Note – this post was written pretty much simultaneously with a post on the lean.org forum. Mike Rother has put up a compelling presentation that highlights a long-standing misunderstanding about the purpose of “standards.” Some time ago, a (well-meaning) author or consultant constructed a graphic that shows the PDCA wheel rolling up the incline of [...]
One of the problems facing all of us – from pundits to practitioners alike – is “too much information.” We look at a complex state, like the way Toyota operates, try do describe it in great detail, break it down, build models, and say “OK, make it look like that.” So one of the most [...]
“Resistance to change” is a common theme of discussion among practitioners on various online forums, as well as in emails I get from readers. One thing I see fairly often is that a practitioner will be suggesting a visual control or a specific application of a “lean tool” as a “better way” in the process [...]
One of the most common (and frustrating) problems for the staff lean practitioner is being asked to “measure the savings” resulting from specific improvements. (This problem is related to, but different from, trying to measure “lean progress” or the status of implementation.) There are two issues in play here. First is the level of understanding [...]
So many of us were wringing our hands a year ago. Our idealized vision of Toyota as the source of all perfection and example was tarnished and crumbling before our eyes. Prominent “names” in our field were talking about the need to go beyond Toyota. The vaunted TPS was clearly failing. Or was it? Like [...]
In this TED video, Simon Sinek summarizes a key thing that differentiates an idea that catches on vs. one that plops. This is relevant to us at a couple of levels. First, as Sinek points out, truly great companies succeed because they stand for something higher. They have a “why” that drives what they do [...]
What is the role of your lean facilitator? This question comes up now and again, was recently posed on the LEI forums by someone looking for help with a job description. I extrapolated from his question that he was looking to the job description as a line of defense against dilution of the facilitator’s focus [...]
There are a lot of variations on a theme where someone asks an Internet forum how to quantify or justify the benefits of implementing a continuous improvement program. If you think about it, though, this is really interesting question. What are the benefits of NOT having continuous improvement? Why would managers deliberately decide not to [...]
I have probably written around this question in the past, but it comes up often enough that I wanted to address is specifically. One of the challenges facing the lean practitioner is the “What can you do for me?” boss (or client). This manager wants to know the expected ROI and outcome of your proposal [...]
5S has become an (almost) unchallenged starting point for converting to lean production. Although the basics are quite simple, it is often a difficult and challenging process. After the initial push to sort stuff out and organize what remains, sustaining often usually almost always becomes an issue. Again, because of early legacy, the most common [...]