Resources for Lean Continuous Improvement

Is 2018 the year you "Discover" the Shingo Model?

1/17/2018

We really hope so!

Join us this February @ KSE in Charlton MA for Discover Excellence, the foundational Shingo Institute Workshop. An exceptional host site, an exceptional course and an exceptional instructor. It just doesn't get any better than this! We hope our amazing Lean Community in the Northeast United States & beyond will take advantage of this opportunity on Thursday & Friday, February 8-9, 2018 at KARL STORZ Endovision in Charlton MA.
Read more about the event and register here!

Why the Shingo Model? Check out the free podcast of a Bruce Hamilton "Tea Time with The Toast Dude" Webinar to learn lots more. Click the link or the screen shot below to watch.

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Stop Searching with Set-Up Reduction

1/17/2018

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9 Helpful Tips for Creating the Ideal Idea System

1/9/2018

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The start of a new year is the PERFECT time to develop your idea system, identify metrics of success and encourage participation.

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Celebrity Toast Kaizen

12/19/2017

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The Toast Scale

I’m not so sure how I feel about a story I heard this morning of Jim Nantz’s toast visual aid, but it’s so rare that anyone in the public limelight offers a story that touches Lean thinking, particularly one about toast, that I am compelled to share.

Apparently, Mr. Nantz, who likes his toast burnt (as in #1 on the toast scale), carries a laminated photo of his preference in his wallet. Whenever he orders breakfast, he passes the photo to the wait staff in order to convey his unusual taste. I also like burnt toast (around 3 on the toast scale), but somehow could not resort to the use of visual aids when ordering breakfast. For me, a strong verbal instruction usually does the trick. My wallet is already stuffed with so many business cards, credit cards and receipts; I’d just be wasting time looking for my toast visual every time I ordered breakfast. And, truth be told, I’m not quite as particular as Mr. Nantz about these things.

However, in defense of Mr. Nantz, “The customer determines value.” No doubt, the toast problem is more consequential for him; he has many more occasions than I to be a customer for breakfast. (I generally make my own toast.) He’s even calculated the annual accumulation of wasted time – forty-eight hours – he has suffered by returning his toast for rework; not to mention the added insult of either eating his breakfast out of sequence or alternatively letting it get cold while his waits 10 minutes (his estimate) for the toast to be appropriately burned. As he notes, “Time is currency.” He’s apparently on the clock when he’s having breakfast; I generally eat out for fun and see breakfast a time to relax.

Although over 100,000 copies of Toast Kaizen have been sold since its release in 2004, it’s highly unlikely that Mr. Nantz would ever have been a viewer. Yet, his celebrity story is in many ways an extension of our video. So this holiday season, GBMP will send him a present: his own copy of the toast video. (I may also include a discrete warning that burning toast produces acrylamide, a known carcinogen.)

Happy Holidays!
O.L.D. (aka Bruce Hamilton, The Toast Dude)

Subscribe to Bruce Hamilton's Blog,
"Old Lean Dude"

GBMP President Bruce Hamilton, Old Lean Dude & Toast Kaizen Guy

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Lean is for the office too!

12/13/2017

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Lean Manufacturing & Kaizen is not just for production anymore

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The GBMP Journal
News, Events, Inspiration 'n More

Is 2018 the year you "Discover" the Shingo Model?

Stop Searching with Set-Up Reduction

9 Helpful Tips for Creating the Ideal Idea System

Celebrity Toast Kaizen

Lean is for the office too!

GBMP

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Categories

The GBMP JournalNews, Events, Inspiration 'n More

Is 2018 the year you "Discover" the Shingo Model?

Stop Searching with Set-Up Reduction

9 Helpful Tips for Creating the Ideal Idea System

Celebrity Toast Kaizen

Lean is for the office too!

GBMP

Archives

Categories

The GBMP Journal
News, Events, Inspiration 'n More