AllAboutLean.com

To control any kind of system, you need to know its status. For a simple system like heating, the indoor temperature may be the key input. For something as complex as manufacturing, however, there could be a myriad of different measurements that can help you to control the system. In this context, KPIs (key performance indicators) become crucial, offering a structured way to monitor various aspects of operation, from safety and quality to productivity and cost. Ensuring the right balance and focus among these KPIs can lead to more informed decision-making and enhanced operational efficiency. In this post I would like to dig deeper on what KPIs are good, and how you can go wrong with ...

I am very excited to announce that my latest book has just been published: All About Work Standards: Creating, Implementing, Maintaining, and Improving Work Standards, Toyota Standard Work, and Leader Standard Work for Continuous Improvement! This book is a practical and utilitarian guide to creating, implementing, maintaining, and improving work standards, the key to continuous improvement. It includes examples from a broad range of industries, and explains the difference between work standards and Toyota Standard Work. The book also explores Leader Standard Work, including its purpose, potential, and limitations. This hands-on resource is essential for practitioners, students, and researchers in lean manufacturing. I hope this book will help you on your lean journey! Available on Amazon as hardcover, paperback, and ebook. https://lnkd.in/e5Prezfw

The Total Link System Chart (TLSC) is a tool used by Toyota to show the multiple connections on the "when," "why," "how," and "what"—not only of a production system but also in all business reforms at Toyota. While used often at Toyota, it is nearly unknown in the Western world. Time to look at the Total Link System Chart in more detail. #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

In my last post, I started to look at factors that affect the efficiency of your line, in particular the percentage of value-added time by the operators. For this I have a good data set with fifty-three different observations. One major factor was the speed of the line. Faster lines are not only easier to optimize, but they also yield more benefit for the optimization. In this post I will look at group size, as well as comparing Japan and Germany, final assemblies with subassemblies, and passenger cars with commercial vehicles. #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

Whenever I visit a factory where manual work is done, I try to estimate the percentage of value-adding time. This brings up an interesting question: What factors do affect the percentage of value-adding time? Let’s dig through my data to see what matters. #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

As part of my Grand Tour of German Automotive, I also visited the Volkswagen Transparent Factory Dresden (Gläserne Manufaktur). This plant is something of an oddball in automotive manufacturing, very different from all other automotive plants I have seen. Its purpose is quite different from "normal" car plants, and hence it cannot really be compared to a normal car plant. But it does fulfill its purpose rather well, albeit not quite cheaply. Let me show you this unusual plant... #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

The Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück is actually the plant of the former cabriolet specialist Karmann, which went bankrupt in 2009 and was bought by Volkswagen. It is the specialist plant for the Volkswagen brand for cabriolets... but the Volkswagen brand will stop making cabriolets in 2025. It is also the overflow plant if other VW plants need more capacity... but VW itself has overcapacity. As a result, the plant suffers from a lack of love and especially money for investments from the Volkswagen headquarters. Hence, the plant looks run-down. But despite these disadvantages, the organization itself was decent, and better than in Wolfsburg or the Audi plants. #allaboutlean ...

Yet another year has passed, and AllAboutLean.com is now eleven years old! Every year I am surprised that I again managed to write and publish 52 blog posts, one for every week. And, by writing I mean actually writing, not just AI-generated text garbage. This is now the 579th post on this site! Since day one my goal has been to spread knowledge of lean, and based on the success of AllAboutLean.com, it seems to be working :). #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

In the previous post we looked at the potential problems when using an OEE for line balancing. Now, in the fourth post on line balancing, we actually use the OEE to create target cycle times (or, alternatively, a target line takt) for our system before we start balancing the system in the next post. #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma

The last plant of BMW I visited in Germany was in Spandau, Berlin. This was different from BMW Munich and Leipzig. For one, it makes motorbikes, not cars. But its performance was also not as stellar as the best of (German) benchmark plants Leipzig and Munich. But despite some issues, it still performed on an equal level with German car plants. Let's dig deeper. #allaboutlean #operationalexcellence #leanmanufacturing #leansixsigma