Kaizen Song: I Stop the Line

By Jon Miller Published on June 26th, 2006

It’s a very busy week, no time to blog today. So I’ll post another one of the kaizen songs I wrote back in the days when I had a lot more time on my hands. Please enjoy this musical interlude.
I Stop the Line
(To Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line”)
I keep a close watch on these parts of mine
I keep the work pace balanced to takt time
I see a defect coming down the line
Won’t make takt time, I stop the line
One piece flow is very easy to do
I start again each time my cycle’s through
Yes, I’ll admit I never thought it was true
Won’t make takt time, I stop the line
They’ve got a way to get my parts to point of use
They bring me kits loaded on those tuggers
But the suppliers yes sometimes they lie
Won’t make takt time, I stop the line
And when I pull the cord the andons light
The foreman runs to see if I’m alright
We’ll catch up by the time we leave tonight
Won’t make takt time, I stop the line

Jon Miller

Jon has dedicated his 25+ year career to the field of kaizen, continuous improvement, and lean management. Jon spent the first eighteen years of his life in Japan, then graduated from McGill University with a bachelor’s in linguistics.