One of the tenants of TPS is to learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can, with as much future flexibility as possible. This is the whole point of JIT. The more quickly something can be built or mocked up, the more quickly it can be tried and tested, and the more [...]
A reader, Josh, sent me this link. Spilled coffee in 777 cockpit leads to inadvertent hijack warning, FAA-mandated sippy cups look likely The more compete, technical version, is here. The short version is: Airline pilot spills coffee on cockpit panel. Coffee (or scalded pilot) causes airplane to send out the HIJACK transponder code. Many people [...]
pc pointed out a great little article in a post on the discussion forum. The article touches lightly on why ERP implementations are so hazard prone, and then lists the “Biggest Failures” of 2010. Of note is that the majority of the listed failures are governments. I can see why. Governments, by their nature, have [...]
In this world of laser beams and ultrasonic transducers, we sometimes lost sight of simplicity. Remember- the simplest solution that works is probably the best. A good visual control should tell the operator, immediately, if a process is going beyond the specified parameters. Ideally the process would be stopped automatically, however a clear signal to stop, given [...]
So the Mythbusters are teaching the scientific method as entertainment, and somehow industry is not making the leap that the same thinking applies to management. Do financial management methods developed by Alfred P. Sloan have such a mass and momentum that there is no way to overcome? All of the discussions about “change” in the [...]
Congratulations on your assumption of leadership at the Lean Enterprise Institute. The Lean Enterprise Institute has a deservedly unique place in the community of people working to learn and apply the Toyota Production System. The LEI, and the precursor work at M.I.T., by Jim Womack and others, has been largely responsible for moving the Toyota [...]
Over the decades, I have observed that it is quite common for organizational leaders to try to use the word “opportunity” when talking about a problem. I can understand the desire to do this – we typically think of “problems” as something to do with people. But I find the emphamistic language… problematic. [...]
I have seen this topic come up in forums many times, and seen wide ranging responses. If I were to summarize them all, it would be “ I’ll know it when I see it.” A couple of weeks ago I heard a great quote from a co-worker that puts things into perspective. I’m always ready [...]
To my readers in United States Coast Guard aviation: I know you are a small community and the tragic crash of an MH-60 helicopter off the coast of Washington State this week has affected you all. I want to take a moment to publicly express my sympathies to, not only the immediate families, but the extended family, [...]
I have known Russ Field since working with him on a few projects in a large Seattle (now Chicago) based aerospace company. Recently he posted a very (typically Russ) thorough reply on NWLEAN to a question about value stream accounting. I asked him to take the same basic material, clean it up a little, and [...]