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Archive for the ‘Process Improvement’ Category

Innovation and Kaizen: Problem Solving and the Rule of 72

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , , , , on January 31, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Innovation and Kaizen are related, and one goes with the other. Innovation deals with large changes while Kaizen carries out small daily continuous improvements

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How to Streamline your Business and Reduce Process Complexity

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , , , , , , on January 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Process maps can be used to reduce process complexity and streamline your business. By identifying steps that do not add value you can reduce complexity and error.

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Strategic Agility and the Lean Approach to Business

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , , , , on January 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Strategic agility is a business asset: the Lean approach and an outward focus can identify opportunities to improve growth and profitability with prompt action.

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Using a Business Process Model: 5 Steps for a Lean and Agile Business

Posted in Process Improvement, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Business Process Model: Using Demming’s PDCA model in improving your business using SPC and statistical process control techniques. A process model is the way to make your business lean and agile.  What does this mean?  It means you don’t make assumptions, but test.  Use the metrics and get the figures, and then change what isn’t [...]

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The rules to remember for process improvement

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , , on November 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

WHEN I began my career in business improvement I was trained in Lean Six Sigma. I quickly became a zealot, and was confused when people didn’t react the same way. “This is powerful stuff” I thought, “why wouldn’t you want to do it?” In a study published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in 2003, [...]

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A Q&A on the differences between small, medium and large organisations

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , on October 27, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Below is a quick question and answer I did for a colleague, on the differences and respective challenges of small, medium and large organisations. I have consulted to all three, and while do most of my work with large corporates there are similarities, but also important differences: 1. How are you? A. I’m well. Thanks [...]

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4 Principles of continuous improvement

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , , , on September 30, 2011 | 1 Comment »

1. Visual management. At first, finding problems to solve is relatively easy, but some have existed for so long that workarounds seem like standard practice. Rooting them out can be one of the greater challenges in later phases of the Continuous Improvement journey. The key is for people to be able to see problems when [...]

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The typical suggestion box

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , on September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Following on from the best practices are stupid meme, here is my take on why suggestion boxes don’t work from an upcoming white paper I am writing for publication in an inline journal: We have seen many companies where there is a “Suggestion Box” attached to a wall in the office or shop floor. This [...]

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On randomness and life

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , on September 26, 2011 | 1 Comment »

I am reading the crime thriller, Agent X, and was struck by this quote by the protagonist: “What most people call luck. To me it’s nothing more than a temporary statistical aberration. So far tonight I’ve had an unbelievable amount of bad luck, so maybe I am due.” Then during some casual blog reading about [...]

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Compounding returns of problem solving

Posted in Process Improvement, tagged , , on September 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »

STREAMLINING suggests the trimming of waste and excess, attention to every minute detail that might lead to improved performance and quality.  Problem solving clinics, or as I call it Team Problem Solving (TPS), is a process where you bring together your local front line team each month to work on key problems that are hampering [...]

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