As a customer, you know how you feel when a supplier lets you down by giving you poor service or by failing to deliver the right quantity and quality product at the right time. When the shoe is on the other foot and you are the supplier we see it different. These situations usually mean
READ MOREBusinesses love numbers and every good business manager loves metrics. After all, the old adage, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” still holds true in most management circles. However, a singular focus on metrics and worse, concentration on wrong metrics, keeps getting executives in trouble. But here’s the key thing about numbers: they tell
READ MOREOn Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
READ MOREOn The Lean Edge Blog this week a reader asked how to take Lean into product development: A consumer-products company has recently begun its Lean journey by focusing on Lean fundamentals starting on the shop floor (standard work, 1-piece flow, pull, work to Takt). The company is simultaneously refreshing its product portfolio. Although the cross-functional
READ MOREThere’s a fine line between being a team player and ending up as the official doormat of your workplace. Most of the time, when your coworkers ask for your help, it’s because they’re genuinely too busy with important work to get everything on their plate done on schedule. Maybe their responsibilities expanded because cutbacks caused
READ MOREOn Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
READ MOREOur good friend Mark Hamel has a new project that I would like to share with you. The Blog We would like to announce a new entrant into the lean blogosphere, it’s called Lean Math (leanmath.com). We know what you’re thinking, “Lean Math?!” Now, that’s a subject that evokes passion in the heart of every
READ MOREToday, I am happy to introduce another guest post by Mike Wilson from Creative Safety Supply. Mike enjoys blogging and reading about the lean manufacturing niche. He is invested in Creative Safety Supply, known for its safety products to help manufacturers with their 5S and Lean Projects. Mike is going to talk about the importance of 5S,
READ MOREFor my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips. It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to
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