Agility and Lean aren’t the same thing…
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
4M ago
but they are related. As this article reports, we still don’t have enough of either. From the article: “A rebound anytime soon is unlikely as manufacturers in the ISM survey mostly described inventories as bloated. “This implies the goods sector overestimated demand and production could slow further in the next few months, though that too could reflect lingering strike effects if auto parts piled up when production was idled,” said Will Compernolle, macro strategist at FHN Financial in New York.” Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The post Agility and Lean aren’t the same thing… appeared first on Lean ..read more
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My “How to Get Started with Lean” series
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
4M ago
Back in the fall, I started a “How to Get Started in Lean” series for Plastics Machinery and Manufacturing.  I’ve posted my first two installments (links below).  I’m working to make these an easy to follow, step-by-step guide.   They’re posted in a plastics journal, of course, but they’ll be relevant to any manufacturing firm. How to Get Started in Lean: Part 1 How to Get Started in Lean: Part 2 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The post My “How to Get Started with Lean” series appeared first on Lean Manufacturing Update ..read more
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Brand new article in Industry Week…Is The Best Award No Award?
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
Ron and I added a new member to the writing team…Brandon Davis.  Brandon is the general ops manager for NOV Texas Oil Tools in Conroe, TX.  That operation was just awarded one of Industry Week’s Best Plants Awards, so Brandon knows whereof he speaks.  (You’ll enjoy his story of the pit barbecue competition he sponsored at his operations.) Here’s the article! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The post Brand new article in Industry Week…Is The Best Award No Award? appeared first on Lean Manufacturing Update ..read more
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Why Is Lean So Damn Hard?
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio The quick answer is…it’s not. It’s getting operators to put their tools back on a shadow board.  It’s getting supervisors and managers to regularly walk around the plant floor.  That’s not all of it, of course, but it’s pretty close. So, why isn’t every manufacturing operation in the nation “lean”? I don’t have a clear answer to the question.  As with the examples above, any lean implementation is basically just changing a bunch of behaviors.  Of course, the same is true regarding my efforts to lose 25 pounds…I just need to change certain behavior ..read more
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We’re #5 (And #12!)
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
Articles written by my friend and co-author Ron Jacques and I received some notoriety recently.  Two of our articles were among Industry Week’s 13 most read pieces on lean in 2022.    Here’s the link.  After reading our articles, be sure to read the other eleven! Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The post We’re #5 (And #12!) appeared first on Lean Manufacturing Update ..read more
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So…What’s Your Problem with 5S?
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
Photo by Jake Nebov on Unsplash I was just responding to a post on LinkedIn that included a poll one was to respond to after reading the following question: Picture that an exhaustive, scientific study was conducted at your company. It conclusively showed that 5S/Workplace Organization efforts require significantly more time, money, and effort than just letting people wing it. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the cost differences are so vast that closing this efficiency gap is impossible. If the study’s validity was beyond question, what would your decision be and why? I responded th ..read more
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Forget “Efficiency”! Think “Density of Value Transfer”!
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
I don’t read many books on lean.  Most of them are pretty boring, truth be told. That said, I’ve had one on my “To Read” pile that was recommended by a client.  It’s been there for several months, so I decided to take a look…mostly just to get it off the pile. As it turns out, the book (This Is Lean; Niklas Modig and Par Ahlstrom, 2018) has turned out to be  interesting.  The fact that it quickly tells readers to forget about efficiency and to focus on flow caught my attention.  I’ve been preaching this same message for years. A new idea (new to me, at any rate) that ..read more
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Checklists Can Change Your Company’s Culture
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
There probably aren’t many topics more mundane than checklists, right? Well, in our latest Industry Week article, Ron Jacques and I explain how checklists can actually change your workplace culture to one of more engagement and better problem solving! Check it out here. You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The post Checklists Can Change Your Company’s Culture appeared first on Lean Manufacturing Update ..read more
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Process Mapping and Culture Change
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
First, it’s amazing how quickly time can fly between blog posts.  I would have bet my last one was no more than three weeks ago. I just finished a gig that involved a facilitating three process mapping teams. Here’s how that got carried out: Leadership picked three core strategic processes. Three process mapping teams (PMT’s) were launched. The PMT’s developed a project charter, a current state map of the process they were to target, an analysis of the variances of the current state map, and recommendations for improving the process. The PMT’s reviewed the recommendations with leadership ..read more
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“Work Intensification” Isn’t Lean
Lean Manufacturing Update
by Rick Bohan
1y ago
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash A few weeks ago, I posted about an article,  written by someone who referred to himself as a Marxist.  That article was a critique of lean.  It emphasized the point that lean was mostly about “work intensification” that was unsafe and unhealthy for workers.  I was a bit puzzled by that critique;  I’ve always told clients that lean leads to a calmer, less intense work environment.  I couldn’t figure out whence the accusation of making work more intense came from. I’ve been reading a book, Just Another Car Factory?, about the lean ..read more
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