Stories of Leadership, Lean, and Learning
In 2005, I was asked to help a team reduce the changeover time of a painting operation at a ceiling tile manufacturing plant in Oregon. The approach I used was SMED – Single Minute Exchange of Die. The goal was to reduce the existing changeover time by 50% or more, while improving the safety of the work.
Read MoreHave you ever watched an auto race? If so, you probably noticed what happens when a car enters Pit Row and is tended to by a whole team of people trying to get it back on the track as fast as possible. If you wondered how they knew what to do and how they didn’t get in each other’s way, the answer is SMED.
Read MoreMany years ago, I was having difficulty getting my mind straight about a problem that I wanted to solve. A co-worker of mine introduced me to a thing he called a “Task Cycle”. Once I understood it, I had a simple way to go about solving problems and executing tasks.
Read MoreWe 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 MoreMost 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 MoreThe 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 MoreProcess 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 MoreYou 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 MoreWhen 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 MoreThe 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 MoreIn 2005, I was helping a team improve the safety and productivity of their operating line. During a 4-day span, each of the team members was able to try and implement many different ideas that arose from their creativity.
Read MoreImprovement Events are used to bring teams together to solve critical problems in a fast, engaging, and sustainable way.
Read MoreWe have been taught that Red means stop and Green means go. In the context of Process Improvement, Red means that something isn’t performing as expected, and Green means everything is OK. But is it?
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