Lean is truly about “the elimination of waste.” In other words, it is about making the best use of your resources. To do this well, you must learn how to manage the relationship between people and machines in work cells. Many organizations divide up machines in such a way that it causes operators to be …
How to Optimize Labor and Machines in Work Cells Read More »
If you have equipment and processes requiring changeovers or setup time, you must learn a lean principle called SMED (single minute exchange of die). SMED—also known as “quick changeover”—is the practice of radically reducing changeover times. You must reduce your changeover times for two primary reasons: Long changeovers waste your equipment capacity. Long changeovers tempt …
Quick Changeover Video (SMED) at the Lean Donut Shop Read More »
Many metrics are important for measuring performance and leading kaizen improvements at an organization. Ask any consultant or ready any book and you will soon have an alphabet soup of important metrics (e.g. SQDCM)! But there is ONE metric that is more important than any other. Customers won’t care about your pricing, your delivery terms, …
The #1 Lean Metric (Any Angry Customer Will Tell You About It) Read More »
This lean Valentine’s day video came by a total surprise. It’s just one more way in which lean follows us everywhere–even at home. Now, maybe your spouse happens to already be taking steps towards a lean life, and if so, consider yourself lucky! If not, you might be surprised at some simple ways that you …
Some LEAN manufacturing LOVE for Valentine’s Day Read More »
Checkout my new introductory video on kaizen! The complete video series is available via my QuickSmarts collection, which is available in all training memberships. References and Resources Course: Kaizen Best Practices Article: Lean 101 – Kaizen Article: Lean 101 – 5S Productivity Article: Lean 101 – 8 Wastes of Lean
We love 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers. It’s simple, and it captures the spirit of the time-tested concept of kaizen. Recently, we bought a new house, which means we’ve had lots of little things to do around the house to make our home comfortable, efficient, and fun! In this video we show off 10 …
