A big part of getting changeover time reduced to the point where it is a single-minute exchange of die (SMED), is figuring out how to do it with less motion. One-touch exchange of dies is an offshoot of SMED but is far more aggressive in what it advocates. Where SMED Read more…
Spend any time around Lean, or any other continuous improvement methodology, for that matter, and you will undoubtedly hear the term “Respect for People.” It is a simple concept that should act as a moral compass in how people do business. The fact is that a company does not have Read more…
Policy Deployment is the (usually) annual process of reviewing the strategic goals of an organization and aligning the company’s resources towards meeting those goals. Hoshin Kanri is the Japanese term that means roughly the same. The literal translation, like many foreign words, is open to interpretation, but many versions seem Read more…
QCD is the acronym for the broad categorization of metrics and KPIs in continuous improvement. The acronym QCD stands for: Quality: In most cases, this view of quality is “conformance to specification”, rather than grade. Cost: Cost, obviously, has a prominent role due to its close tie to profitability. Delivery: Read more…
Zero defects is a philosophy of Lean. It simply means that every process should be designed so that it is impossible to produce poor quality. The underlying premise, which is true in nearly every case, is that the cost of preventing problems is lower than the cost of fixing them. Read more…
The Hawthorne Effect originated from experiments at the Hawthorne Works, owned by Western Electric, in Cicero, Illinois in the first half of the 1900’s. While there were a variety of experiments, the most commonly referenced study was about illumination. Researchers conducted a series of experiments to identify the optimal lighting 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 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…
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…
Hoshin kanri is a Japanese term meaning policy deployment or strategic planning. Hoshin kanri has a few characteristics to it: Stretch goals: Hoshin kanri requires leaders to develop stretch goals that may take a number of years to achieve. These goals should come from business opportunities or risks on the Read more…
FIFO (First In, First Out) is most commonly known as an accounting term. It simply means that the first inventory into the accounting system is the first that is recorded as used. The opposite, LIFO, or “Last In, First Out” means that the most recently purchased materials are the first Read more…
The KPI bowler gets its name from its resemblance to a bowling score sheet. Learn About the KPI Bowler in our Managing With Metrics Video The form is used to track progress towards meeting key performance indicators. When the results are below the target, the block should be highlighted in Read more…