ABC inventory is a method of grouping materials based on cost and usage to assign them different inventory management processes. Typically, the segmentation is done by calculating out the annual usage of the parts and labeling the top 70% of them (by total cost) as ‘A’ parts, the next 25% as ‘B’ parts, and the final 5% as ‘C’ parts. On occasion, an organization may include all parts without usage over the last year as Read more…
The program leader faces a particularly challenging task in promoting this principle. In a nutshell, he or she will be dictating to the senior staff not only who they hire, but how they spend their time. Many senior leaders spend far too few hours of the week developing their subordinates…and their own replacements. For some, it is just not a priority. They have a lot on their plate, and they just don’t emphasize mentoring. For Read more…
The Lean Training System is an extensive program designed to give you the tools you need to elevate your team’s performance, and your own. Individual vs. Team Team Development: We offer training materials that you can use to teach individual classes or that can be used to create a comprehensive training program. Our licensing terms are liberal. Most include a one time, permanent licensing fee. Corporate licenses allow you to share the information throughout your Read more…
Our subscribers using free email services may encounter some problems with our membership process. These free services are often used as spam accounts or as ‘throwaway’ accounts for signing up on websites. As a result, these services have extremely aggressive email filters. This may result in delays or complete blocking of incoming messages. PROBLEM PREVENTION Our preference is that you subscribe with your primary email account to avoid problems. If you prefer to deal with Read more…
Control limits are lines established 3 standard deviations from the mean on a control chart. Keep in mind that the control chart depicts averages, so exhibits a normal distribution. (See Central Limit Theorem) 99.7% of all random variation (common cause) will fall within the upper and lower control limits. Outliers can generally be assumed to be related to a problem (special cause variation), indicating that the process is out of control. Control limits are generally Read more…
When a process is said to be in control, statistically speaking, that means that all the variation can be attributed to common causes. All of the observed variation is just a function of the natural randomness built into a system or process. In a nutshell, an in control process is free of special cause variation. Keep in mind that a process being in control does not mean that the process is a good one or Read more…
A control, or control group is a tool used to confirm whether changes are actually having an effect. The control group is exposed to the same conditions as the test group with the exception of the variable that is being examined. For example, you may be experimenting whether increasing tire pressure makes a difference in mileage. You would keep all other factors the same (route, vehicle type, brand of gas, etc.) the same for two Read more…
Containment is an interim quality management step. When a problem is identified, the organization must take steps to prevent defects from escaping. Containment is a method of systematically identifying and quarantining all materials that are suspect until they can be confirmed not to contain defective items. Note that this is a temporary stopgap measure. The underlying problem should be identified and eliminated through root cause analysis.
A competitive advantage is a condition through which one organization has to spend fewer resources to get the same benefit as a competitor (or, of course, gets more benefit for spending the same amount of resources.) This advantage can be because of a perception of higher quality products, because of location, because of the ability to recruit the best workforce, or for any of a multitude of reasons. Competitive advantages are closely linked to continuous Read more…
Making changes can be a rather large challenge. This is especially true when you are committed to making improvements to the value stream as a whole rather than local ones for an individual process. It is common for disputes to occur, especially when a project team recognizes that there can be substantial time savings if a task is moved to a different team. For example, a task may take people at process ‘C’ 15 minutes Read more…
The central limit theorem, in layman’s terms, says that regardless of the shape of the distribution of a population, in most cases, the mean of random samples taken from that population will approximate a normal distribution. The larger the sample, or the larger the number of samples, the closer the resulting distribution will be to normal. It is probably easiest to explain this concept using a deck of cards. If you assign a value of Read more…
A Corrective Action Report (CAR) is a tool used to support a quality program. It is a written record of the investigation into the root cause of a problem and the actions that are required to permanently eliminate the underlying issue. A documented corrective action program is a requirement of ISO 9001.