Agile Manufacturing Update: Recent Comments

Comment on Book Review: Andy and Me - Crisis and Transformation

Kirsten Moen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:49:06 GMT

I like the article. Thank you

Comment on Progressive Lean: The Overall Idea of It

Karen Wilhelm — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:34:38 GMT

I agree - you can't have op ex without organization. When you ask "what's really going on here?" about a process or problem, you can't begin to find out until the clutter is out of the way, things are where they need to be ("why does this process take so long?") and all the dirt is gone ("Who knew this leak was here?")

As for all the approaches - whole place or "most pain," it comes down to the will to improve, all the time, forever. You've already shown that it's rare and frustrating that people can't see it through. But we've all lost energy about something we've tried to change in ourselves or our organizations, so we can't really place blame.

All in all, I agree with much of what you are saying in your approach. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the story.

Comment on Progressive Lean: The Overall Idea of It

George Bohan — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:28:47 GMT

Thanks for the comment, Karen. (You were probably thinking I was done with this blogging gig!)

The premise of Progressive Lean is that you can't have operational excellence without organization. Period. So, while we don't altogether eschew problem solving or even conducting action workshops that focus on specific problems, we say, "We're going to get the entire place Sorted and Shined, and show we can sustain it. Then we're going to move on to Straighten and See (Visual Controls) across the entire plant and show we can sustain that. Then on to the other stuff."

My issue with the "most pain" approach is that, once that pain is gone, they tend to lose energy for more comprehensive efforts. Same way that smokers and obese people get their stents put in, then start right back to two packs and a dozen donuts a day as soon as they're back home.

Comment on Progressive Lean: The Overall Idea of It

Karen Wilhelm — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:01:25 GMT

The deterioration after 5S and improvement events is the most common problem with lean that I hear in smaller shops -- big ones too, for that matter. Even starting with leadership, who we know have to buy in, seems to fall flat when push comes to shove. Event-based lean can get the ball rolling, but often it falls apart, or the focus is too much on the number of events or the tools. I wonder if you have tried the "most pain" approach (undoubtedly you have) with the continuous problem-solving mindset described in Spear's "The High-Velocity Edge" (formerly titled "Chasing the Rabbit") and "Toyota Kata" by Mike Rother. Mike, in particular, gives the "What do I do on Monday" answer along with the big one on culture. -- He also has a bunch of free stuff on his website that is perhaps more practical, just search Toyota Kata. Art Smalley describes on his website how the genesis of continuous improvement at the Toyota Engine Plant was the problem of uptime. Each and every little problem was solved with a focus on keeping the right machines running the right amount of time to insure the necessary throughput. A progressive 5S approach at this point can be the way to uncover the root causes of downtime. Whatever the owner's pain, that's where to start.

How do you usually choose the starting point for applying Progressive 5S? Is it similar?

Comment on How to Keep Lean Going: Pull Systems

Ben Benjabutr — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:12:17 GMT

I think VSM is a very important tool to visualize current system and let people see where pull system should be in place.

Comment on Why do they call it "lean manufacturing"?

Jonah Frye — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:31:38 GMT

I found your blog while looking for reputation management sites which is odd, but I'm glad I did, this was a fun read and a good break in my day! Going to look through a few other posts of yours now.

Comment on New Approach to Implementing Lean

Clay Williams — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:03:39 GMT

Love this approach, can't wait to introduce it to our shop. We have always tried to make the "Solve and Simplify" approach a central part of our designs. Do you have any thoughts on a way to systematically solve and simplify problems?

Comment on I'm gonna be a star!

Wrelaymmemibe — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:21:18 GMT

I just book marked your blog on Digg and StumbleUpon.I enjoy reading your commentaries.

Comment on New Idea for the Blog: Book Reviews

David — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:27:02 GMT

Good blog, wish I would of found this earlier, could have saved my money on many books. My bible is "Out of Crisis" by Deming. We just need the right people to read the right books! So keep it up :)

Comment on How to Get Started: Part Six - Implementation IV: Value Stream Mapping 5 - Current State Map (continued yet again)

hazel wagner — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:28:11 GMT

There are so many productive ways to get brainstorming going in addition to one person writing on a flip chart. Take a look at the many suggestions on www.brainstorming-that-works.com or read the free chapter at www.askhazelwagner.com.

I wish you great ideas at lightning speed,
Hazel