As a leader, a big part of your job is to solve problems as they come. There are many approaches and tools that can help in the area of problem solving which is the driving force behind continuous improvement. They range from the more complex Six Sigma methodologies to the simple A3 thinking approach.
Read more »A value stream map is tool that provides a high-level view of the important elements of an end-to-end process. Its primary goal is to identify waste and areas where improvement can be made in the existing operation. It is mainly used in manufacturing, however, it can also be applied in product development and service-related industries such as healthcare, hospitality and logistics.
Read more »Commitment to occupational health and safety is considered an important step toward achieving safe and productive working conditions. A safety audit checklist is a tool that will help to evaluate the safety conditions and practices in any workplace in accordance to common safety standards and regulations. It lists the safety criteria to be met in order to better address compliance gaps, and provides opportunities to improve the workplace environment.
Read more »This lean audit checklist is used to evaluate the progress made toward implementing lean in your facility. It helps you understand the strong areas as well as the areas that need to be improved. An action plan for improvement can then be developed and implemented. It uses a six-dimensional model that includes leadership, support systems, value stream, continuous improvement, lean techniques, and standard work. You may conduct lean audits on a periodic basis (for example, annually) or whenever it is needed.
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5S is an improvement tool for organizing and maintaining a disciplined and productive workplace. It helps creating a better working environment, reduces waste while improving efficiency, safety and quality. 5S represents five simple practices that starts with the letter ‘S’. It is commonly applied by manufacturing facilities in production lines, storage areas, maintenance areas, and office areas. It is now being increasingly applied by a wide variety of industries including health care, education, hospitality and retail.
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A Best Practice is that practice that has been proven to achieve the best results. It represents creative solutions to common problems and has the potential to be replicated internally and externally. Companies are able to learn from other successful organizations by adopting their best practices without the need to reinvent the wheel. Companies can also develop and share their own best practices and innovative solutions. Read more »
Standard work means working on standards to produce correct and consistent results. It represents the best sequence and the most efficient methods to perform a process. It is considered a way to achieve the highest possible degree of consistency in any process. The purpose is to ensure that everything is done by everyone in a similar manner and carry out the work that achieves the highest quality, best service and lowest cost possible. Read more »
Value is one of the most important concepts within Lean thinking and one of the most valuable outcomes Lean provides. Value Analysis focuses on what adds value to business processes as perceived by the customer. A process that does not add value to the product or service should be redesigned or eliminated altogether. Problem solving and continuous improvement efforts often focus on those aspects of processes that add no value to the customer and are therefore wasteful. Read more »
In a Lean culture, Waste is anything that doesn’t add value from the customer’s perspective. It includes activities and resources beyond what is needed to meet customer requirements. Waste Analysis involves identifying, quantifying, eliminating and preventing waste in manufacturing, service and office environments. Many Lean tools and techniques focus on continually identifying and eliminating these wastes to bring efficiency and effectiveness to existing processes, and this is one of the core principles of Lean thinking.
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A Value Stream Map (VSM) is a high-level visual representation of a business process. It helps to understand the flow of value in the process as perceived by the customer. Its primary goal is to identify and eliminate waste (Muda) and make the process as close to lean as possible. Although it is often associated with manufacturing, it can also be applied in product development and service-related industries such as healthcare, hospitality and logistics.
Read more »Visual Management is a technique that uses information displays, visual controls, labels and signs, color coding and other markings instead of written instructions. This visual management audit checklist will enable the observer to better address compliance gaps and provides an opportunity for continuous improvement. An effective audit should end up with a list of improvement actions that should be implemented to create a more effective visual management system at your workplace.
Read more »A Flow Process Chart is a representation showing the sequence of activities within a process. This type of process map is preferable when documenting sequential processes that contain few decisions. This template allows to record the steps of a process in a tabular format. It is often used to identify waste by analyzing the non-value adding steps, long delays and excessive transportation. It then produces performance indicators such as; total value added time, distance traveled for transport activities, and value stream ratio.
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