“Continuous Improvement” is a term management consulting firms love using. It’s also a driving principle behind Lean Management. So, how can we achieve Continuous Improvement in our organization? One of the most common Lean frameworks for Continuous Improvement (of quality) is the Deming Cycle–also commonly known as PDCA Cycle, Deming Wheel, Shewhart Cycle, or Continuous […]
Tag Archives | kaizen
Using the Lean Kaizen Method to Unlock Great Potential
Kaizen (or commonly referred to as Value-Add Kaizen) is a problem solving tool used for process improvement by identifying if an activity (which is part of a process flow) is Value Add (VA) or Non-Value Add (NVA), then take steps to either remove or reduce these NVA activities. As these NVA activities are eliminated, the […]
Do You Know All the KPIs for a Manufacturing Operations Manager?
This is an exhaustive list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for a Manufacturing Operations Manager. These KPIs are aligned with Lean initiatives–specifically, Cultural Transformation, Continuous Improvement, elimination of all Wastes, associates becoming process and problem solvers at Gemba. The tools to be implemented after Lean culture change include 6S, Kanban, Kaizen, and Lean Six Sigma. […]
Benchmarking Basics. What Is It and How Do You Do It?
Benchmarking is a very powerful tool many organizations use to not only measure and gauge their performance against competition, but also to push themselves to be best-in-class. Benchmarking is a source of competitive advantage and continuous improvement (Kaizen). Wikipedia defines benchmarking as: Benchmarking is the process of comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to […]
Why Lean Initiatives Fail in a Company (Part 2)
Note from the Editor: This is the second of a series of articles written by Charles Intrieri related to Lean Initiatives. The previous article can be found here and we suggest you read it first, if you haven’t already. You can read his other articles here. * * * * If you recall, from the first article on Lean, the […]
Why Lean Initiatives Fail in a Company
Note from the Editor: This is the first of a series of articles written by Charles Intrieri related to Lean Initiatives. In the next article, Charles will review Kaizen, Kanban, and Lean Six Sigma, along with the benefits of implementing a Lean culture. You can read his other articles here. * * * * Lean initiatives are thought of as the use […]
Lean Inventory Management: Using Lean Initiatives to Manage Inventory
More firms are implementing lean inventory management techniques to reduce costs, improve flexibility and have more time to focus on their customers. Lean supply chain and inventory management enable Small Medium Businesses (SMB) to improve efficiency and increase profits. As firms look to reduce waste, increase turns and be more flexible with their inventory, management […]
Achieve Operational Excellence – Gemba, Lean, Kaizen
Operational Excellence is an element of organizational leadership that stresses the application of a variety of principles, systems, and tools toward the sustainable improvement of key performance metrics. Much of this management philosophy is based on earlier continuous improvement methodologies, such as Gemba Walk, Lean Manufacturing, and Kaizen. The focus of Operational Excellence goes beyond […]
Starting a Business? Build a Solid Foundation for Your Supply Chain
So you have started to set up your own business. You know what you want to supply. You know who you want to supply it to. Great. Now, how the heck do you do it without burning wads of (hard to come across) cash? Supply chain and efficient business go hand in hand and have […]
Kaizen and Innovation in the Workplace
When employees leave–especially the good performers–this translates into a higher cost for employers to replace lost staff as well as a loss of talent, knowledge and innovative ideas. One of the things you can do to retain staff is to develop a culture for innovation in the workplace to enhance employee motivation and enthusiasm that […]
Kaizen
Kaizen refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous process improvement in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. This training presentation is specifically designed for managers, supervisors, facilitators, and continuous improvement steering committees who want to kick-start and implement Kaizen activities in their work areas to improve productivity and customer value. This presentation includes: The […]
