Adam Lawrence 9/26/24 Adam Lawrence 9/26/24

Zigging and Zagging Along the Way

An outdoor stairwell, positioned on the wall of a metal-sided building.

Adam Lawrence 9/12/24 Adam Lawrence 9/12/24

The Bottleneck

The COO loved my work, but couldn't afford to bring me down to his company every week. He challenged me to upskill his employees to take over the Kaizen event responsibilities. Challenge accepted!

The necks of three bottles, one orange, one green, and one brown, against a white background.

Adam Lawrence 9/5/24 Adam Lawrence 9/5/24

Living in the Moment

My project manager liked to tour new places and I found out how much he liked Formula 1 racing. While in Belgium, we found one of the most famous tracks in the world, Nürburgring. We walked in like we owned the place and had a blast taking it all in.

A series of Formula 1 race cars racing around a track.

Adam Lawrence 8/29/24 Adam Lawrence 8/29/24

Leadership Commitment in a Challenging Situation

When my team leader came down with COVID, I thought it would be wise to delay the Kaizen event. He wanted to push through and joined us virtually on the first day. Even without him physically in the room with the team, we didn't miss a beat and made some significant improvements.

A female office worker, sitting in front of her computer, which is displaying a male office worker. They're meeting about something important.

Adam Lawrence 8/1/24 Adam Lawrence 8/1/24

Getting More than they Bargained for

We were conducting the first 5S Kaizen at the plant. With so much disorganization and clutter, it was affecting the team's changeover performance. When I introduced the concept of Spaghetti Diagrams, it opened their eyes to the possibilities and reduced the changeover time by more than 50%.

A pen is checking through an oval. Three other ovals are already checked.

Adam Lawrence 7/18/24 Adam Lawrence 7/18/24

Five Tips for Effective Meetings

Do you dread going to meetings? If so, follow these five tips and you'll have more effective meetings and your teammates will thank you.

Four office workers, two male and two female smiling and discussing something around their laptop computers.

Adam Lawrence 7/4/24 Adam Lawrence 7/4/24

Carrying a Heavy Weight on my Shoulders

We had a challenging relationship between our hourly workers and management. I never realized how much it affected me, until I left and my neighbor saw the difference in me.

A man carrying a large boulder on his back, up a sandy hill in the hot sun.

Adam Lawrence 6/20/24 Adam Lawrence 6/20/24

A Picture is Worth More than a Thousand Words - It's Priceless

The leadership team didn't seem too interested in what I had to offer, until we showed them the before and after photos from their sister facility. Then, things got exciting!

A hand pointing to a diagram on a board. Two office workers, one male and one female, clapping.

Adam Lawrence 6/6/24 Adam Lawrence 6/6/24

A Challenging Place to Work

What appeared to be the hardest and hottest job in the company was the one valued most by the technician doing the work.

An outdoor thermometer, on a sunny day, showing that the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius.

Adam Lawrence 5/23/24 Adam Lawrence 5/23/24

An Unlucky Break

Thanksgiving was always my nemesis at work. Things always seemed to happen over the holidays. This time, a water main break in the city of St. Helens Oregon shut our plant down and we had to figure out a way to get things running again without more disruptions.

A water line with water spewing through a crack in the line

Adam Lawrence 5/9/24 Adam Lawrence 5/9/24

Go to the Source

There were twelve different reports from eight different states all due at the same time. The only way to stay compliant was to contact each state agency and ask for their help.

The right hand of an office worker, with a pen in it, looking over a document. The left hand is flipping the pages of another document.

Adam Lawrence 4/25/24 Adam Lawrence 4/25/24

Like a Pro

One of our team members was shy and reserved and didn't want to present during the report out. We were able to convince him and he was so passionate about our improvements, the audience was inspired.

The back of a male office worker, in a blue shirt and tie, speaking to a blurry room of people listening to him talk.

Adam Lawrence 4/11/24 Adam Lawrence 4/11/24

Perfection Isn't Always a Good Idea

We brought robots into our dining room table factory, thinking that they could make a much better looking and consistent product than we could by hand. They succeeded, only to be rejected by our customers.

An orbital sander on a piece of wood, with a lot of dust on the sander and the wood.

Adam Lawrence 3/28/24 Adam Lawrence 3/28/24

The Littlest Negotiator

When I was very young, my uncle taught me valuable business and negotiation lessons that I use to this day.

People shaking hands. Only the arms and hands are shown with a blue background.

Adam Lawrence 3/19/24 Adam Lawrence 3/19/24

The Sexiest Man in Pensacola

At the end of every Kaizen event, we created a report out and practiced it before sharing it with the leadership team. Team members were having so much fun that I didn't know if I would still have a job when it was over!

Five coworkers smiling and laughing around a work station.

Adam Lawrence 3/13/24 Adam Lawrence 3/13/24

My First Process Improvement Project

When I started my career, I quickly learned how important it was to spend time out in the process and create good working relationships with the people doing the work. Go to Gemba!

A blue card, with the words, "I'm new", held in a silver clip, against a blurry backgound.

Adam Lawrence 3/6/24 Adam Lawrence 3/6/24

The First Area Owner at the Furniture Company

When we started the Kaizen event, one of our team members thought we wouldn't accomplish much. In the middle of the week, he stepped up and took charge of a critical improvement area.

A person holding on to a flag, with the sun shining behind him and the flag.

Adam Lawrence 2/28/24 Adam Lawrence 2/28/24

Charting the Course of Critical Information

We thought we had found all of the opportunities in our electronics lab 5S Kaizen. Until we realized that a critical communication was taking so long that the customer was waiting for their results unnecessarily.

A surface of a desk, with a calculator, notepad, computer keyboard, charts, and a pencil on it.

Adam Lawrence 2/21/24 Adam Lawrence 2/21/24

All Night Long

This was my first IT Kaizen event. Our Gemba walk was scheduled from 9 pm Sunday to 1:30 am on Monday. Would the team find breakthroughs and would I be able to say awake?

Six coworkers having fun and celebrating something outside.

Adam Lawrence 12/27/23 Adam Lawrence 12/27/23

Strengthening the Kaizen Culture

The story of how I was able to support CITY Furniture's Lean Journey

The story of how I was able to support CITY Furniture's Lean Journey

Based in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Serving businesses worldwide.