When Layout Is the Real Problem If your plant feels like organized chaos – constant firefighting, late deliveries, excess WIP, increased operating costs despite process improvements – odds are the layout is part of the issue. Many manufacturers try to solve missing delivery dates, fighting WIP pileups, or spending too much time (and money) moving…
Manufacturers are obsessed with waste. Scrap. Downtime. Defects. All of it matters. But in my experience, the biggest waste is the one almost no one talks about: not using the knowledge and capability of your people. The Manufacturing Waste You Don’t See You walk into a plant and see the usual problems: quality issues, long…
Most leaders don’t realize they’re in the change business. They think they’re launching a new product. Rolling out a new process. Hitting a new revenue target. What they’re actually doing is leading change—whether they recognize it or not. And that distinction matters. Because when you treat an initiative like an isolated goal instead of the…
Building Lean Culture: Why Relationships Drive Team Trust & Engagement
A few months ago, I worked with a client that had done everything right — on paper. The leadership team rolled out a new continuous improvement system with clear goals, strong messaging, and full commitment. But something wasn’t clicking. When we visited the floor, it was clear: leaders weren’t present. The system wasn’t visible in…
Most organizations launch continuous improvement (CI) with energy. There are kickoff events, training programs, and leadership speeches about the importance of change. But six months later? Silence. The boards stop getting updated. The problem-solving cadence slips. The energy fades. And frontline employees go back to the way things were before. So what happened? The Hardest…
Leadership development is the linchpin of sustaining lean transformation. It’s the behaviors, mindsets, and actions of your organization’s leaders that determine whether lean principles take root and become part of your company’s DNA. While lean transformations often focus on tools and techniques like Kaizen events, 5S, and value stream mapping, these operational improvements can’t thrive…
Once, early in my career, I was standing above a Toyota assembly line in Japan. Looking down at the plant floor, I realized that at any given time, a hundred different kinds of vehicles were rolling off the line. I felt like being there and seeing all of this was essentially akin to giving away…
SOLUTION AREA: Leadership and Change Management
Whether we want to admit it or not, people are an organization’s most significant asset. The current world environment has made it even more difficult to retain talent, so finding ways to enhance job satisfaction and employee loyalty through employee engagement is critical.
SOLUTION AREA: Leadership & Change Management
Now is a difficult time for almost all businesses. Some are shuttered and experiencing the worst economic trauma imaginable. For others, the demand for their products might be soaring, but the health and well-being of their employees seems almost impossible to ensure. Each of these situations have employees, managers, and executives in places that they could not have imagined just a few months ago.
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