To understand problem solving, one must first have a clear definition of what a problem actually is. A problem is simply a gap between an expectation and reality. The most common way people look at this relationship is that they focus on a change in performance, meaning that the reality Read more…
Process improvement is the act of reviewing a specific process to make it Process improvement is the act of reviewing a specific process to make it better. The degree of formality can be minimal, such as an immediate decision to change a method on the fly. This might include moving Read more…
Practice is repeating a task in order to improve your skills. This doesn’t mean that it has to just be an exercise. You can practice doing good Pareto charts by finding opportunities to use them in real situations. Practice is characterized by purpose. That means identifying a gap in a Read more…
A good definition of poka yoke is simply “mistake proofing”. Of note, the term is of Japanese origin and is one of the handful of the more commonly used Japanese terms that have become mainstream in Lean circles. Poka yokes keep processes from producing errors. Preventing errors obviously improves quality, Read more…
A process flow chart is a staple of Lean and other continuous improvement methods. It takes a process and transforms it into a visual representation of the flow of work. This makes it easy to highlight waste, and subsequently eliminate the things that don’t add value. A process flow chart Read more…
Productivity is the ratio of output to input. The basic equation is: Productivity = Output / Input When the output is high relative to the inputs, the process is thought of as productive. While there are some standard productivity metrics, such as parts per labor hour, the choice is really Read more…
A production plan must answer four basic questions: What are we going to make? What does it take to make it? What do we have? What do we need? The answers to these four questions form the basis of a production plan. 1 A production plan prioritizes the production needs Read more…
The generally accepted definition of procedure in a Lean company is that it is the “how” of an operation. It is closely related to the term “process”. A process would be the series of steps required to complete the operation, or the “what”. Think of the acronym SOP, which is Read more…
Cyril Northcote Parkinson first published this idea in The Economist in 1955. In essence, the concept says that work expands to fill the time available. This is a particular problem in continuous improvement. By definition, there is always something more to do after the task that you are on. If Read more…
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, comes from observations made by a 19th century Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. It simply says that just a small number of causes (the critical few), determines the majority of the effects. For example, several difficult clients might take up most Read more…
A problem is an unwelcome situation that has a potentially adverse effect. Another way of looking at this is that a problem is a gap between what you think things should be and the reality of what they are. But problems, unfortunately, can mask themselves. Some are simply not obvious. Read more…