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Langdon Morris has written a new book: Permanent Innovation. There is a blog and web site too. The book builds upon his article, Business Model Warfare:
An investigation of the essence of simplicity must necessarily get involved with the psychology of human-machine interaction. Why do we display such a strong proclivity to regarding technology as an externally imposed authority, to condemning or venerating it?…If we merely equate simplicity with simplification and reduction, simply let the technology become “invisible”, we not only manifest our inability to even recognize the type and extent of the technological deployment
This post on the excellent signal vs. noise blog illustrates how one can lose their way when trying to simplify. Lean and other management improvement folks can learn a lot about eliminate non-value added steps, clean design, simplifying systems to improve performance… from this blog. The examples are mainly relating to software development from a true understanding of lean thinking (though I don’t have any evidence they are familiar with the Toyota Production System or lean tools/concepts).
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Another excellent podcast from the Lean Blog: Dr. Jeffrey Liker.
Dr. Liker discusses the subtleties of doing actually doing lean versus talking about doing lean. Dr. Liker has authored: The Toyota Way, The Toyota Way Fieldbook and The Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process And Technology. His consulting firm is: Optiprise.
True lean management is not instant pudding. The more knowledgeable people are about lean practices the less they focus on quick fixes and the more they talk about deep changes. And yet some quick gains are possible. The challenge is to use early gains to build the capacity of the organization for the truly remarkable possible long term gains.
Inside the Toyota Maintenance Reduction 50 Percent by Paul V. Arnold:
“The goal is to reduce maintenance activities and the maintenance that you perform on a machine by 50 percent. That goal covers every machine and every activity,” says TMMK facilities control manager David Absher.
This is not about arbitrarily chopping budgets or personnel. It’s a game plan that balances today’s corporate wants and needs with long-term implications and vision.
I think this is another example of how potentially dangerous targets or goals can be used within a excellent management system effectively. Still such target can be dangerous, even in an excellent management system - so it is a tool to be used with great care (especially when the management system does not embody many principles of management improvement). (more…)
Jeff Sutherland quoting Dr. Deming’s response to Peter Senge request for a comment on his book, The Fifth Discipline:
See page 125 of New Economics, by W. Edwards Deming on the Forces of Destruction.
Related: Deming on Management - unknown and unknowable figures - Dangers of Extrinsic Motivation - Problems with Bonuses - Failed Personnel Practice: Forced Ranking
Lean leaders by April Terreri:
The tools are very helpful but the change in mindset is critical. Without the change in the way business is viewed the tools may be able to help but often can prove of limited value. Once an organization starts truly adopting principles like surfacing problems so the system can be fixed instead of hiding problems so the individual doesn’t get blamed then the tools are critical to provide results that will encourage those who are skeptical to at least try this new way of looking at things.
Exactly!
Editorial: A way forward for state companies, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Manufacturing and related industries are still a huge piece of Wisconsin’s economy - nearly half by some estimates.
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The state should boost funding for the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which preaches the gospel of lean manufacturing. Statewide, companies helped by the partnership reported $233 million in improvements during fiscal 2006. The non-profit group offers low-cost consulting to small- to mid-sized companies and receives both state and federal funding.
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It’s a sign that Wisconsin manufacturers can play a major role in the state for years to come. And lean manufacturing is a key to that.
Wisconsin continues to succeed as an example of manufacturing success. (more…)
How intellectual property influences innovation and growth in the economy depends on the application of intellectual property law. No intellectual property (IP) rights would hinder innovation. Complicated application of confusing and overreaching IP rights also hinders innovation. Now I see the USA systems as having overreaching claims of IP rights, IP rights granted for obvious ideas which then are used to extort those actually producing value and overall a system much in need of improvement.
Lawrence Lessig does the best job of presenting the value of improving our application of IP law.
Related: The Patent System Needs to be Significantly Improved - Patent Review Innovation - Is the US Patent System Endangering American Innovation? - Do Intellectual Property Rights Help or Hinder Innovation? by Amy Rowell
Raising the Floor by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang:
Sounds like lean manufacturing. The author mentioned six sigma and TQM but not lean. The article is a bit over the top, but does illustrate how cultural trends add to the benefits of a lean future.
Defined: NDA - non disclosure agreement. More management definitions.
We wrote about the IHI campaign to save lives through improved health care management previously - Saving Lives: US Health Care Improvement. IHI estimates 122,300 from December 2004 to June 2006. The PBS Newshour aired a report on the campaign.
Related: posts on Health Care Improvement - articles on improving healthcare
Sales Force by Curtis Hartman, 1996 explores Ron Rodin’s use of Deming’s ideas at Marshall Industries. Ron Rodin’s boo, Free Perfect and Now, is excellent.
Yes the article is 10 years old by as I have stated numerous times I don’t believe only things written in the last week have value. Going back to the great stuff (even if you have read it before) is often much better than reading whatever is new.
Providing internet access at work can create some management issues. However, the correct solution to those problems is not to be overly restrictive on access to the internet.
Obviously, the most important thing is doing the work of the organization: there is no excuse for employees ignoring customers or pressing needs to IM with their friends or browse the web. However, if you hire responsible people and manage properly - maintaining a proper work culture, etc., you should respect and trust your employees.
Internet access does create the potential for abuse. And I think it may well require more management involvement to assure it is not abused (because the temptation is so great) but much of that management involvement is probably a good thing. Management, in general, is too far removed from what is actually going on (see Dilbert’s pointy haired boss).
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A visit to Toyota City: In Toyota land by Vinod Jacob:
Toyota City website with info and web videos
Another article by Vinod Jacob - Ford centenary: A legacy revisited
via: Lean Blog
Manufacturer’s Acquisition Strategy Sets It Apart From The Pack, Investors Business Daily:
The keys are standardization, measurement and innovation — all directed toward the goal of continuous improvement.
“It’s basically a set of tools that allows Danaher to make whatever widget they are manufacturing at a cost less than most of their competitors,” said Morningstar analyst Eric Landry. “Over the past decade they have (also been moving) DBS into the back office and into sales. It produces a culture where you are never satisfied.”
The quotes are from Wall Street Analysts. I think basically they like the ever increasing cash flow and then use the story the company gives for why they are successful. Still they are playing up lean thinking.
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The Risk Pool by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink):
Pension plans did work well for a short period of time. But recently they (along with the attached retiree health care) are one of the big problems facing large old companies: like GM. Gladwell talks about the dependency ratio for an economy and the dependency ratio of companies. Worsening dependency ratios can cause pension plans to kill companies (if they are not funded when the obligation is incurred) - as the company is forced to pay for more and more retirees with fewer and fewer workers.
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Toyota exec stands up to Texas heat by Cheryl Hall:
Toyota’s new Texas plant is coming on line and will further increase Toyota’s contribution to the US economy, by buying from local suppliers and most importantly by working with local suppliers:
Each of the 200,000 trucks produced annually will have up to 30,000 parts that are mostly made in surrounding buildings. Without on-site production, parts would travel up to 2,000 miles to San Antonio. A lot of things can happen to them during such a long haul. And those 18-wheelers produce emissions by the cloud-load – a key concern for Toyota, says Mr. Tajima.
“We really believe that the true meaning for our company’s existence is better quality, better performance, better reliability and being kinder to Earth, which means fuel efficiency and lower pollution, not only with the product but in the process of making it,” he says. “Otherwise, we’re just like everyone else.”
Previous post on Toyota’s supplier development. The article includes some interesting information on how Toyota has been hiring, they:
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I just posted some photos from a couple short hikes on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania during September 2003.
More Curious Cat Travels hiking photos: Grand Canyon National Park - Olympic National Park - Bull Run, Virginia - Yellowstone National Park - many more
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Excerpt from Idealized Design: How to Dissolve Tomorrow’s Crisis…Today by Russell L. Ackoff, Jason Magidson and Herbert J. Addison: How Bell Labs Imagined — and Created — the Telephone System of the Future in the 1950s.
Great stuff and another example showing the obsession with “new” ideas is wasteful.
A simple idea, and a powerful one too. Ackoff always presents his ideas very well, in this book, and in many articles by Dr. Ackoff available online. I still remember Dr. Ackoff’s presenting this material at a Hunter conference years ago - great stuff.
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From our post: Targets Distorting the System, Dr. Brian Joiner:
Another example of this in practice: Recount helps one university rise in the rankings:
I am sure “classes under 20″ is a proxy for an intimate learning environment and interaction with knowledgeable professors that can teach well. You can’t directly measure the benefit of interaction with a professor in a small group on learning to create data to be used in ranking schools (Deming on unknown and unknowable figures). So classes with under 20 students and % of faculty with PhDs… are used as proxies for this idea.
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401(k)s are a great retirement investment vehicle (for those in the USA). Since the introduction of 401(k)s they have proved very advantageous to those saving for their retirement. See our previous post on: Saving for Retirement.
However, the experience thusfar shows a weaknesses in the system. Many people don’t even take advantage of a 401(k) to save for their retirement. From a public policy perspective it creates a huge long term problem. The economy will end up with millions of people that didn’t save for retirement and will be a drain on those who did save for retirement and the rest of the economy.
So Congress actually passed a good revision to the law. Employers will now be required to default to having employees save for their retirement in 401(k) plans. The employee still has the option to decline doing so, but now, without such a choice, they will automatically save for retirement. Great news, if like me, you believe many who would have not saved for retirement now will, and that doing so will be a good move for them and for the overall economy.
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