Improvement Methodologies: PM, Six Sigma, DFSS, Lean – Choosing the Right One
Organizations have a variety of tools and methods available to improve their products, services, and processes. Deciding on which methodology to use can often become confusing because management does not understand how these methodologies are separated or used. In this article, I’ll try to alleviate some of this confusion by providing you some examples of when it is appropriate...
Read MoreA Supervisor’s Job Is Difficult and Challenging
Supervisors have a challenging job and have to juggle a lot of things in order to keep things going in the right direction for their organization. They have to show leadership, promote safety, schedule and prioritize work assignments, improve efficiency, train new employees, continuously improve their operation, and settle employee squabbles. There are two main functions that every supervisor...
Read MoreOver-Processing Adds Costs to Products and Services For Which You’re Not Getting Paid
Ever stop to think how much you’re spending by over-processing the products and services you provide? If not, its probably because you don’t fully understand what over-processing is all about. Over-processing is defined as all the extra effort people go through in order to deliver the product or service. It’s actually giving something away for no return. Let me give you...
Read MoreTransportation Waste Can Create A Huge Burden For Organizations
Transportation is a common source of waste in many companies and includes the excessive and unnecessary movement of materials, products, information and paperwork and often exists where there is disorganization or a lack of clear procedures. Some specific factors that can trigger you to look for transportation waste are: Multiple operational locations where companies split operations among...
Read MoreMachine & Equipment Issues Create All Kinds Of Waste!
Is your operation plagued with equipment issues that drive you crazy? Old, outdated, hard to maintain, constantly down, or making bad parts — equipment exhibiting these conditions can really drive a plant manager to drink! Or maybe it’s an office copier that keeps jamming up or a computer system that has a mind of its own and decides to go down or won’t boot...
Read MoreHow a Lonely $25 Grease Gun Contributed to a $1Million Problem!
Many of us go to work each day, do our thing, and feel pretty good that we gave our organization a good days work. But how many of us go to work each day and really think about how we can cut cost and save our organization time and money. We’re all running around trying to get things done and never have time to think about how we can improve the process. The following is a true story...
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