Apr 1 2013
Here we go again! An article about Lean in machine shops today leads off with “In an increasingly competitive marketplace…,” I just could not read further. Has anyone ever met a market that was not “increasingly competitive”? I don’t believe that one ever existed 100 years ago, today, or will 100 years from now. Given that all markets always are “increasingly competitive,” stating it just wastes readers’ time, for which there is ever increasing competition…
Mar 17 2013
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
“One of the most common arguments against the adoption of lean is that it applies only to high volume manufacturing operations. Much of the literature available on the subject, as well as the close association with Toyota has created the misconception that lean is not applicable to organizations that deal with a small number of large projects or highly customized products or services.
There are three basic questions related to the application of lean that demonstrate that it is not dependent on the volume of product or services produced…”
Gregg Stocker’s perspective on the broad applicability of Lean.
See on leadingtransformation.wordpress.com
Mar 17 2013
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
The text of the article is informative, particularly about the use of a white board, but the picture does not show this white board. In fact, it seems unrelated to the article, as if the newspaper just slapped on a stock photo from a hospital.
As it is, however, this photo is a good reason for the quotes around the word “Lean.” It is an encyclopedia of work space design mistakes, with work surfaces at uneven and ergonomically inappropriate heights, causing people to stoop, or even squat to access the refrigerator. Not to mention empty space in the center and chairs.
See on www.thestarphoenix.com
Mar 16 2013
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
See on blogs.windsorstar.com
Apr 2 2013
Some Remarks on the History of Kanban | Alexei Zheglov
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
“The Kanban method as we know it today has many other influencers and origins besides Ohno and TPS. Two such influencers were of course W. Edwards Deming and Eliyahu Goldratt. Demings 14 Points and the System of Profound Knowledge guide Kanban change agents worldwide. […] Thus the “watershed” of the Kanban method circa 2013 has many “tributaries” of which the TPS is only one. Those other sources should be studied by those how want to apply the Kanban method effectively as change agents.”
It takes nerve to write this sort of things.
Among the tools of TPS, the Kanban system is the only one that has been covered in the media from the beginning to the point of overexposure, because it combines a clever idea with objects you can see and touch.
What some software people did is borrow the names of both Lean and Kanban and apply them to theories with at best a tenuous relationship to the original.
That it worked for them as a marketing technique is to their credit, but I would not advise anyone wanting to learn about the Kanban system to read Deming, Goldratt, or Drucker, who is also referenced.
And TPS is not a “tributary” of the Kanban method. It is the Kanban method that is a tool of TPS, and useful only in the proper context, in conjunction with other tools in a well-thought out implementation.
See on learningagileandlean.wordpress.com
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By Michel Baudin • Blog clippings • 7 • Tags: Kanban, Lean, Software