Category: Uncategorized

Choose the Appropriate Tools for Localized Problems Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic In many organizations, the introduction of improvement tools is accompanied by enthusiasm and momentum. Teams attend training sessions, new terminology enters daily conversations, and improvement initiatives begin to appear across the enterprise. This energy can be valuable. But…

Build a file/database of improvement results that can be shared with others. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Organizations often work very hard to solve the same problems over and over again. A team in one plant improves a process. Another group, somewhere else in the organization, struggles with the same…

Ensure that correct tools are selected and utilized to solve the most important problems affecting customer satisfaction — quality, cost and delivery. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic In every organization there comes a moment when activity begins to masquerade as progress. The walls fill with charts. Teams gather around whiteboards….

Eliminate metrics that drive inappropriate and counterproductive behaviors and decisions (when empowered to do so). Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Metrics rarely fail on their own.  They do exactly what they are designed to do. The problem is that people do exactly what the metrics ask.  Over time, the measure…

Identify ergonomic, safety or employee satisfaction issues that may slow or jeopardize improvement efforts.  Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Most improvement efforts don’t stall because the plan is weak.  They stall because the work already costs something—and leadership is asking for more without first seeing the cost.  Sometimes the cost…