Originally used by Toyota as part of the Toyota Production System, the Kaizen approach is used to engage front-line employees and solicit their ideas to drive change which will stick. The Kaizen Process enables ‘change for the better’ The term “Kaizen” is another way to describe continuous improvement or change for the better. As an…
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As an industry executive and college professor, I have had the privilege of teaching thousands of people across a multitude of industries how to accomplish real positive change by harnessing the power of Lean Six Sigma. It works. The reason it works is that it teaches people who are experts in their own process how…
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Hiring managers are looking for people who can transition quickly from the university to the working environment. Young engineers and technical leaders who can hit the ground running with knowledge of project management, problem-solving and facilitation skills will rapidly distinguish themselves from their peers. Lean Six Sigma teaches a disciplined approach to problem solving which…
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Have you wondered how retail stores have what you need regardless of how obscure it may be. A Fortune 100 company learned a valuable lesson when it switched from a distribution model to a direct-to-retail supplier. The problem they were trying to solve through this change was extended lead time which lead to empty retail…
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Have you experienced or heard of shared service consolidation failures? Shared Services is a concept that is easy to throw around but can be difficult to execute. Many of us have participated in a board room session to draw up a plan to share services among locations only to see it take longer to execute…
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How much time does your organization spend on finance, marketing and commercial strategy and execution? What about operations? Does it feel as if your operations functions are getting in the way of success? Are you sacrificing front-end initiatives due to poor financial performance from operations? What is your level of operational confidence? These are great…
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Taking cost out of your operations is easy, if you know where to look. But taking cost out consistently year-after-year can be very challenging, especially if your Corporate Strategy focuses only on bottom-line productivity as an alternative to top-line sales growth. I recall going through a particular difficult time during our annual productivity reviews. My…
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Powerful macro-economic forces are imposing changes across all business sectors; one could argue the transportation sector is experiencing the most drastic and rapidly changing conditions. Car makers have constantly shifted gears to adapt to consumer demand. Recent trends include autonomous vehicles, shared transportation, electrification, mass customization and increasing demand for data connectivity. Adding another layer…
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When I led a small fabricating and stamping operation in the Caribbean, I was particularly proud of our six. Okuma Vertical Milling (VMC) equipment. At the time, these were state of the art machines that could crank out between 4-8 parts under 15 minutes. This was a cry from previous cycle times which were more…
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Let’s say your organization overcomes a major obstacle that’s been dragging down service levels over the past quarter. Now it’s time for “high 5’s” all around, perhaps celebrate over a beer or glass of champagne. Then it’s back to business while keeping an eye on the key metrics just to avoid from slipping. Well, not…
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