What Your #Mother Can Teach You About #Lean TAGS: 5S | behavior | chad | clean | consulting | family | lean | lean blitz | management | may | mother's day | organize | quality | reward | safety | time studies | tools | visual | walters Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out in the world – if it wasn’t for your mother, you wouldn’t be here to read this. It’s an understatement that my …Continue reading →

Imagery of Poka-Yoke TAGS: cable | computer | consulting | continuous improvement | defects | error | feedback | hdmi | imgur | lean | lean blitz | mistake | operations | orientation | plug | poka | poka-yoke | pokayoke | process | proofing | rca | rework | scrap | sports | stereo | technology | time | tools | toy | usb | wastes | yoke A quick little background on “poka-yoke.” Also written by others as “pokayoke” or “poka yoke,” it all refers to error-proofing or mistake-proofing. And what do those terms mean? Why, making …Continue reading →

A Lamborghini & Process vs. System TAGS: activities | adding | blitz | bolster | capabilities | consulting | continuous | difference | driving | fancy | flow | gold | hammer | improvement | information | lamborghini | lean | management | metaphor | operations | optimization | optimize | procedures | process | productivity | scenarios | significant | six sigma | sports | subaru | success | system | tools | value | waste | wheel I have encountered multiple scenarios in my career where upper management was under the impression that putting in fancy new systems and technology would dramatically boost productivity and the quickness …Continue reading →

Know Why You’re Being Paid TAGS: accounting | baits | barista | blitz | brand | burger | burgers | bushes | coffee | concession | contract | customer | defect | delicious | demand | expectation | exterminator | flip | follow | guarantee | hunger | infestation | investment | landscape | lawns | lean | machine | memories | money | mow | operations | paid | pictures | process | rats | refund | repair | research | resources | roof | satisfaction | save | six sigma | sports | stand | starbucks | status | symbol | taxes | time | tools | traps | trim | wedding | why This past weekend I visited some friends in Columbia, South Carolina and they shared horror stories of a trio of rats that have invaded their house’s walls. One of those …Continue reading →

State of the Lean Blitz Blog: April 2012 TAGS: activities | alignment | apparel | atlanta | audience | augusta | baseball | baseball winter meetings | basketball | bat | ben hill | blitz | blue | braun | braves | championship | club | cnbc.com | columbus | comments | communication | concessions | consultants | continuous | customer | darren rovell | david schoenfield | dayton | e-book | elmore | email | espn.com | experience | facebook | five whys | followers | football | georgia | giveaway | golf | google | greenjackets | group | hot dog | improvement | jackets | jersey | knowledge | lean | locker room | manufacturing | mascot | masters | merchandise | minor league | moneyball | movie | national | ncaa | notre dame | ohio | operations | pin flag | plus | principles | process | questions | respond | ryan | satisfaction | season | service | seth godin | silver hawks | six sigma | sneezers | Soccer | south bend | sports | sportsbiz | steroids | subscribers | subscriptions | sweetspot | t-shirt | tools | tournament | toyota way | twitter | waste | wastes I figured that since the blog is between 5-6 months old now that I provide a “state of the blog” address – what has changed since the blog first kicked …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #2: Continuous Flow TAGS: 2 | 5S | activities | balancing | blitz | capabilities | continuous | flow | ideal | insulation | lean | load | operations | operators | principle | process | products | services | six sigma | state | stockouts | tools | toyota | waiting | waste | wasteful | way | wip | work in process This image, used as a depiction of a process with minimal waste, was first examined last week with regard to defining what lean is. This timeline shows an ideal state …Continue reading →

The 14 Lean Principles from The Toyota Way TAGS: augusta | blitz | club | consensus | continuous | continuous improvement | controls | customers | decisions | develop | employee | engagement | flow | gemba | golf | lean | learning | liker | masters | meier | national | operations | overproduction | partners | philosophy | principles | process | pull | reflection | reliable | six sigma | standardized | suppliers | technology | tools | toyota | understand | visual | way | work When I first started the Lean Blitz blog, I jumped right into the lean wastes and initial discussion of the lean tools. Looking back, what I should have done was …Continue reading →

Lean Tools: What Does Sort Look Like at a Stadium Office? TAGS: 5S | blitz | broken | computers | discard | discipline | documentation | equipment | inventory | lean | literature | office | operations | organize | peripherals | process | raw materials | recycling | schedules | set in order | shelves | shine | six sigma | sort | sports | stadium | standardize | supplies | sustain | tools (See previous installments about 5S here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. This is a continuation of deeper dives into the lean tools.) Remember, the definition of sort is …Continue reading →

Lean Tools: TPM and Computer Maintenance Tips from Lifehacker TAGS: adapter | blitz | computer | critical | defrag | defragment | dell | graduate school | hardware | lean | lifehacker | microsoft | office | operations | outlet | process | replacement | slow | slowdown | software | sports | tools | total productive maintenance | virus scan | wireless How often do you get frustrated by a seemingly-young computer that becomes inflicted with chronic slowness? Do you own a computer that you anticipate replacing after three or less years …Continue reading →

Lean Tools: 5S, Sort, and Make the Clutter Stop! TAGS: 5S | blitz | cabinets | clubhouse | clutter | concessions | countertops | doors | freezer | hardware | lean | leanblitz | locker rooms | maintenance | operations | processes | refrigerator | shed | shelves | six sigma | sort | sports | stairwells | tools | workspace So we covered Sort in yesterday’s post but because it’s the first step in 5S we need to make sure we do it right and leave no stone unturned. We must …Continue reading →

Lean Tools: 5S Will Revolutionize Your Workspace (Or Your Money Back) TAGS: 5S | blitz | fixtures | lean | map | organizations | processes | safety | scan | set in order | shine | sort | sports | standardize | steady state | straighten | sustain | tools (This is the first in a series of posts about the lean tools.) So now we know about the lean wastes and how they are the enemy of productivity and …Continue reading →