Sometimes, even though you know you could help a prospect, they don’t feel the same way. This is one of those stories about my inability to create alignment with a business leader.
Read More
I developed a Kaizen facilitator training program for CITY Furniture. Once I realized I could train others in facilitation techniques I had developed over many years of experience, I decided to share the program with my network.
Read More
I started my career as an industrial engineer for Thomasville Furniture in North Carolina. My initial responsibilities included warehouse barcoding support and veneer plant projects. For the warehouse, I had to learn how barcodes were used to inventory, ship, and receive finished furniture from the various plants in the network. In the veneer plant, I was to conduct time and work studies and also identify improvement projects.
Read More
I met Cody at a conference in December. We got along so well he invited me to visit his new company in Florida. Before the conference was over, he asked for six copies of my book, “The Wheel of Sustainability.” He wanted a copy for every member of his leadership team. Cody told me he was going to require them to read it before my visit. I was happy to share my books, as no one had shown so much interest in them before. I never could have imagined the level of interest and enthusiasm of one person in particular.
Read More
On May 15, 2018, I registered Process Improvement Partners LLC as an official business. Since then, I have had so many adventures, made lots of mistakes, and hopefully learned from many of them!
Read More
In June 2019, Process Improvement Partners was asked to help a leading consumer brands company execute its first Kaizen event in the history of its New Jersey factory. I came to the factory for a site assessment and determined there were many good candidates for their first Kaizen. After further discussions, we identified the first area for Kaizen.
Read More
Process Improvement Partners was asked to develop and deliver a global cost reduction ideation session for a leading consumer products manufacturer. In early phone conversations with the client, we discovered that prior attempts at this effort had less than desirable results. The next logical step was to visit the client and discuss the approach for the session.
Read More
In 2011, I was asked to assist a team in Pensacola, FL who wanted to improve processes in their distribution center. We were given four days to accomplish our task – reduce shipping damage by 50%. This was a tall order, but the team was up for the challenge.
Read More
A leading consumer products company shipped millions of boxes of goods weekly. Most of the time, large quantities of the same products were shipped on a wooden pallet, and loaded on a truck. The distribution center employees were used to picking full pallets of products out of racks, placing one label on the entire pallet, and then, placing the pallet of goods on a truck. In recent years, Amazon entered into an agreement with the company, and turned their efforts upside down.
Read More
I have read many books on Lean, Six Sigma, and other Continuous Improvement methods over the years. Some inspired me, some frustrated me, and all made me think. The following 5 (and two honorable mentions) are my all-time favorites.
Read More
One of the benefits of being in business for yourself is to decide what’s most important to you and then prioritize your time to let you do what you are most passionate about.
Read More
Many consultants train and teach. I like to demonstrate and verify with teams that they truly understand the techniques for improvement that I am sharing with them. Most importantly, I want them to be able to take this work and transfer it to other parts of the factory without my assistance.
Read More
Most companies want to reduce costs in their operations. There are many ways to do this. Some companies choose to reduce their workforce, others decide to sell off under performing businesses. Companies that use this approach are just avoiding the problems and inefficiencies of their business practices and are not targeting the root cause of their problems.
Read More
We are all customers. We want what we want, when we want it, at the level of quality we expect, in the proper quantity. We are the final say as to whether a business will thrive, survive, flounder, or die. The business must deliver to our expectations, or we will not continue to purchase products or services that they offer.
Read More
Most people don’t like being told what to do. They definitely don’t want to be told how to do it. But, with proper standardized work, we can show people the right way to do things and free their minds to work on more complex problems that they face.
Read More
The customer defines value for any product or service. If they aren’t willing to pay for something, it has no value to them. In the terminology of Lean, anything that doesn’t directly provide value to the customer is called “waste”. Further, there are eight specific types of waste.
Read More
Process Improvement Partners LLC offers a variety of services that help teams achieve breakthrough results. Some are narrow in scope, while others are strategic in nature. Some are quite simple, and others are extremely complex. In all cases, we strive to apply the right service to our customer’s needs, providing hands-on assistance, where needed.
Read More
You can’t reach your destination if you don’t know how to get there. Maps, or in our technology-driven world, GPS systems, are critical resources for guiding you from point A to B. The same is true for your continuous improvement journey. Unlike your GPS, however, you must build your map through learning. The best way to build it is with Value Stream Mapping.
Read More
When you call Process Improvement Partners LLC for a site assessment, you are making a choice to invite outside perspective for your organization. While there is a fee for this service, there is also a significant investment of your time and resources, so it is good to understand the value of your investment.
Read More
The best facilitators look like they’re doing nothing at all. The team is driving toward a solution, being creative, working together, and having fun. What’s the facilitator doing, just taking credit for the team’s hard work? As it turns out, the easier it looks, the harder it is.
Read More