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: process improvement
Invisibility
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A chance reading recently provided a thought from Henry Thoreau that I think is worth sharing. Thoreau said:
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August 14 , 2014.
Repetitive Madness
My last post about superficial improvement may have implied that the condition is limited to organizations with deep enough pockets to buy pricey..
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January 11 , 2013.
What is Advanced Manufacturing?
I am looking for some help to answer this question. Seeking illumination, I recently attended a presentation offered through CCAT, a non-profit..
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June 04 , 2012.
Incremental Elimination of Weeds
Spring is my favorite season because of the spirit of renewal it brings with it. So here is a post dedicated to spring that is inspired by a comment..
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April 24 , 2012.
What does 3P Stand For?
3P, “Production Preparation Process,” is a method introduced to the US in the mid-80’s by Chihiro Nakao, a contemporary of Mr. Ohno, and founder of..
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April 19 , 2012.
JIT, Boy Scouts, and Stooges
I take my work very seriously, but sometimes when I have excess idle time (like on the red-eye from Phoenix to Boston), I’ll have a whimsical idea...
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April 06 , 2012.
Shingo's Network
With the International Shingo Prize Conference just a month away, I thought a short post about Shigeo Shingo and the Prize named in his honor would..
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shigeo shingo,
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March 30 , 2012.
John's Box
Some years back while working in an administrative department I encountered a curious condition. With about a half-dozen employees, I was following..
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TPM,
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poka-yoke,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
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Northeast Shingo Prize,
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Muri,
shigeo shingo,
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March 14 , 2012.
Airplane
I think there are no new airplane stories left for those of us who take to the not-always-friendly skies, but having been on one of those super delay..
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TPM,
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lean in healthcare,
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Muri,
shigeo shingo,
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March 05 , 2012.
They Assessment
Over years of listening to persons describe their work, one single word has surfaced repeatedly as a barometer of what is frequently called..
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TPM,
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Muri,
ryuji fukuda,
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February 27 , 2012.
WYSIWYG
Computer geeks over the age over 40 will recall that once upon a time, the images of text and graphics that appeared on computer screens bore little..
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5S,
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lean in healthcare,
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shigeo shingo,
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Hajime Ohba,
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February 15 , 2012.
Signs
Do you remember a post-hippie era song called Signs? The song’s refrain came to mind recently during a workplace walkthrough:
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toyota production system,
visual control systems,
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Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
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February 03 , 2012.
Cost Subtraction
Last week, a drive-by a 99 Cent Store (see photo) reminded me of my first real job in an industrial marketing department. In the 1970’s, one function..
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TPM,
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lean in healthcare,
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made in america,
Muri,
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standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
January 23 , 2012.
5S First?
Some time ago, while speaking at a conference in the land down under, I was taken to task by a participant for suggesting, “5S is usually the first..
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TPM,
5S,
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poka-yoke,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
toyota production system,
inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
January 12 , 2012.
Standards Part 1
I attended a gathering of healthcare providers recently to participate in a site review and listen to some nice TPS success stories. During a Q&A..
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TPM,
5S,
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inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
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mura
on
December 06 , 2011.
Acts of God
Several weeks ago in New England, the rants of angry electric utility patrons filled the evening news. Accusations of greed and incompetence were..
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hoshin kanri,
TPM,
5S,
true north,
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poka-yoke,
automation,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
toyota production system,
inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
December 01 , 2011.
Lean Thanks
The upcoming holiday is my second favorite (after New Years), first because it’s energizing to reflect on things to be happy about, and second..
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Toast Kaizen,
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hoshin kanri,
TPM,
5S,
true north,
lean summit,
poka-yoke,
automation,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
toyota production system,
inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
November 22 , 2011.
The Ear of the Beholder
A short time after I moved into operations as the VP of manufacturing, our assembly department made an early and, dare I say, imperfect attempt to..
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old lean dude,
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Toast Kaizen,
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autonomation,
process improvement,
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hoshin kanri,
TPM,
5S,
true north,
lean summit,
poka-yoke,
automation,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
toyota production system,
inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
November 18 , 2011.
First Job Lessons
Early job experiences can have a profound impact on how we approach the workday. Here is one of mine from my very first job:
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TPS,
lean manufacturing,
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GBMP,
Toast Kaizen,
muda,
autonomation,
process improvement,
kaizen,
lean government,
hoshin kanri,
TPM,
5S,
true north,
lean summit,
poka-yoke,
automation,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
toyota production system,
inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
November 08 , 2011.
Illogical Progression
This post is a follow-up to one from September on policy deployment, sometimes called a ‘roadmap’ for improvement.’ It’s more than that in that it..
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lean manufacturing,
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Toast Kaizen,
muda,
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process improvement,
kaizen,
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hoshin kanri,
TPM,
5S,
true north,
lean summit,
poka-yoke,
automation,
lean in healthcare,
optimization,
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inventory,
Northeast Shingo Prize,
made in america,
Muri,
shigeo shingo,
standardized work,
Hajime Ohba,
set-up reduction,
value stream mapping,
mura
on
November 02 , 2011.