Quality is Every Worker’s Focus at Life Technologies March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in quality, workforce.Tags: quality, workforce
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IndustryWeek hosts an article about Life Technologies, Inc., which launched a 2008 initiative to implement lean in its manufacturing process, making sure that quality control was part of the process itself. Instead of different groups being separated in the process, they were integrated to work together. Making sure quality control was part of the process has helped reduce lead times by 50%.
Head on over to read the IndustryWeek article here.
Hoshin Kanri is Key to Success at Orbital Sciences November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, quality.Tags: lean, quality
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Orbital Sciences, which manufactures rockets and space systems for civilian and defense agencies, had been on a seven year-long lean journey. Because the company must be NASA certified, they have high quality standards to meet, and they do that through the use of lean. Among the actions members of the company take is that of a monthly meeting where progress, processes and objectives are targeted, discussed, and planned.
Check out the IndustryWeek write-up here.
Hoshin Kanri is Key to Success at Orbital Sciences November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, quality.Tags: lean, quality
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Orbital Sciences, which manufactures rockets and space systems for civilian and defense agencies, had been on a seven year-long lean journey. Because the company must be NASA certified, they have high quality standards to meet, and they do that through the use of lean. Among the actions members of the company take is that of a monthly meeting where progress, processes and objectives are targeted, discussed, and planned.
Check out the IndustryWeek write-up here.
The Red Bead Game Applied to Medical Errors August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, quality, six sigma.Tags: healthcare, quality, six sigma
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Deming’s Red Bead Game – an exercise in process variation and performance measurement – was applied to the healthcare field by the BBC and was presented by Mark Graban over at Lean Blog. Even when odds are identical –all patients having exactly the same chance of dying, and all surgeons having the same surgical skill – chance can wreak havoc. Readers can adjust the chance calculator on the BBC website to understand how chance can impact an organization or event.
Check out the Lean Blog Post here and the BBC article and chance calculator here.
The Red Bead Game Applied to Medical Errors August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, quality, six sigma.Tags: healthcare, quality, six sigma
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Deming’s Red Bead Game – an exercise in process variation and performance measurement – was applied to the healthcare field by the BBC and was presented by Mark Graban over at Lean Blog. Even when odds are identical –all patients having exactly the same chance of dying, and all surgeons having the same surgical skill – chance can wreak havoc. Readers can adjust the chance calculator on the BBC website to understand how chance can impact an organization or event.
Check out the Lean Blog Post here and the BBC article and chance calculator here.
You CAN Have Your Cake and Eat It Too April 20, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, quality.Tags: lean, quality
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The Project Management Triangle asserts that three factors affect quality: cost, scope, and schedule. Lowering cost will alter and erode quality, for example. The Triangle maintains projects are static circumstances, but Michael Lombard at Lean Builder disagrees and says circumstances can be improved – by reducing waste. Attacking waste means more quality.
Check out Mr. Lombard’s article here.
You CAN Have Your Cake and Eat It Too April 20, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, quality.Tags: lean, quality
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The Project Management Triangle asserts that three factors affect quality: cost, scope, and schedule. Lowering cost will alter and erode quality, for example. The Triangle maintains projects are static circumstances, but Michael Lombard at Lean Builder disagrees and says circumstances can be improved – by reducing waste. Attacking waste means more quality.
Check out Mr. Lombard’s article here.
Productivity Targets Getting in the Way of Productivity Improvement March 23, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality, workforce.Tags: healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality, workforce
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Mark Graban recently attended a presentation about lean implementation in emergency rooms. But one thing the presenters said sent up a red flag for Mark: that “strict productivity guidelines” get in the way of having time for process improvement. Productivity and guidelines are not the end goal. Too many hospitals underinvest in improvement time and resources. How else, Mr. Graban wonders, will one improve productivity without giving nurses and staff enough time for process improvement?
Check out Mark’s blog post here.
Productivity Targets Getting in the Way of Productivity Improvement March 23, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality, workforce.Tags: healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality, workforce
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Mark Graban recently attended a presentation about lean implementation in emergency rooms. But one thing the presenters said sent up a red flag for Mark: that “strict productivity guidelines” get in the way of having time for process improvement. Productivity and guidelines are not the end goal. Too many hospitals underinvest in improvement time and resources. How else, Mr. Graban wonders, will one improve productivity without giving nurses and staff enough time for process improvement?
Check out Mark’s blog post here.
Video Interview with LEI’s Jim Womack March 23, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in automotive, Lean Thinking, quality.Tags: automotive, Lean Thinking, quality
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Jim Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute, agreed to an interview about lean management, and Toyota’s auto problems. He notes that lean worked brilliantly for Toyota for fifty years, but then Toyota decided to expand too fast. Mr. Womack also notes that lean is science: you have a hypothesis or a plan, you run an experiment, you check the result, and then you adjust and try again if the hypothesis or plan is not met. Lean, according to Mr. Womack, creates more value with less. It isn’t finding better ways to produce old products, but to improve their quality and value, while cutting down on cost.
Check out the video interview here.
Video Interview with LEI’s Jim Womack March 23, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in automotive, Lean Thinking, quality.Tags: automotive, Lean Thinking, quality
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Jim Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute, agreed to an interview about lean management, and Toyota’s auto problems. He notes that lean worked brilliantly for Toyota for fifty years, but then Toyota decided to expand too fast. Mr. Womack also notes that lean is science: you have a hypothesis or a plan, you run an experiment, you check the result, and then you adjust and try again if the hypothesis or plan is not met. Lean, according to Mr. Womack, creates more value with less. It isn’t finding better ways to produce old products, but to improve their quality and value, while cutting down on cost.
Check out the video interview here.
Maryland Hospital Trims Waste, Increases Quality with Lean Techniques February 17, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality.Tags: healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality
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Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Towson, Maryland, has applied lean techniques quite successfully to its operations. Beginning with trimming 25% off the wait time between entering through the door and receiving treatment, the lean team at Saint Joseph’s wanted to cut down on diversion time, finding that if they were diverting patients, they weren’t delivering the care needed. They found that patients moving through the emergency department to ask for directions, for example, were hampering operations. The solution was to move security to the front of the room to keep unnecessary people out. They have also reduced the cycle time it takes to get someone into an inpatient bed from 120 to 60 minutes, still aiming to get that time down to 45.
Check out the article here.
Maryland Hospital Trims Waste, Increases Quality with Lean Techniques February 17, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality.Tags: healthcare, Lean Thinking, quality
add a comment
Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Towson, Maryland, has applied lean techniques quite successfully to its operations. Beginning with trimming 25% off the wait time between entering through the door and receiving treatment, the lean team at Saint Joseph’s wanted to cut down on diversion time, finding that if they were diverting patients, they weren’t delivering the care needed. They found that patients moving through the emergency department to ask for directions, for example, were hampering operations. The solution was to move security to the front of the room to keep unnecessary people out. They have also reduced the cycle time it takes to get someone into an inpatient bed from 120 to 60 minutes, still aiming to get that time down to 45.
Check out the article here.
Calculating the Cost of Quality February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in quality.Tags: quality
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In this Quality Progress (ASQ) article, a case study at an auto parts maker demonstrates a new way of calculating the cost of quality (COQ). The study focuses on the trade-off relationships among various quality cost categories. The authors calculated the point of balance, or the lowest COQ value, by comparing related total quality costs.Read th full article here.
Calculating the Cost of Quality February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in quality.Tags: quality
add a comment
In this Quality Progress (ASQ) article, a case study at an auto parts maker demonstrates a new way of calculating the cost of quality (COQ). The study focuses on the trade-off relationships among various quality cost categories. The authors calculated the point of balance, or the lowest COQ value, by comparing related total quality costs.Read th full article here.
Fault Tree Analysis Assesses What Leads to an Event February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in quality.Tags: quality
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This article in Quality Progress describes Cause and
Effect Trees, which are used during risk assessments to identify dominant potential contributors before an incident occurs. They also show design and operational errors. “And” and “or” gates connect the sets of causes and effects, and a single item can be both a cause and effect.Read the article here.
Fault Tree Analysis Assesses What Leads to an Event February 16, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in quality.Tags: quality
add a comment
This article in Quality Progress describes Cause and
Effect Trees, which are used during risk assessments to identify dominant potential contributors before an incident occurs. They also show design and operational errors. “And” and “or” gates connect the sets of causes and effects, and a single item can be both a cause and effect.Read the article here.
