www.emsstrategies..com - Lean Manufacturing and Lean Six Sigma Consulting and Training.
EMS Consulting Group is a management consulting firm designed to create value for manufacturers, service providers, and product developers. We add value by developing the internal capabilities of our clients through Lean Coaching, Training, and Facilitation. This creates a continuous improvement culture that is not dependent on consultants. Our RU-vid channel includes the following types of videos:
* Cartoon Animations that teach basic Operational Excellence Concepts * E-Learning Excerpts * Company Updates about our Services * Webinars & Interviews
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well done, regards, Professor Bill Stankiewicz Member of Câmara Internacional da Indústria de Transportes - CIT at The International Transportation Industry Chamber Professor LEAN 5S FORKLIFT SAFETY TRAINING/OSHA/ VR Virtual Reality Training Savannah Technical College
Team based activities for Kaizen 😂 Ohno would turn in his grave ! Toyota has no written tools. To learn to improve you went on the production line and observed. Learning to Lead at Toyota is an article that much better defined how training and improvement happened at Toyota. Again LEAN was never used by Ohno. It's a western Idea to flog the tools.
Thanks! I think there is some truth in your comment. There had been an overemphasis on tools in the early days of Lean (the '90s). However, it is untrue to state that "Toyota has no written tools." Ohno invented several tools including kanban for example. Where would Toyota have been in the early days without SMED? The problem isn't the tools per se. Tools are fine, but using tools is not going to create the kind of culture change you need to be successful. How do you create an environment where people can solve problems and make improvements to their work? How do you create a "kaizen" mindset? How do we create an army of problem solvers in an organization? This is the kind of thing that we emphasize in our training, but don't be too quick to dismiss the tools, because tools are sometimes needed as countermeasures when appropropriate. A couple of other points- 1. "Team based activities for Kaizen- Ohno would turn in his grave." I can't say what Ohno would or wouldn't do; however, I can tell you that as recently as 5 years ago, Toyota's distribution center here in California was holding team kaizen events- not as their primary means of improvement, but as a means of learning. 2. "LEAN was never used by Ohno." Of course not, "Lean production" was a term originally used to describe TPS.
Very clear overview, thank you! If anyone wants more information on the 5 focusing steps and how to tie Focused Improvement (part of TPM/WCM methodologies) into it, this video from Tom Mentink can help. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x_V6-tdLlv8.htmlsi=78VmFDGUDN5RVB3d
Even if you do 100% of your workshops in-person, the Stickies Capture feature of Miro is worth checking out. This feature will allow you to easily capture your work and save it for editing as a team later or sharing with others that might not be on-site. They can edit or just comment (based on the settings you select.)
Creating Continuous Flow is one of the principles of Lean. Anyone who has tried to create flow has encountered objections and obstacles. How many of you have heard (or maybe even said) "Here's why we can't do it." The key to success is to understand that these obstacles should not be treated as reasons not to create continuous flow. They are opportunities for problem solving. Obstacles might include things like breakdowns/downtime, defects, parts shortages, etc. If you've identified these types of obstacles, that's great news! It's time to work on them. As you eliminate these obstacles, you will get closer to continuous flow.
JIT (Just in Time) has been pronounced dead a few times over the past few years because of supply chain shortages, but blaming JIT demonstrates a lack of understanding. JIT (providing what is needed when it is needed in the right quantity) should be the goal at every point in a value stream, and we remove the obstacles to it through problem solving and continuous improvement. Approaches like pressuring suppliers, pushing inventory back on suppliers, and utilizing suppliers that are overseas just because they offer the lowest part cost are not "JIT" or Lean. These are shortcuts to lower inventory and seemingly lower cost, but they aren't sustainable.
We've seen a lot of discussion lately about KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) and their ineffectiveness. Why do KPI programs often fail? Most KPI's are pushed down from the top without any input from those working on the processes being measured. Using Lean Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri), there should be alignment of goals and metrics throughout the organization. Consensus / Buy-in is critical, and there is a process known as Catchball that we use to gain consensus. Don't throw out the idea of KPI's, but make sure that the KPI's are aligned throughout the organization and that you gain buy-in.
Why should managers go on Gemba Walks? The idea is to go see, ask why, show respect, and provide support. In this video, an executive manager begins coaching a middle Manager by understanding his current thinking and approach. In next week's video she will take him on a Gemba walk and demonstrate the right behavior and approach.
Have you ever taken a gemba walk? Or, have you been the "victim" of a bad gemba walk attempt? Gemba is a Japanese word meaning "actual place." This is where the work happens. Leaders should be going to the gemba on a regular basis, and a gemba walk is an opportunity to go see, ask why, and show respect. Leaders need to engage the front line employees. Front line employees are truly the secret to real kaizen. In today's video, we watch a manager take a gemba walk and do it the wrong way. Then, we see how it should be done.
One of the biggest mistakes organizations can make when trying to become Lean is forcing improvements from the top down. We've seen this approach taken over and over again, but we have never seen it work for long. Things inevitably return to the previous "normal." If you want improvements to stick, the people doing the work need to develop and own the improvements. This is what "Respect for People" is about.
Layoff announcements have been in the news quite a bit lately, but are layoffs really beneficial to the organization? Do they save money even in the short term? When layoffs are announced to cut costs and satisfy Wall Street in the short term, they often have a long term detrimental effect, despite an initial boost in stock price. When a company undergoes a Lean Transformation, it includes a transformation of culture. Layoffs are one way to completely reverse the gains made. In today's video we show you what happens when layoffs become policy and what happens when the executive team resists the urge to layoff and persists with a long term vision. Have you had any experience with layoffs? Was it a company that claimed to be Lean?
Thanks for commenting. We linked the original video in the description to this video. Here is the original video on Leveling: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-up1pSGc0fsQ.html
