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“Fixes that Fail” is one of the archetypes of systems dynamics – common patterns which we see in organizational change. It is probably the simplest of the systems archetypes, with just two feedback loops – the balancing loop where we fix symptoms (not root causes) and the reinforcing loop where the fix actually prevents us from finding a root cause solution or, in some instances, makes matters worse.
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In 1988, when I first met Shigeo Shingo, the creator of SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die), he asked me if I had been using his SMED System. I replied that I had in fact been using it in a machine shop where we had reduced changeover times from 90 minutes to 15 minutes – not bad I thought.
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This is Part Two of our series on the Gemba Walk. Lean is all about learning and the Gemba Walk provides a perfect learning platform. Use the Gemba Walk for more than just an audit. Use it as a way to teach employees at all levels the basics of continuous improvement.
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Neil Clayton faces a challenge: how to help revitalize lean and help introduce total productive maintenance (TPM) into a mature manufacturing operation.
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The Gemba Walk is all about getting out into the workplace. It affords company leaders, managers and supervisors a reliable, simple and easy means of supporting an improvement structure and encouraging process standardization. The Gemba Walk is a key component in the sustainment of improvement.
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Downtime is costly in many ways, which is why executives in charge of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations at Delta Airlines are implementing total productive maintenance (TPM) at their facility in Atlanta, Georgia.
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A key part of convincing management to take on any new endeavor is being able tostate the benefits to the company. Let’s face it, upper management speaks another language and uses a different set of metrics, than what is spoken and used in operations. In order to capture their attention, you too must speak and present in their terms.
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Making the Grade – Assessing your TPM Progress
The Roofing Products Group of manufacturer CertainTeed began implementing a TPM assessment process two years ago…
Often we are asked by clients to help them with the implementation of a lean technique; one they feel will solve their “biggest problem”. For example, some clients have asked us to assist them with the implementation of TPM believing their biggest problem was poor equipment reliability…
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