Investments trade current resources for future gains. The most common forms of investment include: Financial holdings designed to provide a return on investment (ROI) in the form of appreciation, dividends, or interest. Physical holdings intended to appreciate or generate income, such as real estate Physical items used to create other Read more…
Leadership is a critical component of Lean. Whether you are at the top of a company leading the Lean charge, or an engineer working to guide a group of operators on their Lean journey, you need a variety of leadership skills. But while the specific tools you use to lead Read more…
Agile manufacturing describes a company’s ability to be responsive to the marketplace. A company has to be able to roll out new products and services as the needs and desires of their customers change. It also has to offer increasingly varied product mixes and greater customization when customers require it. Read more…
Businesses have an incredible amount of information flowing into them. It is often impractical for people to process the data and make quick assessments and corrections to the business without some sort of simplification tool. One such tool is the dashboard. It is simple view of the key metrics of Read more…
Toyota has unquestionably been instrumental in promoting Lean principles through its production system. The evolutionary, and sometimes revolutionary, path it has followed has been emulated by many, and is often held out as the beacon of Lean in the continuous improvement community. In his 2004 book, The Toyota Way, Jeffrey Read more…
The Balanced Scorecard is a management tool developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton and published in their book titled The Balanced Scorecard. The book focuses on four areas: Financial performance Customer knowledge Internal business processes Learning and growth The term “balanced”, as explained in their preface, is many faceted. Read more…
Murphy’s law has been stated in various ways, but essential boils down to “If something can go wrong, it will.” There are many addendums to the law, such as “in the worst possible way” or “at the worst possible time”. The origin of Murphy’s law is somewhat murky but seems Read more…
Often, something occurs over a short period, but needs to be compared to a full year. This is known as annualizing. An example: You are applying for auto insurance, and the agent asks you what your yearly mileage is. You know that you drove 1,000 miles in the last month. Read more…
I like to be challenged in my beliefs. For this reason, I am running an article that was submitted to me by Stephen Jannise of SoftwareAdvice.com. Stephen’s premise is that Lean is no longer enough to thrive in today’s competitive, flexible market. He believes that agile management is the next Read more…
I pulled a muscle in my back playing basketball a few days ago, and it is surprising how much movement the core of your body is a part of. Things you don’t realize—reaching for a computer mouse, pulling open a window, and even picking things up off the floor—all caused Read more…
Change is hard for some people. And since Lean requires a significant shift from typical thinking, it can generate some strong resistance. One of the most common forms of pushback when changing to a Lean mindset is the use of excuses. People are extremely creative at coming up with reasons Read more…
In the early 1900’s, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth refined a system of analyzing work to improve processes. They focused on identifying the core “motion cycles” that combined to form work activities. This detailed understanding of work let them identify inefficiencies and eliminate waste. The name “Therblig” comes from a near Read more…