Most people look at a factory, and just see a building where people make things. They just see chaos. They see people mixed with inanimate objects, sprinkled with the occasional robot. But there is more to it than that. A factory is a living, breathing, active thing. It has a Read more…
Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem titled “If” in 1895. Among many pearls of wisdom in the poem, he makes a reference to the ‘unforgiving minute.’ It struck a chord with me because of how competitive the business world has become. There is no free time, and every minute a company Read more…
I love what I do, but there is one part that brings me particular joy. I get to play with Legos™ as part of my job. Who wouldn’t love that? So, taking that a step further, I’ve created a short video introducing Lean Larry, the production manager of my VelactionKart Read more…
This week’s featured Lean thinker is Mark Rosenthal, who, for the last three years, has written his blog, appropriately named for this article, The Lean Thinker. Mark is also a former coworker of mine. So, here’s how Mark answered my Lean questions… What does Lean mean to you? “Lean” is Read more…
When companies operate in silos, different groups do what is best within the confines of their own world. Design engineers may create products that are appealing to the customer, look amazing, and may even be built like a tank with bulletproof quality. But this otherwise outstanding design may be extremely Read more…
A current state map is a snapshot of how a process is done today. It may be a current state process flowchart, or a current state value stream map (VSM), but the principle is the same. It shows the current methodology of how you produce products or perform services for Read more…
Let’s face it. To the person unfamiliar with Lean, it sounds like just another way to squeeze a little more out of workers. When people hear there’s something coming that can get waste out of the workplace, they worry about layoffs. And the concept that removing inventory can reduce lead Read more…
A two-bin system is a kanban method used to simplify replenishment on a production line. The process is simple. An operator pulls from one bin until it is empty, and then, depending on how the kanban card is attached, either turns in the kanban card (if fastened by hook and Read more…
“Point of use” is simply the practice of storing any inventory you have at the point where it will be used. This is in contrast to inventory that is stored in a warehouse, or at some other secondary location. In those cases, it can be difficult to see if there Read more…
One-piece flow is the method of production in which operators or machines work on single units and pass them along to the next process when requested. The most common example of one-piece flow is the assembly line. An operator at each station works on a unit. All of this work-in Read more…
Nagara is a Japanese term meaning “while doing something”. It simply means to do more than one thing at a time. For example, a person may be able to assemble two parts while walking. In practice, though, the application of the nagara principle is limited. In most cases, a process Read more…
Muri is a Japanese term for a specific form of waste. It means unreasonableness or overexertion. It is often referred to with two other Japanese terms. Muda is the traditional view of waste in which resources are used without adding to output. Mura is inconsistency or unevenness, usually as a Read more…