Tweddle Continuous Improvement

5S is the systematic integration of all of the facets of manufacturing in the workplace in a manner that assures the best cost, optimum flow, perfact quality and absolute safety.  As this chart shows, straightening and sweeping is nothing more than a superficial, final step after the work place has been holistically designed and put in place.

Good article on Toyota Business Practice.

The truth is, when everybody practices status quo behavior almost every day,that is what is sustained. If employees are not practicing the new way every day, by default they are practicing the old. Practice makes permanent

Great point! Great article!

Might be of interest to some of us.

One of the most important learning's I took from the experience was how effective rapid prototyping and hands on experimenting could be in an event. The Sensei went from team to team throughout the event and kept telling us to stop brainstorming and start "trystorming (actual simulation or creation of the idea)." This meant putting away the flip charts and sticky notes and getting out on the floor and getting our hands dirty. Having the 3D, tangible "mock-ups" allowed the teams to quickly understand each others ideas and iteratively improve the solution in a way that would not be possible on paper. Simulations became real and many of the bugs of standard work could be worked out in advance prior to a "down stream" implementation.

The more quotes I read from this book, the more I want to read it. We have a lot to learn from Ohno. Then, Taiichi Ohno said this in rebuke: "Why did you do only what I had told you to do?" Taiichi Ohno had a label for this type of worker. He called them "Catalog Engineers" and taught vehemently against being one. He said that these types of engineers or workers do not innovate or create - they simply follow instructions from their bosses and from books.

How much do you spend on things that you already have?

Lesson 1: The critical importance of the simple act of walking. When you get bogged down, distracted, or even discouraged rediscover the power of going to see. Lesson 2: Never walk alone. What is the benefit if only you see the current state and think of a better way to create a future sate? Always walk the value stream with the people who touch it. It will be their efforts who are needed to improve it. Lesson 3: Expand your focus. Many look primarily at the steps in the value stream and ask how to remove the waste. You must ask about the support processes to get the right people to the right place in the value stream at the right time with the right knowledge, materials, and equipment. Lesson 4: Reflect first on the purpose of the process. Focus on what problem the customer is trying to solve and ask whether the existing process, now matter how well, run, can effectively address their problem. Pay special attention to the way people are engaged in the operation and its improvement. Lesson 5: Make work fulfilling. There is nothing worse than seeing good people trapped in an unfulfilling process that they lack the power to improve. Lesson 6: Stability before full panoply of lean techniques. The process must be capable (able to produce good results every time) and available (able to operate when it is needed).

While many organizations have generated big returns from process improvement, few have built continuous improvement into their DNA. After a few years, senior executives get distracted by other demands, or new leaders focus on other ways to improve performance. They're like the person who makes a New Year's resolution to go to the gym or try a new diet, rather than fundamentally changing his eating and exercise habits.

A simple technique that we also use here at Tweddle in our Value Stream Maps.

Pulling form a common pile of work.  We don't do it often.  Why not?

What do you get when you combine free and Lean?  Well, the FreeLeanSite.com. Jay Watson is the Lean thinker behind this site. It grew from a passion of implementing Lean on the shop floor at companies like Motorola, Honeywell, and General Electric. He started the site to make "lean thinking" concepts of continuous improvement highly accessible for practitioners in North America. Our primary focus is on accelerating the developmental process, sustaining the effort, and most importantly - driving for results. The majority of the training modules are absolutely free to download and modify as needed. A management improvement process focused on elements of Safety, Quality, and Speed of Execution provides a framework for action. The site has four major sections to aid in finding the right resource: Jay also provides some advice on implementing Lean by defining a Lean Roadmap.The roadmap consists of the following three phases: PHASE 1 (GET READY): PLANNING FOR IMPROVEMENT PHASE II (GET SET): CONDUCTING A PILOT PROGRAM PHASE III (GO!): TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING/ SKILLS DEVELOPMENT I have been truly amazed by the sheer amount of Lean related material that Jay has compiled.  This is a great resource for learning on your own or sharing with your team.

Four solid concepts - good video.

I re-watched it, and, while I still fundamentally disagree with the first two points (No more visionary speeches and No Couch Meetings), I did find value in his comments of instructing through results and not outsourcing your training. The idea that you cannot outsource your culture, which is a function of your training is powerful.

Great Video for Film Festival

Kaizen: FastCap Style

The following key points summarize Lean and Lean Metrics: 1) Make Lean so simple anyone can understand it. 2) Fix what bugs you and improve it everyday. 3) Every employee must make a 2 sec improvement everyday. 4) People fail sometimes and solutions may not valid but you learn from that. 5) Create a routine like: start day with Sweep, Sort, Standardize, then improvement time, then morning meeting. 6) Give people time everyday to experiment, train, and teach. 7) Simple metrics -            a) 1 improvement everyday            b) Orders out in 2 hours            c) Less than 1 mistake a week            d) Want customers to rave about us 8) Defects are something the customer sees. 9) Develop the skill and capacity to solve problems by everyone everyday.

Can we also put "Kaizen: FastCap Style" on the list.

Sure, just post it here, and tag it "film festival".

Most process improvement efforts often miss the first step: What is the Purpose of the Process? When that question is asked first, it enables one to then ask an additional question: Should This Process Need to Exist?