean Implementation?” is often asked of us. The answer is simply yet, the toughest part of Lean […]
5S, A Philosophy of Work
The 5S program highlights basic aspects such as using the proper tool, the proper accessory, and the correct information. It seeks respect for arranged times […]
Pitfalls when undertaking online jobs?
Prior to applying for online jobs, it is wise to delineate your area of expertise~If you are looking at online jobs, as with any other […]
Life Lessons and Lean – Success Needs Change
In this is the first article in which we will touch on some of life’s lessons any of us over thirty should have learned by […]
Value Stream Mapping with Natural Processes
Most Value Stream Mapping is done on totally manmade systems, which exist in hard goods factories, and service businesses, however there are several industries which […]
APQP – Product and Process Validation
Purpose: To validate the manufacturing process through an evaluation of a production trial run. Considerations: During the production trial run, the APQP Team must validate […]
DMAIC Case Study #1 – Perishable Inventory
Background Fortune 1000 organizations have realized immense success by implementing the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methods made famous by Six Sigma practictioners. These […]
5S Red Tag Strategy
5S Red Tag procedures (Free download 5S red tag template below) Step 1: Select members from various teams Select a high level manager to participate […]
Six steps approach for identifying and creating manufacturing cells
Step 1 – Determine Product Volume and Mix These categories represent marketing’s definition of product groupings and correspond roughly to divisions in the company’s product […]
Guideline on VSM
1. Agree on scope and objectives. Know the details that this VSM for some product family, Top level / Middle level / Bottom level. Must […]
Symbols for Value Stream Mapping
[wpdm_tree category=”vsm-templates”] VSM Process Symbols Customer/Supplier This icon represents the Supplier when in the upper left, the usual starting point for material flow. The customer […]
PPAPs for the Automotive Industry
Can You Say PPAP? PPAP stands for Production Part Approval Process. If you want to sound cool, you will pronounce the acronym pee-pap. The term PPAP […]
Applying 5S Tools to Supply Chain Management
Abstract. Supply strategies in a lean environment should support the operations strategy. It is appropriate then to use lean concepts and lean terminology in the […]
Focused Improvement Pillar
Focused improvement is the engine of WCM. As the one of ten World Class Manufacturing pillars, Focused Improvement have a big task to manage the […]