10 Key Technologies for Lean Process Improvement
Posted by: meikah | 8 March 2010 | 8:20 pm
Technology has indeed made life easier for all of us. With Web 2.0, sales and marketing have become a breeze. With the latest software, processes have become easier.
In the case of Six Sigma, for example, Apple has made Six Sigma applications available to iPhone users and on iTunes.
I stumbled upon Nari Kannan’s article on the ten key technologies for Lean Process Improvement. Again technology can play a big part in a lean process. Below is the list.
- The Internet
- Wireless connectivity
- Automated workflow systems
- Scanning and digitization
- Service-oriented architectures
- Document management systems
- Business process monitoring and measurement
- Business process management systems
- Business rules systems
- Online CRM systems/self-service FAQ system
Filed under: Processes, Technology, Lean, Six Sigma
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Get Your Complete Lean Package from Gemba Academy
Posted by: meikah | 1 March 2010 | 9:38 pm
Gemba Academy is celebrating it’s first year anniversary. To celebrate a year of success, they are giving anyone that purchases an online subscription to a single course or to the Complete Lean Package an accompanying DVD or DVDs at no cost.
This is one cool promo that you shouldn’t miss!
Find out more about the promo here.
Happy anniversary Gemba Academy!
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Ron Pereira, Lean, Six Sigma, Gemba Academy
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Systems2win Releases Lean Starter Toolkit
Posted by: meikah | 10 February 2010 | 2:16 am
Systems2win, supplier of Excel Templates for Lean Kaizen Continuous improvement tools, introduces the Lean Starter Toolkit. The toolkit includes a selection of downloadable templates, videos and instructions.
It is a free downloadable trial package that covers 5S, A3, Kaizen, Project Management, Flowcharts, Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work and Lean Training. This offering is part of the larger series of templates and visuals offered by Systems2win and our relevant to any type of organization pursuing a continuous improvement effort.
The overall goal of the Lean Starter Toolkit is to educate how lean tools and concepts can be adapted and used in the user’s environment. Users will self-validate their knowledge, raise awareness on which and how the tools are utilized, and be introduced to Lean and other continuous improvement tools. There are eleven different categories that your Lean journey takes from an Excel Starting page to customization. These categories are:
- Get Started
- 5S
- A3
- Kaizen
- Project
- Flowcharts
- 6Sigma
- Value Stream Mapping
- Standard Work
- Lean Training
- Customize
Filed under: Tools/Toolkits, Lean, Six Sigma
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How Lean Banking Goes
Posted by: meikah | 8 February 2010 | 9:17 pm
An article on iSixSigma shows what really goes on with Lean banking. That it is not always a single piece-flow process is true.
Filed under: Finance, iSixSigma, Lean, Six Sigma
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Lean at the Operating Room
Posted by: meikah | 27 January 2010 | 9:09 pm
Lean has been associated with manufacturing and its use in the factory floor. But people discover that Lean can also be used in the service industry.
An article on iSixSigma Healthcare shows us how Lean can be used in the operating room, for example. Here’s an excerpt of the article.
Recently one healthcare organization had a goal to decrease its turnover time in the operating room. The use of Lean tools eliminated waste, idle time and efforts that added no value from the patients’ or physicians’ perspective. Additionally, visual indicators were put in place to help reduce errors and rework. The team for this project was able to immediately reduce the turnover time by 50 percent – with minimal investment and without any changes to the hospital or departmental IT systems.
Lean Tools Have Healthcare Applications
In a Lean organization, processes and value streams associated with services, products and patient care are continually evaluated for waste. Such waste is then attacked with a vengeance using a number of industry-proven tools, such as:
- Pull systems and “flow” to improve throughput in areas such as labs and other places with paperwork-intensive processes.
- SMED techniques applied to changeover time improvements in operating rooms. (SMED comes from the manufacturing industry and stands for “single minute exchange of die.”)
- Poka-Yoke, aimed at reducing the opportunity for errors and omissions.
- 5-S, used to rearrange/reorganize nursing stations and other healthcare workplaces for greater efficiency.
Filed under: Healthcare, Lean, Six Sigma
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Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy: Get on that Lean-thinking Hat
Posted by: meikah | 20 January 2010 | 8:53 pm
During the NRF 99th Annual Convention & Expo, Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy shared 10 essential management lessons.
On Number 6, Leahy talked about connecting together people, process, and system. This is what organizations often fail to do.
And on Number 7, he encourages everyone to employ Lean thinking to address bottlenecks and fix the disconnects in productivity.
Filed under: Lean, Six Sigma, Tesco, Productivity
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SixSig Reference Feature: 5 Ways ERP Can Help You Implement Lean
Posted by: meikah | 12 January 2010 | 8:17 pm
EPICOR brings you this whitepaper about the five ways ERP can help you implement Lean.
Becoming Lean has been a goal of most companies over the last few years. Why is Lean so popular? Lean delivers what companies really need in today’s highly competitive world - shorter lead times, improved quality, reduced cost, increased profit, improved productivity and better customer service.
But there are about as many definitions of Lean as there are companies trying to get there. Before we enter into a discussion of how Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can help in a Lean initiative, it might be helpful to put Lean in perspective and agree on some basic definitions.
Filed under: Lean, Six Sigma, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
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The SixSig Roundup
Posted by: meikah | 11 January 2010 | 8:17 pm
It’s time again for some link-loving and see what other blogs are saying about Six Sigma, Lean, Lean Six Sigma and other quality improvement processes.
Over at A Very Beautiful Place, a post describes how Six Sigma RDMAIC can be used to connect people to sustainability. Continue reading…
Lean Blog has an interesting post about the latest shake up of the Jay Leno-Conon O’Brien on NBC. Mark Graban applies a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) to pop-culture. Continue reading…
RXid shows us why a Six Sigma-based quality system may be the answer for pharmaceutical companies. Continue reading…
On Today’s Six Sigma, a post talks about doing product innovations through powerful problem statements. Continue reading…
The Lean Thinker shares Mark Graban’s post on the 10 Lean things not to say this 2010. Continue reading…
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Lean, Quality, Six Sigma
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Lean Management in Universities
Posted by: meikah | 6 January 2010 | 11:48 pm
Two Ohio universities will be offering lean management and Six Sigma programs this year: the University of Dayton Research Institute’s Center for Competitive Change and Miami University’s Corporate & Community Institute.
The first session begins Jan. 25 at the University of Dayton and is for a Six Sigma black belt.
The purpose of the programs is to help organizations stay and succeed in America by achieving business and operational excellence.
Filed under: Lean, Six Sigma
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Lean Culture of E-Z-GO Makes It Best Plant of the Year
Posted by: meikah | 16 December 2009 | 7:47 pm
IndustryWeek names E-Z-GO as one of 2009’s Best Plants of the Year. Some of the reasons that E-Z-GO is named as such are:
- is maintaining a Lean corporate culture
- is relentlessly pursuing continuous improvement
- has progressed toward key company goals
- has motivated achievement of breakthroughs in operating performance and customer satisfaction
- has implemented numerous quality-control processes using Six Sigma methodologies, leading to a plant-wide first-time quality rate of greater than 98 percent
