Jesse Allred

Muda, Mura, and Muri: The Three Wastes

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Identifying waste using the 3 Ms can help you more easily set goals and create conditions that avoid unnecessary repetition of efforts (muda), unevenness of those efforts (mura), or efforts that cause strain (muri). By focusing improvement activities on eliminating the non-value-adding parts of the production process, balance between capacity and load can be achieved. Muda refers to waste in the most basic sense: any activity that doesn’t add value. There are seven wastes of …

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The Final 5S Phase: Sustain

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5S Sustain

Once you implement the 5S model in your place of business, you will see the improvements very quickly. By the time you reach the fifth and final phase, your space should be cleaned and organized and standardized procedures should be developed. But the key to key to long term success is simple – diligence. You need to sustain these results and your progress in order to have a successful 5S program. Here are some great …

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Kaizen Case Study: Siemens Oostkamp

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kaizen case study

Siemens Oostkamp produces electronic components such as relays, connectors, and coils. The combination of fewer orders from their parent company and increasingly intense global competition forced them to look for new markets. On his first tour of the plant, the kaizen consultant asked the supervisors if specific information was available, such as failure rate or setup times, and the answer was always, “It’s in the computer.” But when asked to retrieve it, no one ever …

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A Lean Transformation: Tool Organization

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Organized Wrenches

Going Lean means implementing a culture of continuous improvement, and constantly try to identify and eliminate the 8 types of waste: defects, waiting time, extra motion, excess inventory, overproduction, extra processing, unnecessary transportation, and unutilized talents. It’s critical in Lean to evaluate all areas in a facility for waste, even less obvious ones. One area you could save time and resources by using the right tools is your toolbox. Often times a box or bucket …

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