Go See for Yourself – The Best Selling Tool There Is

In 2006, our Kaizen team was working on improving changeover time for a painting operation. After reviewing changeover reduction techniques with the team, we took a walk to the line to observe a changeover. The team watched the paint technician clean the front of the paint booth with water for approximately 10 minutes. After that, he walked behind the booth for a few minutes and then came back to work on the front of the paint booth. None of the team members had followed him to see what he had been doing in the back of the booth.

Kaizen Success Stories, Operations, InnovationAdam LawrenceDecember 11, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCKaizen, process improvement, Changeover reduction, safety

Sometimes It’s a Financial Question

A global ceilings manufacturer was building a plant in China. Things were going pretty well until they realized they were going to be two months late starting up. The team wasn’t sure what they could do to get back on schedule, so I was invited to join them and use Lean thinking to help solve the problem.

Kaizen Success Stories, Operations, LeadershipAdam LawrenceDecember 4, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCkaizen, process improvement, problem solving, teamwork Comment

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.

Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceNovember 27, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCchangeover reduction, kaizen, breakthrough, Safety, Quality

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.

Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceNovember 20, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, SMED, Changeover reduction

The Pursuit of Creativity

In my years of running Kaizen events, I never saw anything as powerful as a creativity approach called 3P – Production Preparation Process. The goal is to eliminate waste in the design of a new or existing process or product in the maximum way possible, unlocking the creativity of the team in ways most of them have not experienced. In 2016 I was fortunate enough to experience this approach through the eyes of the man who invented it, Chihiro Nakao.

Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Innovation, LeadershipAdam LawrenceNovember 13, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, 3P, Kaizen, creativity, innovation

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.

Operations, Leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceOctober 16, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, standardized work, Respect for people, Wheel of sustainability

How to Use Kaizen to Ensure Teams are Invested in Process Improvements

In 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.

Operations, Kaizen Success Stories, Leadership, Learning, Customer focusAdam LawrenceSeptember 4, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCprocess improvement, kaizen, Leadership commitment

How to Organize Your Work Space With 5S

In the world of Lean Manufacturing, 5S is used to organize workplaces to make them safer and more productive. Although many great manufacturing organizations and others have been credited with inventing or popularizing 5S, I’m pretty sure my mom invented it.

Operations, Leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Innovation, Customer focusAdam LawrenceAugust 28, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCorganization, 5S, process improvement, safety

How to Ensure Standard Operating Procedures Don’t Collect Dust

We have been trying to get others to follow standard operating procedures since the Cavemen painted “Way to Kill Mastodon” on the cave walls!

Leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Customer focus, Operations, ServicesAdam LawrenceAugust 14, 2018Process Improvement Partners LLCstandard operating procedures, Wheel of Sustainability, leadership commitment