Tweddle Continuous Improvement

Are Kaizen events simply work-arounds?

I understand the reasoning, but disagree with the premise. Workshops are a unique tool, because of the focused time over days to work on an item.

Who would be willing to conduct an experiment like this?

Interesting, you know that I would be there.

Great story about the power of going to Gemba!

I like the one about problem cards

I also liked the changeover reduction tips and supplier relation tips. Good Stuff!

I believe that understanding and clearly articulating purpose continues to be a challenge for me and the leaders I work with. We still get caught up in the excitement of the change, the new method or the changing business conditions and it does not take us long to lose sight of what we are trying to do in the first place.

Some good tips for Kaizen. We'll incorporate these into our Kaizen Facilitator training.

Below are the 10 main ideas Wakamatsu claims Taiichi Ohno lived by: Wastes hide, so start by disclosing all of your mistakes Discover the truth beyond your understanding Increasing production while limiting the number of workers is the only way to gain true success Act on problems right away and do not procastinate Don't feel satisfied by saying "I finished the job"; go beyond that and say "I can do more" Add "Appropriate Timing" to "Appropriate Method" in problem solving Believe in "I can" and question "I can't" The key to achieving progress is to never give up Don't do work at an average pace; the shortest way is always the easiest Change yourself first, if you want to change someone else

Wastes hide, so start by disclosing all of your mistakes Love it! Act on problems right away and do not procrastinate Great! The key to achieving progress is to never give up Yes! Don't do work at an average pace; the shortest way is always the easiest Amazing! Change yourself first, if you want to change someone else Timeless!

Where you have perfect information, you don't need any buffer stock.  The less reliable information you have, the more inventory you need to hold.  On a basic level there are two pieces of information needed:  the reliability of the supplier to deliver to you and the stability of the demand from the customer.  Inventory is a buffer for fluctuations in these two components of the supply chain.

Sorry for the double post. However, I think that this article really gives voice to our inability to imagine a path to single piece flow. We have to have reliably consistent customer demand. What could we do next?

Do what Toyota does - "How much inventory would we have to hold to account for variability in customer demand?"

The first building block contains vitamin C in a threefold dose: Challenge. Constantly be ready and willing to question the status quo and look for better ways. The challenge can be fomented by the envisioned ideal state and/or a specific target condition. It's about closing the gaps. Challenge should provide the "pull" dynamic for improvements. Courage. Be ever willing to test improvement ideas and learn from trial and error. This is foundational to PDCA (they don't call it "PDC"). Lean leaders must actively nurture an environment within which people fearlessly (not recklessly) apply scientific thinking and trystorming. Creativity. Trystorming without creativity is a sterile exercise. We must think and act differently - "Keep on doing what you're doing, keep on getting what you're getting." Unleash the inner MacGyver!

I wonder what it would take to segregate our inventory as Smalley does in the Toyota graphic?

I think that strategy number 3 gives us guidance on one piece flow.

There are many valid reasons why someone may not follow standard work.

So, while I strongly caution you against plugging any sort of electrical device through your map (as depicted in the picture - can you believe it?!), recognize that mapping brings power well beyond just the obvious. Yes, the maps and related improvement plans are absolutely critical, but the mapping team dynamics and learned lean thinking are, in may ways, equally powerful.

Some good advice even if we haven't been at it for years.

An interesting article on how Toyota uses inspections to build-in quality.

Wow!  Studying history, everyone is a "process engineer", celebrating improvements, discussing problems, reviewing results This is something to aspire to and emulate.  What could we start with?

This company simply amazes me! I'm going to start with our P&D Innovation team, what about showing these at our next Ops Check-in?

Possibly, I will select one, and put it at the end of the meeting. This is one of the things that I was thinking about for our Tribe of Tweddle Employees Pursuing Excellence. I have to come up with a better name.

Interesting perspective on maps.

It is inspirational!  We should add the FastCap videos to our book club viewing, and act on each one as we watch it.  Would there be a better way?  "Leave everything better than you found it"  I love that!