The tools, machines, software, or other resources you use to do your job fall into two basic categories. The first type is the most common and contains “off the shelf” resources. The second category includes custom built or highly modified tools, equipment, or even software. Off the shelf items tend Read more…
Any product or service you purchase has a useful life. After that, the value of continuing to use it declines until it makes sense to move to something more modern. The most common example of this is computers. Software becomes outdated at a regular pace as new hardware is developed. Read more…
OSHA, or the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, is a part of the US Department of Labor. It was formed in 1970 with the mission of assuring a safe and healthful working environment by setting and enforcing standards. It also provides training, outreach, education, and assistance. The underlying mission of Read more…
Operator cycle time is the time it takes an operator to do one unit of his or her prescribed work from start to finish. Note that this is elapsed time. The clock starts when the operator begins his work and ends when he or she is ready to start the Read more…
Outsourcing is the practice of sending work to another entity (a second company or an individual not employed by the outsourcing company). The main characteristic of outsourcing is that the work contains functions that, up until the outsourcing, had been done by the hiring company. In this manner, it differs Read more…
Many people are familiar with the concept of one-touch exchange of dies, an offshoot of SMED. The basically means that there should be a simple, fluid motion to replace dies and fixtures in order to minimize setup time. The concept is present in the real world as well. Consider the Read more…
The term order interaction point refers to the location in the fulfillment process where a specific item becomes attached to a specific customer. This doesn’t matter much when there is a standard set of products, but it does have relevance when products require customization. The order interaction point is, in Read more…
Ownership creates responsibility. Whether it is a company, a process, or a desk, people tend to take more responsibility when they are dealing with something that is theirs. Pride of ownership is a term that is most commonly applied to homes, but it also applies to processes and work areas. Read more…
Office politics are the unwritten rules of interactions in an organization. Social politics form in any group of people that interact regularly. Families have politics. Cliques in schools are a form of politics. And, of course, coworkers have a set of norms that they operate under. Office politics are commonly Read more…
One of the most frequent quotes I encounter when helping people improve their processes is “Our process is different.” People who have not been exposed to continuous improvement efforts frequently believe that their process is so unusual that Lean or Six Sigma or whatever methodology you are using does not Read more…
Problems are generally looked at as a situation in which the current condition does not match the “should be” state. Opportunities, on the other hand, occur when you are meeting current expectations, but there is a potential “should be” state, further out, that would provide you substantial reward if you Read more…
Dictionary.com defines an opinion as “a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to product complete certainty. “ In the world of continuous improvement, people seldom have the luxury of complete certainty. But, unfortunately, they often act with a clear deficit of facts and data to make an informed Read more…