One of the great honors I get to do weekly is interview companies on their lean journeys. This week I was fortunate enough to spend time with Jason Hartkemeyer, a General Manager at Toyota Boshoku which makes seats and interior pieces for the automotive industry. Some of the key points from our discussion: Toyota Boshoku …
Toyota GM Shares what Makes Toyota Boshoku Great Read More »
Toyota identified seven wastes as they developed the Toyota Production System from 1948 to 1975. As the production system was integrated into Western culture the eighth waste- Not Listening to People’s Ideas was adopted. Let’s focus on using a DOWNTIME chart to identify waste. When put into the correct order, the eight wastes spell out …
With many of your employees working from home, it’s hard to maintain your company culture and ensure your employees are being supported. Culture is everything in an organization. It’s what allows good companies to become great while average companies stay average. I want to provide some tips for supporting and engaging remote employees so that …
Four Tips for Supporting and Engaging Remote Employees Read More »
These are unprecedented times. My guess is many of your employees are working from home full time or at least part of the time. As a manager, the temptation might be to check in with your employees to make sure they are getting their tasks accomplished. Doing this too often, offering constant feedback, or stepping …
Let’s learn how 5G and blockchain need each other for success! Apple announced that it will release 5G phones this fall. That sounds exciting but remember 5G speeds use a different technology called millimeter wave technology. This is a shorter wavelength but doesn’t travel as far. The estimate I heard for Manhattan alone, instead of …
One of the key elements of a kaizen event is conducting a report out at the end of the event. Having led over 400 kaizen events, I believe I have found a successful report out format. Learn about my successful kaizen event report out format in this blog. Every company does their report outs differently. …
How to hold a Successful Kaizen Event Report Out Read More »
These are unprecedented times. My guess is many of your employees are working from home full time or at least part of the time. To maintain physical distancing, many companies have adopted Zoom or other technology solutions to support their business. Doing that is like running with scissors- too much technology can ruin your culture. …
This week I get to interview David Goodreau the President of the Small Manufacturers Institute and he shares their mission and passion for helping small manufacturers. David helps design and implement programs that make manufacturers more profitable and give people a career. His 40-year work history is as a machinist, manager, entrepreneur, and a builder/collaborator …
You’ve made an enormous investment in your ERP system. It holds all of your company data in one nice software suite. You have your part masters, BOM’s, routings, set-up times, part numbers, suppliers, customers, and accounting information all set up in nice SQL tables. Now you’re concerned because like the great consultant scam that was …
Last week I shared the importance of developing and A3 or project charter for your kaizen events. This week I want to share my kaizen event sequence of events. I have led over 450 kaizen events in my career and I have a good sequence of events. Here is how to hold a successful kaizen …