Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, those of us in Continuous Improvement roles have had to rethink how we can continue on our improvement journey. For many of us, team collaboration in the same physical space has proven to be a very effective way to engage employees, surface problems, collaborate…
Fishbone + Ishikawa = Fishikawa! We know him best for this essential root cause tool, but did you know Dr. Ishikawa developed the first Kaizens, aka Rapid Improvement Events? And where would we be without his 7 Basic Quality Tools? Check out this Fishbone Webinar created in his honor and…
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead Fellow Lean community practitioners, as the recent Coronavirus outbreak is showing us, there is a tremendous gap between the current situation and the state of…
I reached out to the broader Lean Six Sigma community to find out how they’re putting their collective skills to use during the COVID-19 fallout. I wanted to hear from them for myself, but also to bring that wisdom to our learners. This group is experiencing the pandemic in different…
If you have ever read a Lean book, blog or article, you’ll know that “value” is defined by the customer. While often referenced, we don’t spend enough time thinking about what this really means. What Do Customers Truly Want? Henry Ford reportedly once said, “If I’d asked my customers what…
In a recent blog by Mark Reich, Senior Coach for the Lean Enterprise Institute, he harps on an experience circa 1994 where he reminisces on a life-long lesson on how a do-first mentality can bring more value to improving a process than coaching advice. With no engineering experience, Reich, an…
The National Productivity Centre of Nigeria has two goals: boosting economic development and improving the standard of living. By partnering with the Japanese Government, a journey begins in applying Kaizen, hinted by at the 2nd Productivity Promotion Seminar on Application of Japanese KAIZEN Concept for Productivity Improvement in Lagos, Nigeria.…
The Naval Surface Warfare Center recently hosted a Rapid Improvement Event and gathered personnel from various departments that deal with hazardous materials (HAZMAT) in an effort to improve cycle time, safety and overall performance for the future. Led by James Schwartz, NSWC PHD CPI Lean Six Sigma MBB, the group's…