I recently had the opportunity to do a podcast with Jeff Hajek. Jeff Hajek is a Lean consultant, award-winning author of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean, and the founder of Velaction Continuous Improvement. Jeff also publishes the blog Gotta Go Lean. The Gotta Go Lean Blog focuses on Lean at the front line–helping managers
READ MOREOne of the central elements in Lean is the reduction in lead time. Bruce Hamilton, president of the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership, calls this the time between paying and getting paid. George Stalk and Thomas Hout, both of The Boston Consulting Group, wrote, Competing Against Time: How Time-Based Competition Is Reshaping the Global Economy in
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 recently came across an interesting book called Organizing for Dummies by Eileen Roth and Elizabeth Miles. This is not a manufacturing or office book but rather a book about tidying up and clearing clutter in your house. Nevertheless, there is some practical advice for anyone. The authors offer several simple acronyms to help you
READ MOREDuring a recent plant visit I questioned the management style of the operations team. You could say it was a traditional style of management of sort. Unfortunately, they thought they could manage from the office. This passive style left a lack of visibility on the shop floor and no sense of the condition at the
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 MOREA Lean implementation can not be sustained without Lean management. Our management system must change as our production system changes in Lean to maintain the integrity of technical changes over time. A Lean management system comprises of the practices and tools used to monitor, measure, and sustain the operation of Lean production operations. Lean management
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 MOREPeople basically work for rewards. There are numerous forms of rewards and not everyone enjoys the same rewards. I have found this book by Bob Nelson a great source for ideas on different ways to reward employees. When it comes to rewards in the workplace public employee recognition is one most powerful in terms of
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