March 2009 | Page 3 of 3

"Lean Factories Find It Hard to Cut Jobs"

By Jon Miller - March 9th, 2009

…even in a slump, or so says an article in today’s Wall Street Journal. It’s an unfortunate title with a collection of half-truths about lean manufacturing, some contradictory, that leaves one unsure at the end whethe

Web Check-In: Lean or Not?

By Ron Pereira - March 8th, 2009

The Pereira household has been battling flu like symptoms for over a week now. My kids have all had it and most recently my wife got it. I, knocking on wood, have escaped it so far but I am not getting cocky about it! In any event, at

Ambiguous Visual Controls: When Words Aren’t Necessary

By Jon Miller - March 8th, 2009

Visual controls must by definition be clear indicators of normal versus abnormal, go versus no go, okay versus not okay. The sign above isn’t at all bad compared to other ambiguous visual controls we’ve featured here, here

Lighting a Candle for Energy Sustainability

By Jon Miller - March 6th, 2009

There was a great teaching moment this week. As we were walking around the shop floor at the end of the day, the shift ended and people began streaming out of the factory. Soon the lights began to shut off. We were left alone, in the d

Spreading the Gospel with Web Video

By Ron Pereira - March 5th, 2009

Man, who would have thought a video I shot at around midnight with a crappy digital camera and some shop lights from Home Depot clipped to a step ladder – yes that’s exactly how I did it! – would be watched more than

The Art of Giving Instructions

By Ron Pereira - March 3rd, 2009

So, it would seem that the conversation between cake maker and customer went something like this. Cake Making Employee: Hello, how can I help you? Customer: I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week. Cake Making Emp

What’s All the Fuss About A3 Thinking?

By Jon Miller - March 3rd, 2009

Jim had a good point in his comment: I don’t understand the excitement about this so-called A3 thinking. Root cause analysis has been around for decades, so has five whys (at least since the very early 1980s.) As for hypothesis t

Porque é que esta água fria?

By Jon Miller - March 2nd, 2009

That is how the sun sets over the Amazon in the evening. But today let’s talk about how the water comes out of the shower in the morning, which is to say cold. When this happens one is faced with three choices: wait until the wat

Stop Shining… Clean to Inspect

By Ron Pereira - March 1st, 2009

The third S, in 5S, is commonly referred to as shine. A more accurate translation of the original Japanese word – seisou – is probably scrub or sweep. But shine works as well. Missing the Point But here’s the thing. Most people c

Guest Post: Should You Display Standardized Work Sheets at the Workstation?

By Jon Miller - March 1st, 2009

by Franck Demarest When discussing this subject with many people, I often encounter the dilemma about the location of standardised work sheet meaning either close to the line or in a cupboard in management office. About which standard

Month: March 2009