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Revenue versus Profit: The Business of Making Money
Todd MacAdam, Aug 06
Too many companies today are cost focused, so much so that they sacrifice profits to reduce costs! Other companies are revenue focused, growing the business regardless of costs! This article highlights some of the dangers companies will face if they fail to lose sight of the goal: profit.
Cheat Your Way to Success!
Todd MacAdam, Apr 06
Four simple strategies to ensure that your new strategy avoids some of the pitfalls that can cause the strategy to fail.
Lean and Six Sigma - A One-Two Punch
Bonnie Smith, Aug 04
Sick of hearing Lean and Six Sigma consultants argue over which approach is better? Although Smith spends more time highlighting the strengths of Six Sigma than Lean, she does a nice job of illustrating how they work well together.
Phases of Lean Transformation
Todd MacAdam, Apr 03
Not sure how to start your Lean transformation, or which Lean tools are right for your organization? This article will help you with both!
Create a Lean, Mean Machine
George Alukal, Apr 03
This article highlights the benefits of adopting a Lean strategy, and why it is so important in today's business world. However, the article is loaded with poor and outright incorrect definitions (lead time, one piece flow, etc.) and the recommended implementation strategies (such as OEE, mass training, etc.) are misguided.
The Benefits of Flow
Todd MacAdam, Feb 03
An article discussing why Single Piece Flow is the most powerful tool in the Lean toolbox.
Focused Factory or Flexible Manufacturing System?
Qiang Lu, Sep 02
A very hard to read article that poorly compares these two manufacturing styles.
Application of Lean Manufacturing Techniques for the Design of the Aircraft Assembly Line
Victoria Elena Gastelum, Jun 02
A very detailed article describing Boeing's Lean implementation strategy. Although this article is packed with useful information, readers need to beware analysis paralysis. For example, EP (Economic Profit) calculations can be very useful, but most Lean implementations give such large returns for so little cost that these calculations are frequently a waste of time.
Read a Plant - Fast
R. Eugene Goodson, May 02
An excellently written article and a must read for anyone in the business of evaluating suppliers or possible acquisitions. For those not fulfilling those roles, the article is still a good read as it gives some great pointers as to what the focus of all employees should be in a truly Lean organization.
Tesco.com: Delivering home shopping
Daniel T. Jones, May 01
This interview demonstrates the benefits that can be derived from having a Lean system, by allowing rapid response to customers.
Quick Response Manufacturing: A Competitive Strategy for the 21st Century
Rajan Suri, Apr 01
A seriously misguided article in which the author describes QRM as the next evolution from Lean. However, the author falsely equates Lean to JIT, and spends the majority of the article describing Lean strategy and calling it by a different name (QRM). The only new concept presented in this article, POLCA, is an interesting strategy that is ultimately more complicated and less effective than using multiple FIFO lanes.
When Value Stream Mapping Doesn't Work
Steve Withers, Oct 01
An excellent article that describes some business processes where value stream mapping should not be the tool of choice. Unfortunately, the article does not point out the right tool for the job. For office environments, consider Office Mapping, a value stream mapping variant. For product development and other engineering processes, a deliverables roadmap is an excellent tool.
Understanding Value Stream Mapping
Steve Withers, Nov 00
If you are not familiar with the process of value stream mapping, this article gives an excellent description.
Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System
Steven Spear and H. Kent Bowen, Oct 99
Published in the Harvard Business Review, this excellent article examines Toyota's outstanding system of standard work and how they used this system to improve productivity and drive defects from their production process.
If you have an article that you would like us to post on our website, please email it as an attachement to articles@leansolutions.info.
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