Last week I introduced the concept of a layered approach to support your sustain efforts. This week I want to go into more depth on coaching cards. First, let’s do a re-cap. The three layers of support are coaching cards, leader standard work, and management or Gemba walks. Each layer supports the layer above it. …
Gain Huge Benefits from Kamishibai/Coaching Cards Read More »
Many company cultures are reactive. People love firefighting. Something happens and then everyone reacts to what happened. Decisions are made with little data collection. I’m sure your company isn’t like that but in case you are, here are four tips to build a proactive culture. 1. Establish the company Lean Management System When you operate …
One of the key elements on my American Lean Weekday podcast is the weekly interviews that I conduct with companies on their Lean Journey. These companies are from various industries and are all different sizes. I have interviewed leaders from family-owned businesses to multi-national organizations. This podcast can be found here. It is episode eighty-two …
Implementing Flow Lines Saves $200K and Increases Throughput by 30% Read More »
It seems like we are just learning about Industry 4.0 and the enablers that will impact that digital transformation. Now companies are discussing what Industry 5.0 looks like. Earlier in the year, I talked about the use of cobots to support Industry 4.0. Industry 5.0 is based on humans and robots working together in close …
One of the many questions I receive from companies on their Lean transformation is “These Rapid Improvement Events are great but how do we sustain the gains we make?” The answer is to cascade your sustain efforts using three levels of sustain! You might believe sustain is only done at the operator or team member …
Much of your Lean transformation will be driven by employee engagement and teams. Value Stream Mapping teams. Rapid Improvement teams. TPM teams. 6S teams. Safety teams. Problem-solving teams. People working closely together on teams to make a positive change within your business. Here are tips to build high-performance teams. 1. Provide clarity and measurements for …
One of the key elements on my American Lean Weekday podcast is the weekly interviews that I conduct with companies on their Lean Journey. These companies are from various industries and are all different sizes. I have interviewed leaders from family-owned businesses to multi-national organizations. This podcast can be found here. It is episode seventy-seven …
Elkay Manufacturing Improves its Supply Chain with Lean Read More »
Your organization has developed current state and future state value stream maps. You have identified waste opportunities that exist and have laid out your quarterly Lean Game Plan. Now it is time to set up your Lean Promotion Office. This is the “war room” or headquarters for all your lean communication, planning, and Rapid Improvement …
Why change is hard. I could give a short answer and say that it is because you have to work with people. Why are people so hard to deal with in making a change? It comes down to two things hard for people to deal with. 1. Uncertainty The human mind doesn’t like uncertainty. It …
Level Four Leadership People Development John Maxwell in “The Five Levels of Leadership” writes that with Level 4 leaders, the emphasis is on personal and corporate productivity and this ability to create a highly productive team, department, or organization shows a higher level of leadership ability than most others display. To reach the upper levels …