A work cell is an area in a Lean company organized around the production of a specific product or product group. A work cell should be designed to promote flow and reduce waste. One of the biggest benefits that a work cell offers is proximity. When downstream processes are located Read more…
Boredom, not surprisingly, is simply tedium or a lack of excitement in your job. Boredom (or lack thereof) plays a big role in job satisfaction. Nobody wants to go to work and face eight or ten dull, monotonous hours every day. What a lot of people fail to recognize is Read more…
Backsliding it the act of reverting to a pre-improvement process. If you were to plot improvement over time on a run chart, backsliding would give the curve a saw-tooth look to it. A gain followed by a drop, followed by a gain and another drop. Backsliding is reduced by standardization Read more…
An inspection is a review to confirm the quality of a product. Inspections vary widely in their formality, and in the location where they are done. The closer an inspection is to the point where an error is made, the quicker the problem can be corrected. Inspections may cover 100% Read more…
The current economy reminds me of a story about two guys walking in the woods. They come upon a grizzly bear up ahead on the trail. The bear sees them, and starts licking his chops as he starts down the path towards them. One of the hikers sits down and Read more…
One of the basic tenets of continuous improvement is respect for people. A way to do this is to look for and eliminate the tasks that are dirty, dumb, or dangerous. Unfortunately, people have become used to doing tasks that have some or all of these components. Think of the Read more…
Conveyors are automated systems for moving products and materials between two points. Roller tables perform the same function, but without the automation. Some are built on the ground; others are elevated to bench level. Some even hang parts from an overhead track. While conveyors certainly have an application in many Read more…