Lean Manufacturing

5 Tips for Kaizen Continuous Improvement

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Kaizen

Implement Kaizen Continuous Improvement in 5 Steps or Less Kaizen, the Japanese term underlying the concept of “continuous improvement,” continues to dominate work flow theory and the training that improvement professionals receive when they look for ways to bring their charges ‘to the next level’. Of course, the traditional tools and teachings of Kaizen are time-proven and ultimately brilliant in their own right, but there are undoubtedly other factors that can influence the effectiveness of …

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Why Six Sigma Root Cause Analysis is a Great Tool

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Six Sigma Root Cause Analysis

Making Improvements with Six Sigma Root Cause Analysis When things aren’t going the way they should, it can often be quite difficult to identify what is actually causing the problem. Despite the fact that it can take a lot of work, root cause analysis is extremely important because of the fact that it will allow you to not just cover up issues, but actually address them directly. In many cases, this will allow you to …

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Causation vs. Correlation in the Lean Business World

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Causation vs. Correlation in the Lean Business World For anyone who’s had to sit through a year of high school statistics, and even for many of those who haven’t, you’re familiar with the phrase “correlation does not equal causation.” While many of us nodded our heads in agreement after some simple illustration, the impact of not intimately understanding this concept in the business world can be catastrophic. I bring this up now because the topic recently …

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Why You Should Use Takt Time Production & How To Do It

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Takt Time Production

Cut Down Wastes with Takt Time Production There are many types of waste within a facility, and many different things that can contribute to that waste. For most facilities, one of the biggest causes of waste is improper planning on the production line. In some cases, the line will produce products too slowly, which is inefficient, and can upset customers. In other cases, products are produced too quickly, which is a waste of resources. In …

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Three Steps to Change Management

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LinkedIn Group Discusses Change Management The idea of effecting change within a business is exciting and positive, but it can, at the same time, cause some stomach turns for Lean professionals. Even with experience, and sometimes because of it, the task of changing minds, processes, and habits can be daunting. Users on LinkedIn Six Sigma, Change Management, and Lean Methodology groups often bring up the topic of which tools and habits make for the most …

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The 5 Ingredients to Sustaining 5S

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Implementing a 5S program in a facility takes a lot of hard work and dedication. In most cases, however, companies are willing to put in that effort in order to get the great results they desire. A facility will have buy in from upper management who are willing to provide the financial backing and other support necessary to really get the 5S program off the ground. Once 5S has been implemented, however, the passions often …

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How Kaizen is Imperative to LEAN Success

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kaizen event

Kaizen is a Japanese term that relates to making continuous improvement in organizations through improving the process. Kaizen events have been met with opposition by many organizations because for it to work successfully, employees must step away from their jobs between three and five days to participate in the events. Rather than take a preventative approach, employers are more likely to use kaizen events to address problems retroactively. This approach is ineffective. To have the …

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2014 the Year of Data Innovation for Lean

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With the new year just beginning, it can be a great time to look at what types of things you can do to help make 2014 the best year ever. Companies that have properly implemented lean strategies over the past year will have undoubtedly found many benefits, and improved the way their business is done. If there is one area where virtually every company can improve their lean implementation, however, it is with data collection. …

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What is Kaikaku?

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Hand writing Time to Improve concept with red marker on transparent wipe board.

When most people think of Lean ideologies and methodologies, they think of kaizen and continuous improvement first. However as one moves deeper into Lean, you begin to add new vocabulary and processes to your Lean tool bag. Today’s word of the day: kaikaku. Most that know or have heard of kaizen think of it as a slow continuous improvement that is necessary to sustain a successful operation. Kaikaku, on the other hand, translates to “radical …

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SDCA Cycle for LEAN

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SDCA (Standardize, Do, Check, and Act) with LEAN principles. The SDCA cycle is simply a refinement of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and Act) cycle. The goal of both processes is to stabilize production. Many companies use this process to improve their product or service. Here is what your company may want to know about this process. 1. LEAN Marketing with SDCA Marketing cycles can be improved with iterative processes. Customer value is most often …

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