On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
READ MOREAn article at Bloomberg Businessweek entitled low inventory angers John Deere customer caught my eye this week. The article’s author writes of the perils of running lean, claiming that lean is the cause of John Deere’s customer service problem. This strikes me as another unfortunate example of L.A.M.E. not Lean. Mark Graban coined the term
READ MOREThe first step in becoming a good communicator is to learn how to listen. You think that you already know how to listen, but many people have more trouble with this seemingly simple activity than you realize. They may hear the words, but that isn’t the same as listening. Here are ten useful tips that
READ MOREOn Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
READ MOREManufacturing operations are governed by a series of laws. Wallace J. Hopp and Mark L. Spearman, developed and mathematically proved a series of fundamental relationships in manufacturing. These were captured in their book Factory Physics. The “laws” of Factory Physics describe the underlying logistical behavior of manufacturing systems, including the fundamental relationships between basic performance
READ MOREThis past week I had an amazing trip to Rhode Island. It started with visit to VIBCO, who manufactures high-quality, low maintenance industrial vibrators, construction vibrators and other vibratory equipment. VIBCO practices lean manufacturing and is committed to True North which they characterize as quality, throughput, innovation and same day, next day service. During my
READ MOREOn Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
READ MOREI will be a guest on the world famous The Lean Nation radio show Thursday, April 15 from 4-5pm (ET) on 790 AM Talk and Business, hosted by Karl Wadensten. We’re going to discuss what it means to lead in a lean environment, specifically frontline leadership. This is an important topic and I’m looking forward to sharing my
READ MOREThe other day while in the Gemba a production lead asked for some advice. As we were talking about the performance of a new work cell the lead expressed some concerns about an individual’s performance. At first I thought this was a question in how to discipline employees but upon further questioning of the situation
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