Adam Lawrence 5/26/21 Adam Lawrence 5/26/21

Listen to your People, People

Although you can't schedule invention, you can reduce waste in the process leading up to it.

Three people in business suits, talking around a meeting table. There is a white board to the right and a bottle of water on the table.

Adam Lawrence 5/12/21 Adam Lawrence 5/12/21

Shine a Light on the Problem

Truly understanding the problem to be solved helped the team come up with a breakthrough solution.

A well lit metal ceiling, with square lights placed every 4 feet.

Adam Lawrence 5/12/21 Adam Lawrence 5/12/21

If it Fits, it Ships

Using Tell, Show, and Do prevented a problem that would have created a poor customer experience.

A clean and organized warehouse, well lit, with everything on shelves and off of the floor.

Adam Lawrence 4/28/21 Adam Lawrence 4/28/21

This Stuff Works

Credibility was gained from the user of the system, rather than the "expert".

A series of tools, including wrenches, pliers, and gears, laid out on a table in an organized way.

Adam Lawrence 4/14/21 Adam Lawrence 4/14/21

Macon Progress

The day I learned a hard lesson about Leadership Commitment and almost got fired.

Shadow image of two people having a lively discussion.

Adam Lawrence 3/31/21 Adam Lawrence 3/31/21

Go to Gemba, even if you don't want to

This is the story of how I challenged the plant manager to go to the Gemba to verify his assumptions about the factory floor. Spoiler alert - he learned something he wasn’t expecting.

Four people, all wearing grey shirts, one female, three male, discussing an issue on a factory floor.

Adam Lawrence 3/17/21 Adam Lawrence 3/17/21

Gemba Walks

The story of how I helped a team from St. Helens improve their gemba walk and directly improve productivity.

Four people wearing yellow safety vests, one of the with a pad of paper in his hand, walking on a factory floor.

Adam Lawrence 3/3/21 Adam Lawrence 3/3/21

Best Event Ever

My catch phrase for Kaizen events caught on throughout the organization and created energy and excitement for process improvement.

Many people putting their hands on top of each other to signify teamwork and alignment.

Adam Lawrence 2/17/21 Adam Lawrence 2/17/21

Attention to Detail

This is story of how getting people to utilize standard work improved performance immediately and significantly.

An industry standard 5S audit sheet, with twelve categories to evaluate.

Adam Lawrence 2/3/21 Adam Lawrence 2/3/21

Call 911

By creating three questions, we were able to save critical minutes of preparation for the maintenance department.

A person using a desk phone to call someone. The handset is in his left hand and his right hand is pushing the number 6.

Adam Lawrence 1/20/21 Adam Lawrence 1/20/21

A Tasty Breakthrough

When our experienced engineer crushed cornflakes over the ceiling tile, we knew we had our answer.

Adam Lawrence 1/6/21 Adam Lawrence 1/6/21

Owning Their Solution in the Weld Shop

I had to create a significant emotional event to drive our team of welders to take ownership of their process.

A person welding a 90 degree bracket, wearing a face shield

Adam Lawrence 12/23/20 Adam Lawrence 12/23/20

Where is It?

We were arguing about a problem we were trying to solve when our Sensei walked over and told us to go to gemba to find it. I didn’t even know what it was!

Two people working at a table with post-it notes and colored pencils. One is pointing to his computer screen.

Adam Lawrence 12/9/20 Adam Lawrence 12/9/20

Go See For Yourself

When we saw what was actually happening behind the paint booth during changeover, we were horrified.

A painter, wearing a blue cap and safety glasses, holding a paint roller and getting ready to paint the room.

Adam Lawrence 11/25/20 Adam Lawrence 11/25/20

Training in the Moment

During a changeover reduction Kaizen at a gummy vitamin factory, the team learned how to use “Tell, Show, and Do” to solidify the training for the crew.

A digital clock, mounted on the wall, displaying 12:24:30 pm

Adam Lawrence 11/11/20 Adam Lawrence 11/11/20

Rally to the Customer

Our vendor wasn’t able to make our special ceiling tiles anymore, so we had to figure out how to produce them in our Pilot Plant.

A smiling warehouse worker, transporting a blue barrel on a dolly.

Adam Lawrence 10/28/20 Adam Lawrence 10/28/20

There is One Best Way

Each technician thought their way was the best, until we actually measured their approach and results.

A portion of a watch, with the second hand at 8 seconds before 12.

Adam Lawrence 10/14/20 Adam Lawrence 10/14/20

Beer is the Answer

The crew wasn’t interested in reducing scrap, as it was too vague a concept for them. Once I compared our losses to amounts of beer, the light bulbs of understanding came on.

Many different sizes of beer bottles, lined up on a table.

Adam Lawrence 9/30/20 Adam Lawrence 9/30/20

Communication is Critical

The changeover reduction team needed some overnight help from an electrician. I had to set my all-time record for hours spent in Kaizen in order to ensure the work got done properly.

Three people sitting around a table, discussing the documents that are on the table.

Adam Lawrence 9/16/20 Adam Lawrence 9/16/20

Even the Most Organized Person Can Improve

We had to be strategic when picking the first Pilot Plant area to work on with a 5S event.

Two workers, both men, with one handing a piece of wood to the other who is on a ladder

Although you can't schedule invention, you can reduce waste in the process leading up to it.

Truly understanding the problem to be solved helped the team come up with a breakthrough solution.

Using Tell, Show, and Do prevented a problem that would have created a poor customer experience.

Credibility was gained from the user of the system, rather than the "expert".

The day I learned a hard lesson about Leadership Commitment and almost got fired.

Based in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Helping manufacturers solve critical business problems worldwide.