Standards are designed to identify problems. They establish the expectation and let organizations know when there is a problem and the expectation cannot be met. But when a problem is identified it has to be addressed or knowing can do more damage than good. Standards are designed to identify problems World class organizations create standards […]
Standards Rich Environment
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
World class organizations create a standards rich environment that quickly identifies problems solved by people in the moment with a pre-specified problem solving process that is focused on continuously eliminating waste. A standards rich environment is an environment that sets the expectation not only for work content of the operators, but also the safety, quality, […]
Standardized Work Starts with the Sequence of Work
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Good Continuing Operations Planning includes the creation of standardized work to help create a more flexible work force able to fill in for missing team members. That standardized work includes the work content required to build a product or provide a service as well the timing, location, and expected outcome. All of these elements are necessary […]
Standard Work is the Cornerstone of the System
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Everything seems simple when you tour a world class organization. People’s movement, parts placement, tool locations and inventory levels all look as though they are in natural order. It is hard not to believe that it was always that way and that the operation you are touring is actually an easier business to run than […]
Work Design for a Changing Workforce
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
We are entering an era of a new normal. People may struggle to consistently make it to work because of children at home, their own illness, or the need to care for others. This new normal and ever changing work force requires a new focused attention on work design built on the back of solid […]
Work Design Strategies for Rapidly Adapting the Work Space
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Our workplaces have changed at an unimaginable speed. Companies must rapidly adjust and innovate to continue to excel in this new workplace. Our new normal requires that we maintain safe distances for the foreseeable future. This new reality has created a new capacity constraint out of simply not having enough space. Restaurants, grocery stores, airplanes […]
What is a Manufacturing Cell
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
A manufacturing cell is one option to consider when we are talking about the concept of work design. The goal is always to eliminate waste. Manufacturing cells do this by arranging a group of workstations or machines so a product can be processed progressively without having to wait for a batch to be completed and […]
Same People – Same Machines – Same Pace
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
The ideal work cell pursues the goal of having the same people use the same machines to produce at the same pace every day. Why? Easy to see, almost feel, the problems A well designed work cell almost looks like a metronome pulsing at a steady pace hour after hour. It may appear as parts […]
Do Not Stop Improving
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
The true competitive advantage of world class companies does not come from technology, debt structure, or even research and development. True competitive advantage comes from a relentless commitment to improve. Not grand changes every day or dramatic swings in philosophy or new equipment, but a commitment to a constant cycle of learning designed to make […]
The One Man Kaizen
June 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Technology changed the idea of the one man band. The concept that one person could play all of the instruments in a song simultaneously was mostly notably remembered in Mary Poppins as Dick Van Dyke’s character plays drums, horns, and an accordion all by himself while dancing. Mike Oldfield is credited as the first performer […]
