newsletter archive.
(Previously published under the title Extreme Profits
under ISSN 1925-8941)
Lean leaders, musts for leading lean
Did you know that companies undergoing Lean initiatives are successful in only five-to-seven percent of cases?
If your organization is undergoing a Lean transformation, this figure should give you pause.
Meeting customer expectations, when to re-design
If you wanted to design a new product or service, how would you start? Would you pull out your sketch pad? Or your laptop? Or some other drawing instrument? Would you talk to your employees or managers? While all of these actions seem reasonable, there is an important first step-identifying what your customers want.
Adding value, when value wavers
In operations management, we are taught that "value" or "value added" is the difference between the cost of inputs and the price of outputs. While this sounds simple, measuring value is not always so straightforward, especially when measuring intangibles.
Just in time, continuing the improvement
We have all experienced the "just in case" syndrome: “Let's purchase a few extra file folders, just in case we need them next month. Let's order an extra toner cartridge, just in case the one we now have runs out of ink too soon. Let's buy an extra steak, just in case George decides to come for dinner.”
While it is so wrong and so wasteful, many businesses still run on the "just in case" model. Instead, they should be running in the opposite direction - using "just-in-time" (JIT).
Rooting out the problem, reclaiming value
When fixing problems, many people typically fix only the symptoms, rather than the actual problem. The outcome is that the problem reoccurs, each time usurping valuable organizational resources.
To fix the problem, you need to identify and eliminate the root cause.
Team dynamics, balancing the team
While poor team dynamics can occur in any organization, Lean organizations want to avoid this occurrence at all costs. Why? Poor team dynamics can kill projects even before they start!
When working with a team, be it a focus group, Kaizen team, project team, or any type of group in between, prevention of maladaptive behaviour needs to start right at the beginning of the first meeting. Set the stage for effective teamwork with ground rules.
Agent of change, dangers of kaizen blitzes
Even when the thing to be changed is an easy fix, change is a difficult process. This is because change interrupts the normal flow of work. It also takes time to see the benefits of change. Most people don't have the patience to wait for results.
But there is a way to realize rapid change: Engage staff in a Lean Kaizen event.
Planning for action, change - not as alarming as it sounds
When an organization discovers its problem's root cause, it is faced with the task of discovering the best solution. And the best solution may not always be the most obvious one. This is where action planning can help.
Action planning involves many minds to generate the best possible way forward. And engaging minds from all levels of the organization-from the boiler room to the boardroom-usually provides the best overall ideas for solutions.
Critical success factors, let’s talk
Implementing efficiency and productivity improvement in organizations is a strategy and a management philosophy. It is not just a process to drive out costs.
One of the best ways to implement efficiency and productivity improvement is to adopt a Lean Six Sigma philosophy-it is a way to ensure that the organization is doing the right things at the right time and in the right way.
Waiting away your time, idling for action
When was the last time you had to wait for something or someone? Do you remember how long you waited? If you waited for more than five minutes, you probably felt frustrated. If you waited for more than ten minutes, you may even have started getting angry about the wait. And what about those instances when you waited for hours for a service technician to show up?
While many of us have waited for products or services at least once in our lives, you may be surprised to know that there is a huge cost in waiting.
The hidden cost of rework, workplace faults
One of the biggest problems in business processes is rework. Anything that has to be re-done, re-built, re-packaged, re-anything is a waste. If the service or product is not done right the first time, the individual (and the organization) experiences rework, resulting in more time, materials, and cost to the final service or product. If you work by the hour, reworking your deliverable may look like you're getting paid a lot to produce very little. And you'd be correct.
Extra! Extra! Money, money
Are you the kind of person that cleans your house before the cleaning company arrives? Do you review a binder before (or after) giving it to your colleague for review? And, heck, who doesn't want to check three times to make sure the alarm system is on/off? In the real world, all of this probably happens, but it shouldn't; especially in the work place.
Loco-motion, less is more
Loco: Spanish term for "crazy," "insane," "mad"
Motion: The action or process of moving or being moved
How many times did you have to move today to accomplish one task at your workstation? In how many places did you have to look before you found the information you needed? How many steps did your roundtrip take to/from the photocopier or printer? If you answered, "More than necessary," you need to examine how motion is impacting your work day.
Waste not want not, stock piled
When we think of inventory, we typically think of the manufacturing industry, but businesses in any sector have inventory: Food, retail, service, government, not-for-profit, professional associations...name the business and it's a guarantee that the business deals with inventory. Inventory is necessary for business operations, but when supply exceeds demand, problems arise, especially in the organization's bottom line.
Mr. Roboto, show me, don’t tell me
Human "robots" can be found in many "un-Lean" organizations where employees are not utilized to their fullest potential. If your organization has underutilized employees, the organization structure and values may be to blame. You may say, "So what, at least they've got a job." Not so. There's a huge impact on the organization's processes and customer value if underutilized people remain underutilized.