Understanding what Muda is, or what is defined as “waste” in the Japanese language, and how to identify it within your operations is one of the most important skills for performing LEAN. In fact, everything we do is built upon this simple practice, yet few LEAN Practitioners (beginners, as well as subject matter experts) conduct […]
Learning to See Training Course* Read More »
Most LEAN programs fail to sustain and achieve long-term results – sound familiar? The simple answer has to do with little to no focus on implementing the complete LEAN Business System. And in order to implement this, your program must have a balanced approach with three (3) core elements: 1) the Mechanical Tools; 2) the
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The PDCA Cycle is a fundamental principle for everything that we do! In accordance, Toyota has developed their own iteration of the PDCA Cycle in order to make it more applicable to their LEAN implementation efforts… Come learn about this method, and why it is so important. Explanation Video Learn about Toyota’s Iteration of the
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LEAN Practitioners always ask us how to make their implementation efforts more effective and efficient. Like most of you, resources and time is in limited supply… In order to maximize your efforts so you can reap the rewards for achieving your desired results and KPIs, we will explain the elements of Our Paradigms for implementing
Our Paradigms: Primary Elements Read More »
LEAN Practitioners always ask us how to make their implementation efforts more effective and efficient. Like most of you, resources and time is in limited supply… In order to maximize your efforts so you can reap the rewards for achieving your desired results and KPIs, we will explain the elements of Our Paradigms for implementing
Our Paradigms: Secondary Elements Read More »
The Inside-Out Approach is also referred to as the Circle of Influence [1], where your actions, non-actions, and decisions have a direct impact on your outcomes. The key is to focus your implementation efforts on those things that you can control and influence, thus enabling you to make effective changes. Therefore, you make changes within
Inside-Out Approach Read More »
This may seem straightforward and obvious, but our approach should seek-out and focus on those activities that add value. But what do we mean by that? – Value-Added Activities include: Focusing on What is Important to the Business Quick Wins and/or “Low Hanging Fruit” Achieving Your Desired Results, and/or Getting KPI Results Ensuring Your Roadmap
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The Pilot Area is the designation of a single process or work cell. The purpose of designating a Pilot Area is to use it as a testbed for the implementation and application of LEAN principles and concepts. As a testbed, the Pilot Area will be your space to learn and understand how to approach the
The Core Team is the formation of a small group of key personnel, predominately representatives from the Pilot Area. [1] Their purpose is to focus on the implementation and application of LEAN principles and concepts in the Pilot Area. Nevertheless, there should be a strong emphasis on learning and experimenting in their efforts, as to
If you’re unfamiliar or need a refresher with the basic concepts of PDCA, or Toyota’s iteration of the PDCA Cycle, we’ve provided a link to our resources: Learn more about the Traditional PDCA Explanation, from Wikipedia. Learn more about Toyota’s Iteration of the PDCA Cycle Training. [1] From this continuous improvement and problem-solving method, we
Application of the PDCA Cycle Read More »
Jishuken, is loosely translated from Japanese as “Learn by Doing”. It is the experiential learning style that can only take place by “learning through reflection on doing”… As we have just discussed the Application of the PDCA Cycle [1], you can now understand why this is an important approach to your implementation efforts! Jishuken means
Jishuken, Learn by Doing Read More »
Most LEAN principles and concepts are taught in a linear approach. This is understandable since many of us first learn and process new information and complex methods in this simple way. What is important to keep in mind is that the LEAN principles and concepts, and more importantly the implementation and application is definitely not
Taken from Getting the Right Things Done by Pascal Dennis [1], Mental Models are a person’s assumptions about how the world works, based upon their temperament, education, experiences, and perceptions. They are the “glasses” we all wear, which filter and often distort reality. Ultimately, they are important because they affect what we see and what
The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 Rule, the Law of the Vital Few, or the Principle of Factor Sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. [1] The distribution is claimed to appear in several different aspects relevant to business. For example: 80% of
The RACI Team Model is used to facilitate effective and efficient team performance. The model does this by promoting collaboration between multi-functional teams as it seeks to clarify project-specific roles and responsibilities. However, these are independent from formal organizational reporting structures. RACI is an acronym representing the following words, which represent specific roles and responsibilities:
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