In times of e-workflow, real-time information, remote teams, and AI-supported decision-making, do we still need to go to the floor to see what is happening? At a recent plant visit, the operation manager proudly told me: “We have full transparency here. I can see everything from my computer. There … [Read more...] about Gemba Walk in the Smart Factory: Is Go-to-Floor Still Required?
Starting is Easy... Initiating an improvement program seems straightforward, just define the problem, create a plan, assign people, set dates, and watch the metrics move. Easy or not really? You might have seen (or done) this before: A program is kicked-off and communicated top-down with high … [Read more...] about Lean Transformation: 3 Steps to Get Everyone Involved
+25% Output, -50% Losses, at 44% Absenteeism: Despite the global pandemic and mandatory lockdown, the French operations team harnessed scarce resources and delivered breakthrough results. Applying out-of-the-box thinking, while exploiting newly developed Lean capabilities increased output by … [Read more...] about Covid-19 Lean Thinking, Radically Changes Way of Working
Over 30 managers joined the summit in Copenhagen to systematically improve performance and sustainability of Trioplast's production of industrial, hygiene, stretch film, and carrier bags. During four breakout sessions, focus teams identified failure modes of known issues and key levers to raise … [Read more...] about World Class Manufacturing Summit: Cut Plastic Waste
Factory Maturity Assessment (FMA) for a major Korean Automotive supplier to baseline the current state and develop the transformation roadmap to become a Digital Factory end-to-end. The onsite assessment “Fresh Eyes Review” served a dual purpose: benchmarking the operation, while laying … [Read more...] about The Digital Factory: Drafting Roadmap for Korean Plant
Only 30% Initiatives Succeed, 70% Fail: Most organizational change efforts cost more and take longer than leaders and managers anticipate; two of three transformations fail. But why? Research by John Kotter in Leading Change (1996) and a large survey of 3199 executives by McKinsey (2008) … [Read more...] about Change Management: The 7 Key Success Factors
Designing a better factory: automotive suppliers producing commodity products need to win on cost and scale, find new niches, and go beyond the automotive core. And those in highly differentiated segments need to lead performance innovation and find a new path into the future (Deloitte). … [Read more...] about Future Factory Workshop for Automotive Japan
Visual management refers to the placement of tools, parts, processes, indicators in view, so the status of the system can be understood at a glance. Visual management devices relay information through signals (cards, marks, lights, bins) instead of reports. Visual management is often faster, … [Read more...] about Visual Management: Efficiency from Transparency