Process Improvement Partners
Helping you grow your profits through sustained process improvement
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Stories of Leadership, Lean, and Learning

Posts in Learning
Even the Most Organized Person Can Improve
Even the Most Organized Person Can Improve

A global ceilings manufacturer wanted to improve the safety and productivity of its testing facility. Over the years, many capabilities had been added to the facility without regard to the needs of the technicians who worked there. Because of this and the lack of a managing system to ensure the organization and productivity of the facility, the technicians took it upon themselves to hold an annual “cleanup week” at the end of the year. All technicians would stop their project work and devote their time to go through equipment, materials, and spaces and clean out any clutter they felt they could get rid of.

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Kaizen Success Stories, Operations, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCKaizen, 5S, safety, ownership
Listen To Your People, People
Listen To Your People, People

A Research and Development team wanted to create a three-year strategic plan. Their goal was to reduce the time it takes from a new product idea to launch of the new product.  Many of the team members believed “you can’t schedule invention.” Working with the team leader, the Research and Development Director, we decided to focus on the work leading up to and supporting the invention, even if we couldn’t specify when an invention would occur. We agreed to use Value Stream Mapping as the approach to help the team accomplish their goals.

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Kaizen Success Stories, Operations, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCKaizen, gemba walk, value stream mapping, voice of the customer
350 Business Owners
350 Business Owners

An engineered flooring plant in Kentucky was losing money. They knew their product yields were deteriorating and didn’t know what to do about it. Process Improvement Partners was invited for a site visit. After reviewing performance and discussing the issues with plant leaders in a meeting room, we took a Gemba Walk to see what was actually happening.

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Kaizen Success Stories, Operations, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, gemba walk, quality, Voice of the customer, respect for people
Owning Their Solution in the Weld Shop
Owning Their Solution in the Weld Shop

I have conducted many workplace organization Kaizens (5S) over the years. The results have always been dramatic. All of the teams were made up of production operators or office workers, with some mechanics assisting the team. The production operators or office workers owned the areas needing organization and the mechanics were able to do some of the more complex tasks needed during the Kaizen. All of the teams, that is, until I met my Weld Shop team. Five mechanics and an engineer, who underestimated what we could accomplish.

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Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCkaizen, 5S, organization, ownership, accountability
Breaking Through - The Edge
Breaking Through - The Edge

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.

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Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCchangeover reduction, kaizen, breakthrough, Safety, Quality
Improving Changeover Time in 4 Simple Steps
Improving Changeover Time in 4 Simple Steps

Have 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.

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Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, SMED, Changeover reduction
A Simple Way to Think about a Problem You Want to Solve
A Simple Way to Think about a Problem You Want to Solve

Many 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.

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Innovation, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, task cycle, problem solving
Who is Your Customer?
Who is Your Customer?

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. 

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Leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, customer, Voice of the customer
Use Standardized Work to Unleash Creativity
Use Standardized Work to Unleash Creativity

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.

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Operations, Leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, standardized work, Respect for people, Wheel of sustainability
The 8 Deadly Wastes
The 8 Deadly Wastes

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. 

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Innovation, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, waste, Leadership commitment, Respect for people
What Process Improvement Partners Can Do for Your Team
What Process Improvement Partners Can Do for Your Team

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. 

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Services, Leadership, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, teamwork, Customer focus
Value Stream Mapping: The First Step on Your Continuous Improvement Journey
Value Stream Mapping: The First Step on Your Continuous Improvement Journey

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.

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Kaizen Success Stories, Innovation, Learning, Leadership, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, value stream mapping, customer focus
Why Request a Site Assessment?
Why Request a Site Assessment?

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.

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Services, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, site assessment, leadership commitment
How to Drive Teams to Success with Effective Facilitation
How to Drive Teams to Success with Effective Facilitation

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.

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Innovation, Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceProcess Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, Teamwork, Facilitation, Kaizen