Some people worry about shark attacks. They see the stories on the media, and get concerned that they will be a victim. But let’s look at the numbers. In the decade of the 2000’s, there were 11 unprovoked shark attacks in the US.
As I’ve mentioned in many previous articles, sports provide an outstanding backdrop to teach Lean lessons. This aspect of athletics was reinforced in a recent article in ESPN magazine. It takes a detailed look at the statistics behind one pitcher’s performance.
This player had an outstanding year in 2012. By one measure, he was responsible for adding 5.3 wins to his team. This year though, using the same metric, he is responsible for one additional loss. On the surface, this looks like a fairly significant drop in performance. The problem though, is…
One of the hallmarks of an organization that is devoted to continuous improvement is the visible posting of metrics in work areas.
Vilfredo Pareto (July 15, 1848 – August 19, 1923) was an Italian thinker who practiced many disciplines. He was an engineer and philosopher, but he is most well-known for his work in economics. It was his work in that field that led to the development of one of the most Read more…
Solutions in a Lean environment tend to be temporary. The rationale behind the statement lies within the term “continuous improvement”. Any new process you develop, by definition, will eventually change. “Solution” implies that a problem is solved once and for all. The two terms don’t play nice together. I don’t Read more…
A key requirement in a Lean operation is to make abnormal conditions stand out. Obviously, to recognize abnormal, you must also understand what normal is. Nominal conditions define your standard and let you see that you are operating within acceptable limits. Note that the term “nominal conditions” is not one Read more…
I am an avid fan of the NFL. I love looking over the stats almost as much as watching games. The numbers tell you a lot about the flow of the game.
The stats, though, are can be misleading. Take scoring offense and scoring defense, for example. Let’s say that a team gives up few points. This can happen because the defense is stout or because the offense is great and controls the ball. With a few less possessions in a game, you’d expect to see fewer points.
6S is a mnemonic device used to recall the steps to improve workplace organization and effectiveness. It is essentially 5S with safety specifically added. The six “S” terms are: Sort Straighten Scrub Standardize Sustain Safety In truth, safety should always be considered when making any changes, observations, or assessments about Read more…
CEDAC is an acronym that stands for cause and effect diagram with the addition of cards. It is a very specific way of building a fishbone diagram in which team members contribute ideas written on 3 x 5 cards or Post-it notes. CEDAC is a problem-solving tool that relies on Read more…
“Bowling chart” is the nickname given to the tracking sheets used to monitor either KPIs or policy deployment objectives. Its name comes from the similarity to a bowling scorecard. You may also hear the term “bowler” used to describe these forms. The form compares the targets (plan) to actual performance Read more…
A run chart is a tool used to show a change in a value over a period of time. It depicts a time-ordered series of data plots with time on the X-axis (horizontal) and the value of the data on the Y-axis (vertical). Run charts are particularly powerful because they Read more…
Let me start out by saying that, contrary to the title, I am not really advocating changing the name of the PDCA cycle to “Predict-Do-Check-Act”. What I am really pushing for is that part of the planning cycle includes a prediction of what will happen when you make a change. Read more…