Free Value Stream Mapping Fonts November 18, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking.Tags: Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques
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If you have ever wanted value stream mapping icons for PowerPoint or Word, here they are!
Value Stream Mapping is an important part of Lean management. But too often people focus on the mapping rather than the method the mapping is supposed to engender. Personally, I encourage lean practitioners to stick to paper and pencil to improve group understanding and lower everyone’s dependence on the computer as a crude and marginally effective collaborative tool. Even these days, however, the Lean Enterprise Institute recognizes the need for an occasional PowerPoint, and has icon images on their website. Jon Miller at Gemba Panta Rei explains the use and potential benefits of the free lean fonts. The fonts, he claims, returns emphasis to the method rather than the map.
“Audio 5S”: Airline Cockpit Chatter Violations Cited In Six Crashes October 12, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in 5S & Visual Management, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: Lean Tools & Techniques
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USA Today reports that “airline pilots regularly violate federal law by chit-chatting or joking during critical phases of flight.” A review by the paper found that the NTSB cited “sterile cockpit rule” violations of this rule in six crashes since 2004. “More than half – 11 out of 20 – of the cockpit recording transcripts released in serious accidents during the past decade contain evidence of violations, USA TODAY found.”
Typically, when we think of workplace organization, we think of a physical space. However, as this article makes clear, audio clutter interferes with the aural cues required of an organized workplace, just as visual clutter can reduce the visual “signal to noise ratio” in a work area.
Read the full article here.
Building From the Basics January 19, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques, six sigma.Tags: lean, Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques, six sigma
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In his book, Total Quality Control, Kaoru Ishikawa described the seven basic tools of quality that could be used to solve 95% of a company’s problems. I teach these tools in my workshop on creativity and systematic problem-solving. They are, indeed, at the bedrock of process improvement, whether you are a Six Sigma wonk or a Lean Weenie. These tools are common knowledge, but they are not common practice. In many of the kaizen events and six sigma projects I audit and mentor, these tools are often misapplied or missing altogether. Get reacquainted with these essential tools to improve your process improvement efforts.
Read about the Seven Tools of Quality in Quality Progress here.
Expert Discusses Lean Manufacturing As A Problem-Solving Technique December 8, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques.Tags: Lean Thinking, Lean Tools & Techniques
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In a recent Reliable Plant Magazine article Keith Mobley, a consultant with Life Cycle Engineering writes, “Lean manufacturing has a unique way of solving problems. It does not just look at the effect of the problem and try to cover it with a Band-Aid. Rather, the root cause of the problem is identified and the root cause, as well as all contributing factors, is eliminated from the system, process or infrastructure in order to permanently solve the problems.” The difference in these two approaches, Mobley notes, is “simple. … When you find and rectify the root causes, the problem will be solved forever. Even other problems occurring due to these root causes will be eliminated in this effort.” The article explores dilemmas such as, “How should we do this?” and “What are the tools available to perform these tasks?”
Heijunka: Leveling the Load November 25, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Pull Systems.Tags: Lean Tools & Techniques, Pull Systems
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Trying to forecast customer demand causes uneven production scheduling and an unbalanced demand on equipment and people. The result is contrasting periods of excess inventories and stockouts, overutilized equipment and underutilized equipment, overtime and sending people home early. Lean companies create a balanced flow of work by employing the concept of leveling or heijunka to level production by both volume and product mix. Rather than building products according to the actual flow of customer orders, leveling takes the total volume of orders in a period and smoothes them out so the same amount and mix are made daily.
This article in Reliable Plant magazine summarizes the technique nicely.
