Author Archives: John Hunter

Lean National Health System

Posted on June 14, 2006 by John Hunter

A presentation today, Lean Thinking For the NHS, by Dan Jones is getting press coverage in England.NHS should embrace lean times: The improvements came through examining the patient’s whole experience, and removing the sometimes-fatal delays in getting them into the operating theatre, such as creating a faster process for radiology and removing unnecessary paperwork.These changes also lessen staff frustrations by allowing them to spend more time helping patients. Also, by cutting length of stay and complications, costs should also start … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Systems thinking, UK | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Brainstorming Under Attack

Posted on June 14, 2006 by John Hunter

Brainstorming under attack: 8 errors in the WSJ [the broken link was removed]. The WSJ has their content behind a wall [the broken link was removed] so their content is not part of the web and so I have not seen their article. The blog post makes good points about mistaken impressions of brainstorming: People do better on their own than they do in brainstorming sessions. This is really daft. I like to think of myself as a pretty creative … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Quality tools | Tagged , , , ,

More Kaizen

Posted on June 14, 2006 by John Hunter

More Kaizen – Why Not Eleven? [the broken link was removed]: We also talk about lean production and Toyota methods and how far you have to go. He tells me about a course he did where the company took him out of work for a couple of days and sent him to another plant where they showed him how to work an assembly line station, then set him to come up with 5 improvements for the process before lunchtime.When he … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Quality tools | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Dell Falls Short

Posted on June 13, 2006 by John Hunter

Good post by Mark Graban: Once Again, Dell is Not TPS: Their factories are great examples of flow, raw material comes in one side, finished product comes out the other, with minimal WIP in between.But, lean isn’t just about reducing waste. The Toyota Production System is also about “respect for people,” meaning your employees, suppliers, and customers. Dell definitely scores higher on “reducing waste” than they do on “respecting people.” Good points.

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 1 Comment

Manufacturing is Cool

Posted on June 12, 2006 by John Hunter

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers brings us the web site: manufacturingiscool.com [the broken link was removed – maybe manufacturing isn’t cool anymore 🙁 ]. Maybe this is the answer to Bill Waddell post: We Don’t Get No Respect 🙂 From the manufacturing is cool site: Video tapes and books full of additional information regarding the many interesting careers available in manufacturing engineering and technically oriented material.Professionally prepared classroom programs and curriculum resources available to enhance your instructional capabilities. Ways to … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Education, Manufacturing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Lean Library

Posted on June 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Library becomes a lean machine [the broken link was removed] by Morgan Jarema: “I spent parts of three days looking for that book,” Hoyles recalled. “On the fourth day, I found it. I called the patron and he told me he’d gone out and bought it.” … In November, library employees, who are responsible for checking in from 4,000 to 10,000 returned materials at a time, were asked to help reduce the reshelving time, which could be as long as … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector, Quality tools | Tagged ,

The Cat and a Black Bear

Posted on June 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Tabby cat terror for black bear A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree – twice.Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising. “We used to joke, ‘Jack’s on duty,’ never knowing he’d go after a bear,” See larger photo – AP Photo by … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun | Tagged | 12 Comments

Management Advice Failures

Posted on June 10, 2006 by John Hunter

…when we fail to value the best ideas, instead valuing the new ideas, we are not as effective as we could be. We often accept pale copies of good old ideas instead of going to the good old ideas – which will often lead to a much richer source of knowledge. Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Popular, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

If Tech Companies Made Sudoku

Posted on June 9, 2006 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement A fun post as we head into the weekend: If Tech Companies Made Sudoku by Kathy Sierra Frankly, we’re a little baffled that your original design was so… simple. I’m sure we all recognize that our target market demands a much more media-rich, interactive, high-action experience. Love the whole grid thing, though. The graphic on the original post is great. You can also read about an attempt to focus IT differently: The Declaration of Interdependence [the broken … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Software Development | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Tesco: Lean Provision

Posted on June 8, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Provision Is Tesco’s Secret Weapon in Battle with Wal-Mart (annoyingly Yahoo has deleted that web page so I removed the link) (update again here is the LEI press release [the broken link was removed, The Lean Enterprise Institute doesn’t see to employ long term thinking, though that is certainly part of sensible lean thinking]): Tesco’s lean provision system combines point-of-sale data, cross-dock distribution centers, and frequent deliveries to many stores along “milk-runs” to stock the right items in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management | 4 Comments

Microsoft CMMI

Posted on June 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Microsoft webcast [the broken link was removed] on Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI is the process developed by the Software Engineering Institute that was heavily influenced by Quality Management) and the approach taken for continuous improvement – mapping to concepts like Six Sigma and Kaizen. Each webcast with David Anderson, is an hour long.Program information: presentation to CMMI appraisers [the broken link was removed] on the Microsoft Solutions Framework for CMMI Process Improvement. Previous David Anderson CMMI Webcast Stretching Agile … Continue reading →

Posted in Six sigma, Software Development

Companies in Need of Customer Focus

Posted on June 7, 2006 by John Hunter

You should pay ME – 9 Companies That Don’t Get It [the broken link was removed]: I have been having a hell of a time canceling my old web hosting with Burstband. It’s been a few months now and I’ve called, emailed, filled out online forms, and I have never reached a live person or received confirmation that my account was shut down, and I still get charged. I finally had to file a dispute through my credit card company. … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management | Tagged | 1 Comment

Lean Beyond the Factory Floor

Posted on June 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Spreading the lean tonic [the broken link was removed]: One problem, says Michele Bonfiglioli, chief executive of Italian manufacturing consultancy firm Bonfiglioli Consulting, is that many manufacturers have a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to understanding just how non-lean and inefficient their administrative functions are. “Manufacturing is full of metrics: takt times, OEE and a host of others – but no one measures what goes on in the offices,” he observes. The focus on the whole organization is increasing moving … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement | Tagged , ,

Kaizen Event Research Project

Posted on June 5, 2006 by John Hunter

NSF Funded Kaizen Event Research Project [the broken link was removed] First, this research seeks to identify the most important factors influencing successful outcomes (both technical and social)…The second objective investigates the sustainability of Kaizen events over time. The research team has visited numerous organizations utilizing Kaizen events across multiple areas. Leaders in some organizations acknowledge that some areas will quickly (within 6 months to one year) revert back to the pre-Kaizen performance levels. Yet other organizations appear successful in … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Public Sector, Quality tools | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Planning 5s? First Know Why!

Posted on June 4, 2006 by John Hunter

Planning 5s? First Know Why! [the broken link was removed] by Jamie Flinchbaugh The basic principle is that you must know why you want to implement 5S before being concerned about learning how to do it. Most people, when they are asked the purpose of 5S, cite safety, discipline, employee morale, reduced waste of motion and-perhaps the worst reason of all-being tour ready.All of this is wrong. The true purpose of 5S is to spot problems quickly. Very clear point. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Quality tools | Tagged | 1 Comment

Lean, Mean, Six Sigma Machines

Posted on June 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean, mean, Six Sigma machines [the broken link was removed] by Tam Harbert: Without exception, each company is healthier now than it was five years ago. Three of them have turned profitable, and the fourth – Celestica – is close to turning the corner… The question is how much credit for their progress goes to Lean Six [Sigma]. Yes that is indeed a good question. What management claims as the reason for results is not necessarily actually the reason (and … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Six sigma | Tagged ,