Category Archives: UK

George Box

Posted on March 28, 2013 by John Hunter

I would most likely not exist if it were not for George Box. My father took a course from George while my father was a student at Princeton. George agreed to start the Statistics Department at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and my father followed him to Madison, to be the first PhD student. Dad graduated, and the next year was a professor there, where he and George remained for the rest of their careers. George died today, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Design of Experiments, Management, Manufacturing, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, Respect, Six sigma, Statistics, Systems thinking, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Overview of 5 Nations Health Care Systems

Posted on April 16, 2008 by John Hunter

PBS presents a very nice overview of the heath care systems in Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland in: Sick Around the World. It is a just a surface view of the overall system but even so does a good job of providing more understanding of the options available to fix the failed system in the USA. The US system costs over 50% more than others and has worse outcome measures than the alternatives (and leaves many without any … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health care, UK | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lean Manufacturing Saving Jobs Again

Posted on March 2, 2008 by John Hunter

Lean manufacturing saving jobs Keiper Automotive has slashed more than $2 million in costs and saved 100 jobs from layoff — all by reducing waste. Bob Cook, plant manager at the Scanlan Street auto parts manufacturer, hosted a lean manufacturing session at the plant yesterday where 10 manufacturers from different sectors learned first-hand how to cut waste, and what an impact it can have. “This is not about a reduction in the workforce, it is about reducing waste in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Systems thinking, UK | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Measuring the Health of Nations

Posted on January 8, 2008 by John Hunter

Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis In a Commonwealth Fund-supported study comparing preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries, researchers found that the United States placed last. While the other nations improved dramatically between the two study periods (1997–98 and 2002–03) the U.S. improved only slightly on the measure. Rankings: 1) France 2) Japan 3) Australia 4) Spain 5) Italy 6) Canada… 18) Portugal 19) USA. Maybe the United States is last but still not significantly behind? According … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health care, UK | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Better Manufacturing in UK

Posted on July 16, 2006 by John Hunter

My design for better manufacturing in UK [the broken link was removed] by James Dyson: The way forward is to make things that are better designed, better engineered and with better technology than our competitors’ products. This is the blueprint for 21st-century success embraced by Japan. It is why Japan makes six times as many patent applications as Britain and spends three times as much on research and development. The Japanese government is about to spend £128 billion on research … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Manufacturing, Science, UK | Tagged ,

Another Article on Lean UK Hospitals

Posted on July 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Country to follow the hospital’s ‘lean’ lead by Jane Lavender: Since the introduction of lean thinking, the length of time it takes a patient to get from the accident and emergency to the operating theatre has been reduced by 38 per cent. Paper work has been cut by 42 per cent and the total time patients spend in hospital has been slashed by 32 per cent. The article also says “Nine months ago the hospital became one of only six … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector, UK

Seminars by Toyota UK

Posted on July 3, 2006 by John Hunter

‘Increasing quality, efficiency and profitability via A Lean Approach’ is a series of six one day tour, seminar and workshop events at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire that focuses on the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Quality Management. Guests can choose from three workshops, HRM, Visual Control or Practical Problem Solving, and take part in a Q&A session with the speakers: Hein Van Gerwen, Managing Director; Carl Klemm, Deputy Managing Director; Clive Bridge, Corporate Affairs Director … Continue reading →

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

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

What Innovation Means to Tesco

Posted on March 29, 2006 by John Hunter

What innovation means to Tesco [the broken link was removed] by Sir Terry Leahy (Chief Executive of Tesco): Innovators are all around us; innovation is after all just another word for an idea and we can all have those. Businesses must learn to harness the creativity of their workforce and encourage staff to come forward with ideas. It’s not always easy as some good ideas will fail but companies have to be comfortable with that if they are to avoid … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Respect, Systems thinking, UK | Tagged | 1 Comment

Lean Thinking in Scotland

Posted on February 12, 2006 by John Hunter

The man who would save Scottish industry [the broken link was removed] by Terry Murden Ross says: “Lean thinking can be applied to almost any process, but the key is the involvement of those who actually do the work. I passionately believe that companies, councils and the NHS can make major improvements across all their key measures once they learn how to involve their staff in the elimination of wasted time.” The article offers few details but is another example … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector, UK | Tagged ,

BBC Radio Program on Deming

Posted on July 4, 2005 by John Hunter

BBC radio has an online podcast of a discussion of W. Edwards Deming‘s ideas. As far as I can tell the program is available for downloading just for the next couple days [link broken, so it was removed. Re-found a working link, who know how long it will work] (I am exploring if we can find a way to make the program available online permanently – if anyone has experience working with BBC and has some helpful info please let … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, UK, webcast | Tagged