Old Lean Dude
A Blog About Understanding The Toyota Production System and Gaining Its Full Benefits, brought to you by "The Toast Guy"
Category Archives: kaizen
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There’s a certain irony for me in the attention given recently to the application of robots on the shop floor. On a couple occasions in the past..
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old lean dude,
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GBMP,
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bruce hamilton
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February 28 , 2023.
Year End Muda
So much of the technical aspect of Lean relates to time: cycle time, lead-time, takt time, set-up time, and, of course, time associated with waste...
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December 30 , 2022.
Robot Day
Everyday Collaboration
With GBMP’s 18th Annual Northeast Lean Conference on the horizon, I’m reflecting on our theme, “Amplifying Lean – The Collaboration Effect.” The term..
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continuous improvement,
GBMP,
kaizen
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August 12 , 2022.
Uncommon Sense
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” This advice, attributed to Nicolo Machiavelli, and later cited by Winston Churchill at the conclusion of WWII,..
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kaizen
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August 05 , 2022.
The Natural
Too Happy Too Soon
[Editor’s Note: This post is part 2 of a post from March 1, Do Your Job. If you haven’t already read it, reading it will help to provide context.]
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kaizen
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March 09 , 2022.
Do Your Job
We had been working with TSSC for two years to build a model line in our assembly department. As we moved from small batch production to one-by-one,..
This entry was posted in
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lean manufacturing,
continuous improvement,
kaizen
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March 01 , 2022.
Signs of Spring
Lean Lessons from COVID
You may recognize the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche – or more recently from Kelly Clarkson 🙂 “What doesn’t kill you makes your stronger.” I’ve..
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lean manufacturing,
continuous improvement,
GBMP,
kaizen
on
December 30 , 2021.
You’re My #1 Customer
My First Lesson
IoT, Industry 4.0 & 21st Century Lean
Just two days to go before our 16th Annual Northeast L.E.A.N. Conference, an opportunity for all of us to put aside the tactical realities of..
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lean manufacturing,
kanban,
continuous improvement,
kaizen
on
October 05 , 2020.
Trivia Break
Standard Units
“What’s measured improves.” So said famed management consultant and author, Peter Drucker. Assuming we are measuring the right things, how do..
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lean manufacturing,
kanban,
continuous improvement,
kaizen
on
October 01 , 2020.
Superficial Improvement
Several years ago, I wrote a post (worth a quick re-read) entitled, “Rosie the Robot,” wondering how technology changes that have emerged in this..
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kanban,
continuous improvement,
kaizen,
IIOT
on
September 30 , 2020.
Us and Them
Lean Peeve #7 is about the human divide that kills continuous improvement: Us & Them
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kanban,
continuous improvement,
kaizen
on
September 29 , 2020.
Three Hands
Time-Space-WIP Continuum
Cyril Parkinson was onto something when he postulated in1955 that “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” While this sounds a..
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lean manufacturing,
kanban,
continuous improvement,
kaizen
on
September 25 , 2020.
Indirect Distortion
When Stan Davis wrote Future Perfect in 1987 (then called the “book of the decade,” and still a good read), he foresaw a reversal in thinking that..
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on
September 24 , 2020.