Lean Thoughts

We're already LEAN !! After twenty years, 221 clients, and more than $100 million in documented savings, I've heard that phrase more times than I can count.

If implemented carefully, digital solutions can certainly help increase the effectiveness of long-standing Lean Methodologies. But the key word is “carefully.”

The technological singularity did not arrive as a fact. It arrived as a story, one we have been telling ourselves about machines, progress, and what it means to be human.

I have something that you don't have, but would definitely appreciate and even perhaps enjoy. I have an almost unrestricted access to Nikola Danaylov my go to Subject Matter Expert (SME) regarding anything AI.

Better, Faster = Cheaper or more appropriate higher customer value and improved margin.

When something related to Product Integrity and Compliance happens, the first reaction is often ... “Call Quality.”

When a company tells me they have gone LEAN, it actually means they have most likely simply given up or stalled. I snicker at programs offering some sort of martial belt of accomplishment or an outright offering of LEAN Certification.

My father always loved to tell me just easy running a business is/was. He would state that if you wanted to make more money al you had to do was either A) increase your revenue or B) reduce your costs ... well that seems simple enough Dad,

The most successful form of managing material conveyance seems to be the "HEY" system ... "hey, I need a forklift to move this pallet".

Each Technology Island or Report-Out area has their own unique attributes, challenges and opportunities. The reality is that each Report-Out area is a Center of Gravity.

Luck IS a Strategy? Of course it can be. Most likely not the best decision. Unfortunately a strategy more companies are taking than considering other options.

The sterile and clinical approach to classifying and categorizing your inventory is to sector it with an A, B, C, designation. Personally, I find this extremely boring and find that replacing the ABC classes with "Runners, Repeaters and Strangers"

BOM management is much more than just drawing up a list of items. Here is how to expertly manage your BOMs.

Alarm Bells were sounded, highlighting a critical concern that Standardized Work was eliminating Innovation within the workplace.

This post is not to question making changes but rather how. First, you when you decide to machine a part you would not start until someone had provided you with a drawing so you know what you will be creating. Similar if you decide to build a house I am certain you will start with some key requirements like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms ... the requirements will then be incorporated into a blueprint so the builder will understand what you want and the blueprint quanti

Going to See with a purpose. In lean management, we call this "going to gemba"—the actual place where value is created. Not to inspect, but to understand, support, and coach.

Creator of your strategic Plan you are not only a forecaster. you are also a Futurist.

another AI Guru in a seminar who quickly advised me that even a mathematical formula is AI.

Chatbots such as ChatGPT can provide direct answers to your questions. But, compared to a regular Google search, the amount of knowledge gained is less.

whether a product or service should be dual sourced. Before we explore the merits of both let us first place the provider in the proper context.