Tag Archives: lean 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

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

Switching to Lean

Posted on August 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Switching to lean [the broken link was removed] by Vanessa Chris: Since Eaton implemented lean manufacturing practices across its 235 plants in 2003, this facility has ranked number one for three years running. It used Eaton’s eight lean tools — that include value stream mapping, 5S, total productive maintenance, and Kanban techniques, among others — to free up 32,000 square feet of floor space, reduce panelboard cycle time to six minutes, boost on-time delivery from 72 per cent to 92 … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged

What Is Muda?

Posted on July 27, 2006 by John Hunter

What Is Muda? [the broken link was removed] by Norman Bodek Excellent article on lean thinking, management improvement and eliminating waste. Setup time and machine downtime are wastes and should be eliminated. I remember visiting a washing machine plant in Japan operated by Panasonic, where there was no separate maintenance department. The company taught operators in the plant to fix their own machines. And since Shingo’s great breakthroughs on setup reduction, changeovers are often done in seconds, not in hours. … Continue reading →

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Supplier Development Article

Posted on July 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Supplier development in a lean age [the broken link was removed] by Rich Weissman “We need to keep in mind why we are doing supplier development and relationship management, and profit needs to be the focus of our efforts. Profitable suppliers will tend to be happier suppliers, and happier suppliers will ultimately perform better.” I get the impression from this and many other articles that people are scared to talk about any other aims than profit. Deming didn’t have such … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Origins of the Toyota Production System

Posted on July 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Brief Investigation into the Origins of the Toyota Production System [the broken link was removed] by Art Smalley. Another excellent article by Art Smalley. Loaded with great historical information. I find these articles interesting on at least two levels. First there is great management information. Learning more about how the ideas we use now developed adds to my understanding. Second it is interesting historical information – I am not sure if it actually makes any difference in how I would … Continue reading →

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

Lean Manufacturing Dream

Posted on July 6, 2006 by John Hunter

This article is from 2001 and worth reading. It is important to keep up with what is currently happening but there is a great deal of useful information from 5, 10,20, 50… years ago. Achieving the lean dream [the broken link was removed] by Nelson J. Teed: Growth and lean are great partners for another reason. Positive employee reaction to lean is crucial to success, and not automatic. Lean improves productivity and can reduce the number of people needed. Layoffs … Continue reading →

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

New Look American Manufacturing

Posted on June 30, 2006 by John Hunter

The New Look American Manufacturing [the broken link was removed] by Dale Buss: The evidence shows that American manufacturers that revise their processes and integrate technology in ways that allow them to stay close to customers can survive the onslaught from China. Adaptability is key above all other factors. I agree by applying lean manufacturing and other management improvement ideas manufacturers can (and are) prospering in the USA. I don’t think one factor is the key. Many factors determine whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

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 ,

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 ,

Lean forward

Posted on May 22, 2006 by John Hunter

The most substantial success requires building upon the initial efforts. Truly becoming a lean organization is not something that can be done easily or quickly. And it can’t happen unless management stays focused and continues to learn about lean concepts. Continue reading →

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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

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

A Company’s Purpose is to be Useful to Society

Posted on April 2, 2006 by John Hunter

Toyota powers to the front [the broken link was removed] (Toyota President, Katsuaki Watanabe) eschews the normal management mantra of shareholder value above all. A company’s purpose, Watanabe insists, is to be useful to society. W. Edwards Deming described the purpose of an organization in New Economics, on page 51, as: The aim proposed here for any organization is for everybody to gain – stockholders, employees, suppliers, customers, community, the environment – over the long term. More from our previous … Continue reading →

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