Category Archives: Manufacturing

Gemba Keiei by Taiichi Ohno

Posted on May 31, 2006 by John Hunter

Jon Miller has been posting thoughts on chapters of Gemba Keiei by Taiichi Ohno for quite some time. His latest post in on chapter 23 (of 37): Producing at the Lowest Possible Cost. The series of posts provide great doses of management wisdom. As he said in the first post: “As I re-read this book in the original Japanese, I will summarize the nuggets of wisdom from each chapter in Mr. Ohno’s book.”Some great examples, If You Are Wrong, Admit … Continue reading →

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

Lessons From Visit to Toyota’s Kentucky Plant

Posted on May 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Construction Executive Lessons from the Toyota Visit [the broken link was removed] by Hal Macomber including: Stopping to fix the problem – jidoka – could lead to far fewer quality problems. … Establish standard work – the currently understood best way – for key project operations. … As leaders, involve yourself to ease the work of the project team members rather than operating in the illusion that you can control. via: Construction Executives Visit Toyota, Learn Kaizen [the broken link … Continue reading →

Posted in Management Articles, Manufacturing, Quality tools | Tagged ,

UK Lean Electronics Manufacturing

Posted on May 18, 2006 by John Hunter

CEO viewpoint: Lean and keen manufacturing [the broken link was removed] by Eamonn Walsh, chairman and technical director of Brainboxes: At Brainboxes we have been manufacturing for 22 years so far and we believe that the way we work will keep us there. If we adopt the best practice of lean manufacturing methods and apply them to all manufacturing in the UK, electronics or otherwise, then the industry will be transformed for the good. Unreformed manufacturing will fall by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Lean Construction

Posted on May 17, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Manufacturing in the Construction Industry [the broken link was removed] by Eric Sander: In a radical departure from construction on site, Bensonwood Homes of Walpole, New Hampshire, has begun assembling major wall and floor components of their custom homes in their shop. These sections are delivered and assembled on site to reduce the construction time and improve quality. This approach is common in Japan. Toyota Homes and Misawa Home prefabricate custom homes in their factory for onsite assembly. Tedd … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged

Six Sigma and Process Drift

Posted on May 8, 2006 by John Hunter

Quality Quandaries: Six Sigma, Process Drift, Capability Indices, and Feedback Adjustment by George Box and Alberto Luceno. This article is for the more statistically inclined. The Six Sigma specification makes an allowance of 1.5 standard deviations for process drift. Simple ways in which a major part of such drift can be removed are given. These employ feedback adjustment methods specifically designed for SPC applications. Feedback adjustment can be dangerous: tampering. In fact, I would say attempting it is likely to … Continue reading →

Posted in Management Articles, Manufacturing, Process improvement, Quality tools, Six sigma, Statistics | Tagged , , , ,

Lean Thinking Misconception

Posted on May 5, 2006 by John Hunter

Office Furniture Companies Now Leaner [the broken link was removed] Steelcase, the largest of the nation’s office furniture companies, cut thousands of jobs, consolidated manufacturing operations and started relying more on third-party suppliers and outsourcing as it shifted toward a leaner and more flexible manufacturing model popularized by Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. This does not convey true lean thinking. It is a shame so many think lean is equal to “reducing staff.” Lean is about removing waste. Removing waste … Continue reading →

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

Toyota in the US Economy

Posted on April 17, 2006 by John Hunter

Some figures on Toyota’s economic impact in the USA. Toyota North American vehicle manufacturing totals: From Toyota’s web site: Toyota Manufacturing in the USA [the broken link was removed]: by 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build 1.81 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines, and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America. The company’s direct employment in North America is more than 38,000 and direct investment is nearly $16.8 billion with annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , | 4 Comments

China’s Manufacturing Economy

Posted on April 15, 2006 by John Hunter

Brad Setser posts on manufacturing comparisons: Have China’s manufacturing powers been exaggerated? [the broken link was removed] I am all for pushing against over-generalizations that get repeated so often that they become conventional wisdom. The oft-stated argument that France isn’t growing is one example. In fact, France has grown faster than either Germany or Italy over the past few years, and France grew for the same reason the US grew: soaring real estate prices have pumped up domestic demand. But … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing, Popular | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Lean Material Handling

Posted on April 11, 2006 by John Hunter

Don’t Ignore your Water Spider a great post by Mike Wroblewski: The second night was little better and I quickly evaluated the improvements from the night before. Later that second night, I made more improvements. Each day, I continued the cycle of experimenting with the improvements and making adjustments to see what worked best. By the end of the week, my pedometer reading hit only 10,000 steps or five miles and not one line operator had to get their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Manufacturing Jobs Data: USA and China

Posted on April 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturing Productivity and the Shifting US, China, and Global Job Scenes-1990 to 2005 (working paper – July 2005) by William Ward, Clemson University: Manufacturing productivity growth from 1990 to 2004 should have taken away 7.5 million of the 17.7 million manufacturing jobs that existed in the US in 1990, while GDP growth should have added back (at the new productivity levels of 2004) 5.7 million manufacturing jobs-for a net loss of 1.8 million. In fact, the US economy lost 3.3 … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Manufacturing, Popular, quote | 6 Comments

Womack Podcast on GM

Posted on April 5, 2006 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement, Toyota Production System Womack Audio on Bloomberg.com [the broken link was removed] (14 minutes) via the Lean Blog, where they quote from the audio: “What do they worry about? They worry about the fact the system is still driven out of Japan and they’re everywhere now in terms of factories, in terms of R&D, but the fact is, to put the discipline in the system, that force, that energy is still coming out of Toyota City. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | Tagged

Lean Manufacturing Success

Posted on April 4, 2006 by John Hunter

Oshkosh Truck Driven to Succeed [the broken link was removed] by Arlen Boardman: Wuest said this reduced the order-to-delivery time from 12 to 16 weeks to seven days. It made better use of manufacturing space and reduced inventory-holding costs. He said it does many more things, like create an orderly work area, so tools are where they’re supposed to be, and parts are made when needed, one at a time. “The goal is to turn an order into cash as … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged

US Manufacturing Plant Construction

Posted on April 2, 2006 by John Hunter

Breaking Ground [the broken link was removed] by Jeff Moad: Last year, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce, investment in new manufacturing plant construction increased 25%. That compares to a decline of 6.5% in 2003 and an increase in 2004 of 9.7% As we have noted earlier, the United States is by far the leading manufacturer in the world: Global Manufacturing Data by Country and Manufacturing and the Economy (Japan is second and China third and growing … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

What makes Toyota tick?

Posted on March 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Advanced Manufacturing magazine continues the focus on Toyota with a cover article, What Makes Toyota Tick? [the broken link was removed] by Vanessa Chris “Toyota has been coined ‘the most feared automaker in the industry.’” Just a few days ago I posted on: Fear Remains a Toyota Motivator. No matter what Toyota continues to be the focus of attention. Every aspect of the assembly process flows flawlessly into the next – making the plant’s 157 processes seem like one. Parts … Continue reading →

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

Indian Deming Prize Winner Expanding

Posted on March 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Lucas TVS on Global and Local Expansion Mode A delegation of top officials from leading Japanese industries — mostly comprising Toyota group and its suppliers — had also visited the Lucas TVS’ Chennai plant. The delegation is part of the central Japan Quality Control Association, an organisation promoting quality control in cooperation of the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). The purpose of the visit was to introduce the delegation to the best practices amongst the member companies and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, India, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Toyota in China: Full Speed Ahead

Posted on March 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Toyota in China: Full Speed Ahead [the broken link was removed], Business Week. Yoshimi Inaba, who’s driving the Japanese auto maker’s expansion in the Middle Kingdom, discusses the Chinese market and his goals there. Toyota’s market share is just 3.5% in China, compared to 13% in the U.S. and more than 40% at home in Japan. We’re a minor player in the China market, with a 3.5% share, but we’re one of the few manufacturers where demand exceeds supply. Even … Continue reading →

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