Lean ← Anthony DoMoe

Understanding and Managing Resistance to Change in Industrial Transformation

Sep

9

2022

As we lead our organizations through the Industrial Transformation (IX) process, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the promises of Industry 4.0. Production boosts, quality improvements, and reduction of equipment downtime are enticing changes in the right direction, and in our current economic landscape these improvements are needed more than ...

Strike While the Iron is Hot! 4

Jul

9

2017

Many of us have heard these mantras (or some version of them): “People like change, but nobody wants to change” or “People want to do change, but don’t want change done to them” I live in a home with 5 adults, three children, two dogs, six chicken and a cat. Needless to say, there are ...

Challenges With Data 1

Jun

5

2017

A recent article in Harvard Business Review calls to attention some of the challenges inherent in analyzing Human Resources data. The writer, Peter Cappelli, points out that analysis of HR data is hampered by a variety of factors including legal issues encountered when crossing international borders, lack of abundant data, and a sense that not ...

Process Flow and Pet Peeves 1

Nov

20

2016

One of the driving factors of a Lean process is the concept of “flow”. The improvement of flow will lead to reduced waste throughout your process. One easy way to visualize the gains that are possible with a flow improvement is to observe a simple process that isn’t set up with flow in mind. One ...

Improve Your 6M Analysis 1

Sep

6

2016

Can a tool forced to fit a catchy acronym actually work? I’ve lately found myself conducting a lot of 6M analyses… You know, the Ishikawa/Cause & Effect Diagram/Fishbone Analysis. It is a great tool to look a little deeper into the causes of problems. It can be used to do root cause analysis, or it ...

The 5S Fly-by 1

Aug

17

2016

Continuous Improvement is challenging. It seems some days as if there just isn’t enough time, and although there is a never-ending list of improvement opportunities some days you just can’t seem to get anything done. But there is something you can do about it. I call it the “5S Fly-by”. A 5S Fly-by can be ...

How Respect Influences Engagement 2

Aug

4

2016

I recently conducted a 5S workshop and encountered what is commonly referred to as “the frozen middle” (mid-level managers who, either intentionally or unintentionally impede change). While working with my team to design our new process flow, a member of our front-line leadership team walked past us and commented that our design “would never work” ...

Perfect Bacon, Every Time! 3

Jul

27

2016

You may not think of Bacon as a “lean” product. Get ready for a pig surprise! While researching sources for color-coded cleaning equipment for a set of shadow boards, I made an interesting discovery. Our friends at Munsell Color have found a great use for one of their products by using a color chart to ...

Lean Dating 5

Jul

25

2016

What is “Lean Dating”, and how do you get in on this magical system? I’m happily married so I don’t get to suffer the “joys” of dating any more. But if I’m ever cloned, I’ve got some good advice lined up for my “other me”: Date lean. How? First off, I’d use a “pull” system. ...

PICK a Winner!

Jul

22

2016

An Impact/Effort Matrix (also known as a PICK Chart) is a great way to prioritize improvement opportunities that are identified by your project team. This tool classifies items by Impact (high or low) and Effort (again, high or low). The chart below shows one way to implement a PICK chart: The labeling in the chart ...