Category Archives: Lean thinking

Lean Canadian Company

Posted on October 15, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean and mean might not be enough [the broken link was removed] “I wanted all the machines working all the time,” Afeyan said as he watched a worker moving a stack of veneers into position for “cooking” in one of the pressing machines. That was before a “lean manufacturing” exercise changed Afeyan’s mind about how his factory should be organized. The article discusses that while great strides have been made the threat to success still exist from foreign (China) competition. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing

The State of Lean Implementation

Posted on October 2, 2006 by John Hunter

Interesting survey by the Lean Enterprise Institute notes the following as the major obstacles to transforming to a lean organization. 1 Lack of implementation know-how: 48% 2 Backsliding to the old ways of working: 48% 3 Middle management resistance: 40% 4 Traditional cost accounting system doesn’t recognize the value of lean: 38% I wonder if asking why several more times would help [broken link replaced with a new link]? It is not as though the difficulty in adopting lean thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management | Tagged , ,

Lean is Harmony

Posted on September 30, 2006 by John Hunter

In Mike Wroblewski’s capstone, to his posts on his tour of lean manufacturing in Japan, he states: My lean manufacturing epiphany is quite simple, LEAN IS HARMONY. … The lean principles are helping us develop and promote harmony by removing barriers, rocks, and conflicts that disrupt flow in our business. Yes, lean is about eliminating waste and using great lean tools to improve our business but that is all we seem to focus on in the US. Lean principles are … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Six sigma, Systems thinking

Lean Outsourcing

Posted on September 25, 2006 by John Hunter

Unfortunately many people think of outsourcing when they think of lean, because they don’t understand lean manufacturing. Lean Manufacturing and Outsourcing by Eric O. Olsen and Mark Zetter (via Lean Outsourcing) looks at outsourcing with an understanding of lean manufacturing. Related: Toyota Manufactures More Itself – Communication Failures Impact Quality – Excessive Executive Pay – outsource the CEO – IT Outsourcing Slowing

Posted in Lean thinking, Management

Lean Thinking at United

Posted on September 17, 2006 by John Hunter

Mark Graban gives a nice review of some material on web site of a United labor union in: An Encouraging Lean Example at United Airlines. From the union web site, he quotes: “Once fully implemented, the 5S+1 process can increase morale, create positive impressions on customers, and increase efficiency and organization. Not only will team members feel better about where they work, the effect on continuous improvement can lead to less waste, better quality and faster lead times.” It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Psychology

Flexibility in Lean Manufacturing

Posted on September 16, 2006 by John Hunter

What is Flexibility for Lean Manufacturing? [the broken link was removed] by Jon Miller: True flexibility should be a measure not of a machining system or an assembly department but of an entire value stream from the end customer through the supply chain and back to the end customer (from request to fulfillment) and this system’s (value stream’s) ability to deliver Every Product Every X with X being months, weeks, days, hours, etc. Planning and building capacity based on forecasts … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Manufacturing

Japan Kaikaku Experience

Posted on September 14, 2006 by John Hunter

Mike Wroblewski is blogging a great series of posts on his Japan Kaikaku Experience, including Toyota Motor Kyushu: An interesting point is that the assembly line had a goal of only 97% uptime. They did not want 100%. It was believed that a goal of 97% was better (more realistic) and prevented quality problems from being slipped through. If the goal is 100%, the employees would say that something was not really a problem and let it go to keep … Continue reading →

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

Two more Lean Blog Podcasts

Posted on September 12, 2006 by John Hunter

More excellent management podcasts from the Lean Blog: Part 2 of 2 with Dr. Liker, Lean Healthcare and Jamie Flinchbaugh on Muda. As Jamie explains the reason for talking about the seven wastes (muda) is the value added to waste elimination that the distinction provides (by helping people see the issues more clearly). The reason for learning about lean more thoroughly is to more effectively improve. Related: articles by Jamie Flinchbaugh – management blog posts on podcasts – Toyota Targets … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, webcast

Going Lean Brings Long-term Payoffs

Posted on September 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Going lean brings long-term payoffs [the broken link was removed] by John Torinus: The growing number of Wisconsin manufacturers, and the few service companies, taking the lean journey are learning that it is not a sprint. … The immediate paybacks come in the form of saved space, less distance traveled, fewer handoffs, faster throughput, lower inventories and man-hours saved. I would state the authors next point differently. The early successes provide resources to invest in making large more fundamental changes … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

New Lean Blog: Lean Insider

Posted on September 7, 2006 by John Hunter

A new lean blog, from Productivity Press, starts off with: The Low Rates of Lean Implementation [the broken link was removed]: In presenting the results during a recent Industry Week Webinar, Jane Biddle, VP of Global Manufacturing Research at Aberdeen also set forth a familiar list of characteristics of the best in class: Mastered the basic tenants of lean, dedicated to continuous improvement, top management is committed and embracing a ‘culture of lean.’ So what else is new? We’ve heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management

More Lean Manufacturing Podcasts

Posted on September 2, 2006 by John Hunter

Another resource is providing worthwhile lean manufacturing podcasts. The first of an eight video podcast series by Gary Conner [the broken link was removed] is available now. He is author of Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop (Shingo Prize – winner [the broken link was removed]) is a good introduction to lean manufacturing ideas. Related: blog posts on management improvement webcasts – Google Videocasts on Customer Focus – Lean Podcast: Bodek – Lean Blog: Liker Gary Conner also wrote Six … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Lean thinking, Management Articles, webcast | Tagged

Graban Interviews Liker

Posted on August 31, 2006 by John Hunter

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast

Toyota Targets 50% Reduction in Maintenance Waste

Posted on August 30, 2006 by John Hunter

Inside the Toyota Maintenance Reduction 50 Percent by Paul V. Arnold (sadly the site broke the link, so I removed it): First, it is Maintenance Reduction 50 Percent, not Cost Reduction 50 Percent or Employee Reduction 50 Percent. “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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Lean Leaders

Posted on August 28, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean leaders [the broken link was removed] by April Terreri: Tim Corcoran, vice president of ZF Sales & Services, NA, LLC, that re-manufactures automotive transmissions and steering systems in Vernon Hills, IL. “We had a number of false starts by implementing tools like kaizen, value stream mapping and the 5Ss,” he admits. “We found it’s really about the thinking and how we approach work.” Once he and his first-line managers participated in a lean workshop at Lean Learning Center, everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Quality tools | Tagged , , ,

Wisconsin Manufacturing

Posted on August 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Editorial: A way forward for state companies [the broken link was removed], Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The idea of lean manufacturing is pretty close to a religion at Ariens these days. The tenets: Be quick on the draw. Improve continuously. Be open to change. Get everyone – shop floor to board room – involved. The company’s output has nearly tripled in six years with a work force that has remained steady at about 1,000. Productivity is up, on average, about 17% … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Danaher Practicing Lean Thinking

Posted on August 22, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturer’s Acquisition Strategy Sets It Apart From The Pack [the broken link was removed], Investors Business Daily: “It’s adapted from the Japanese Kaizen system,” Holmstead said. “Kaizen is a way of removing waste and standardizing processes and bringing underperforming or slow-growth companies with maybe single-digit margins up to midteen margins.” 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment